A Fish Tale

Waiting for the school bus alone at the end of our long driveway would've been very boring, had it not been for the fish.

The large-mouthed bass, bluegills and sunfish found food in the seaweed but were accustomed to receiving treats from me and the neighborhood kids. When we walked around the pond, schools of fish followed us, keenly watching for any ripple created by a tossed snack.

Every day before school, I shared bites of my lunch with them. Two fish became particularly excited by my visits to the pond and developed a trust in me that no other fish had shown. A plump bluegill I named Blue and his little sunfish friend, Sunny, would spot me from afar and hurry across the pond side by side, creating twin ripples at the water's surface. They stopped as close to the shore as they could and waited for me. The tips of their small fins sometimes emerged above the surface of the shallow water as I hand-fed them pieces of sandwich. Blue and Sunny accepted each morsel slowly and gently, careful to never nibble a finger.

At the end of every winter I waited eagerly for the ice to thaw to see my friends again. One spring day as I descended the driveway, one telltale ripple appeared in the pond, and I spotted the tiny fins headed my way. Blue arrived alone. Sunny had not survived the winter.

Blue never replaced his companion, nor did he change his routine. Each day, he kept a lookout for the little girl carrying the lunchbox, and his small blue body swayed quickly from side to side as he raced across the pond to meet me.