Red lived in a pet shop.
He loved swimming in lazy swirls around his tiny castle, watching the sparkles from his favorite pebble dance across the floor.
Cheerful fish swam nearby.
He could see them all around, their bodies bending and stretching as they moved, long and curvy, just like him.
Red’s favorite fish to watch was Blue.
Blue was bright and lively, darting back and forth with scales that caught the light perfectly. Red enjoyed talking to Blue, though their voices sounded wobbly and far away.
Sometimes, surrounded by all the other fish, Red felt lonely.
Blue’s Story
One day, Red was busy chasing his tail when Blue called out, “Ugh, these plants are the worst! I can’t stand them.”
Red stopped swimming and looked over, confused. “Really? Why?”
Blue grumbled. “They’re everywhere!”
Red paused, his fins twitching with surprise.
Plants swayed gently in the water, soft and silky, bending easily as he swam through them. He loved the way they tickled his belly when he weaved in and out.
“What’s wrong with Blue?” Red thought.
Still, he didn’t want to hurt Blue’s feelings, so Red nodded. But he thought Blue was wrong.
The Splash
As Red was circling his castle one afternoon, a giant shadow passed overhead. Blue vanished.
“Blue? Where did you go?” he called, but there was no answer. The water seemed strangely quiet without Blue’s tail swishing through it.
Then splash! Blue dropped into the water right next to him.
Red’s eyes went wide. Blue looked odd. Clear and solid, his fins shimmering beside Red.
“How did you do that?” Red asked.
Blue flicked his tail. “Oh, they were cleaning my bowl, so they put me here for a while.”
Red blinked. “Your bowl?!”
Blue looked at him, puzzled. “You know, the place I live. It’s round and made of glass, just like this one.”
“I don’t see anything.”
Blue tapped his nose against a curved wall. “Right here! Each of us has our own. We’re not in the same water!”
Red smiled. “Then I’ll come visit you tonight!”
They made a plan.
The Night of the Jump
When the shop was pitch black, Red took a deep breath, wiggled his tail, and leaped.
He plunged in, sending water swirling.
Red was in Blue’s bowl!
There they were, Blue’s plants. Stiff, with sharp edges that didn’t sway or bend. Red’s heart skipped a beat. They weren’t nice at all.
“Oh…” Red whispered, his voice trembling. “They… they really are pokey.”
Blue joined him. “See? They’re always in the way.”
Red suddenly remembered all the times Blue complained about the plants, and how he’d pictured his own soft, swaying ones. He’d thought he understood, but he’d been imagining something else entirely.
When the Lights Go Out
That night, Red and Blue jumped between fishbowls. Orange, green, and yellow fish in separate little worlds. They swam through the plants and laughed at every difference.
From then on, they promised to visit every evening.
When the shop grows dark, if you listen closely, you might hear a splash here and there. That’s the fish, exploring new waters, learning about one another in ways they never had before.
They each had their own bowls. But now they weren’t alone.
The End.
The Abstractionist’s Papers 