Bettas were also known as the Siemese fighting fish or labyrinth fish. They were sensitive and complex fishes that suffer from being exploited in a pet trade due to their poor conditions in the pet shop.
Check.
I was a sensitive and complex guy. I didn't experience the pet trade but the poor condition I can relate.
These fishes were carnivorous and would eat insects and larvae in nature.
Check.
I didn't eat insects but I love meat.
Betta fishes can experience frustration and depression and while most can survive alone in a tank, they need plenty of enrichment, caves and room to explore. They also experience stress when their fins get picked on by fishes that they don't get along with.
Check. Check. Check.
Who wouldn't get tensed if they were touched by someone that they were not fond of? I survived pretty much alone for the past 5 years and if you put all the things I needed in my house, I didn't care if you kept the door locked for another 5 years.
I entered my apartment and switched the lights up. My Betta fish, Sable, swam excitedly once it saw me approaching the tank. He had dark blue scales. His red fins flow like curtains that were being ruffled by a soft breeze.
I put him in tank of 10 gallons of treated tap water. I even cycled the water four weeks before I bought this fish to allow the growth of a beneficial bacteria that would break down harmful ammonia. Ten percent of the water was removed every week and replaced. The water temperature was maintained at 80 degrees farenheit. Lights were out by 9 pm to ensure proper rest for Sable and I monitor his activeness, color vibrance, eye clarity, appetite and overall health.
Was I going crazy?
No.
I was the equivalent of a crazy cat lady.
I had no family. They were alive but I didn't consider them as my family anymore. My dad was high on drugs; my mother let other men use her body so that she can have cash to buy alcohol. My older brother was in jail after slitting his girlfriend's throat and left her corpse in her parent's garage.
After I turned 18, I left the city I was born in and never came back. I never made friends. When you have a family like mine friends would be the last thing in your mind. You'd prefer to be alone. You'd prefer solitude. You'd prefer to never come home. I was a straight A student. I dreamed big and I took part-time jobs so I can have lunch money.
I didn't come home to a warm meal with caring parents who'd ask you "How's your day, honey?" I'd come home to a house with a mother nude on the couch, playing with another man and a father just sitting across them using meth.
"Sable, are you hungry?" I asked him. I brought out freeze-fried bloodworms and sprinkled some into his aquarium.
I had Sable for two weeks and so far I was enjoying his company. Dogs were too hyper and cats were too demanding. I got a hamster before Sable but I accidentally stepped on it.
I promised myself that I wouldn't get another pet but I overheard my co-worker in the office about his pet fish. That was when I researched about getting one. Fishes were delicate and easily stressed. I thought Sable would die in three days but I prepared for his arrival. I was like a new father.
I sat in front of the tank and watched Sable swim around. This helped me sleep. My apartment was a tank of silence and peace.
Sable stayed in one place and seemed like he was staring at me. As my eyes slowly closed and as my head slowly dropped, a reflection of a man flashed in the glass that caused me to jolt and look back.
"The f...?" My cuss was cut short when I saw that I was alone in the living room.
The beats in my chest continuously pounded and my body went eerily cold. I couldn't catch the man's appearance because it was quick but he was the same age as me. He didn't bear any expression; he didn't show any distress. He gazed at me blankly.
"Did you see someone, Sable or am I just losing my mind?"
The next few days I gradually forgot about "The Man in the Aquarium" and considered it as a joke of the mind.
While I was working, my phone rang with an unknown number. I left my cubicle and went to the comfort room, pondering if I should pick it up or not.
I swiped the green button and inched the phone to my ear.
"Azie?"
My mom's voice came up, freezing me in place.
"Azie, I know you can hear me. Come back to us honey, we miss you," she purred.
"Ho-how did you get my number?"
"Does it matter, baby? Don't you want to be with your mommy? We miss you so much. Come back, please?"
"I...I'm hanging up. Don't call again," I coldly stuttered.
"You little bitch! You ungrateful brat! I carried you for 9 months and y—"
I pressed the end call button and blocked her number. I'd have to change my number later but how on earth did she learn how to contact me?
I leaned against the sink and felt my whole body shaking. My stomach quivered from anxiety and my eyes watered as my breath became erratic.
I only had 1 more hour to endure before I leave the office so I had to force the sob from coming up and wipe my wet eyes with my sleeve. I steeled my gaze at the reflection and left the comfort room to finish my job.
The breeze blew past my brown locks and pricked the skin on my face once I exited the building. It was a walking distance to my apartment but I didn't feel the walking part as I was lost in the void that my mother created.
Door was opened, my bag was thrown to the couch and I sat at the corner of the living room, feeling the darkness creeping up on me.
Her words played over and over again in my head, pulling me down in the deepest pits of misery.
Tears rolled down my cheeks, dripped to my chin and slid to my neck. My shoulders slumped, my head drooped and sobs rocked my body in an intensity that vibrated in the four walls of the living room.
I stayed like that, weeping the heaviness in my chest but the pressure only rose until I fainted and blocked the world.
When my conciousness returned, I heard the waves of the ocean and felt arms wrapped around me from behind. My feet brushed against the sand and I realized that I was dreaming. The scent of ocean air, the warmth of the person behind me was fair, and for the first time in a long time, I wasn't in despair.
"Who are you?" I asked him calmly.
It was the night of the full moon and the moonlight was reflected in the salty water's dark abyss.
"Sable, your pet fish."