The Big Aquarium in the sky...

There is a certain stillness that can only be found in fish tanks that have just been visited by the Grim Fisher*.

Pisces (the fish formerly known as Nemo) has left the Raheny household after almost four (4) years as our loyal and placid pet.
And it was my unpleasant yet essential duty to act as the Grim Fisher.

Goldfishes are not great at expressing feelings of profound distress or intolerable pain.
But I could see him wasting away, quite literally, as first the scales and then the flesh started to fall off him.
The brave little thing had a passion for food.
The morning feed was quite literally the highlight of his Goldfish days (that and skydiving).
And he had not been eating for the last 5 days.
I had meant to do it at the weekend. But somehow found excuses not to do it.
But then today I knew that the time had come.

When my time comes, I want to believe that someone will find the courage to take me out of the bowl swiftly and knock my head on the doorstep.
I'm very serious. If they are unable to do it, I hope to be given the tools to do a last DIY job (I'm not great at knocking my own head on doorsteps so something just as lethal but injectable would be welcome).
Everyone knows when the time has come. Acting on it is a very tough decision to make.

The bubble machine has been switched off now, adding to the unbearable stillness of the tank.

Farewell Pisces. As far as goldfishes go, you've been a most undemanding and easy to care for specimen.

I hope that St John Dory (St Pierre in French) as reserved a cosy corner for you in the much bigger fish tank in the sky. But I'll stop now, I can sense a big shoal of lusty anchovies headed your way. Have fun!

* or sometimes that stillness can be found in the cranium of reality TV hopefuls as they sign the release form that will legitimise their exploitation and ridicule