Big Fish in a Little Pond
Quinn was completely caught off guard when the shop keeper covered his aquarium with a blanket. In an instant, it was pitch black and he could not a thing, but without the sense of sight, his ability to hear became more acute. He picked up various voices and rustling coming from every direction. He struggled to make out what was being said, but there were so many voices and so much activity, he could not.
Finally he heard one voice speaking in a hushed tone, “Alright . . . everybody ready?” Suddenly the blanket was ripped off and everyone shouted, “Surprise!” Quinn, so startled, inadvertently did a back-flip landing with a splash. The crowd laughed and pointed. In another scenario, it might seem as if he was being teased and tormented, but in this case, it came with the scenario; it was Quinn’s first birthday.
As the gang of various animals sang, “ . . . happy birthday dear Quinn . . .” He struggled to remember being born a year before, but could not. His earliest memory as a koi fish was of Leonard, the shop owner of The Grand Aquarium & Exotic Pet Emporium. As he peered down the isle of the pet store to golden lab know as Trixie, and here clumsy frolicking pups, he wondered if he had ever had a mother and crew of siblings. As far as he knew, he had always lived in this pet shop, and the odd mix of creatures surrounding his tank, were his only family.
Until this fateful day, there had been no reason to be discontented with the first year of his life. He always had plenty to eat, lots of friends, a large tank to swim in, and if that weren't enough, Leonard the shop keeper, had always treated him like a son.
Over the past year, he had seen a lot of animals come and go, and heard many stories of their lives, travels and adventures. Their journey’s inspired him to daydream of the lands and waters beyond this aquarium, but until now, it had been relegated to the genre of fantasy.
He enjoyed learning of their origins, but what really got under his scales, was never knowing where they had gone after leaving the pet shop. So today, his first birthday, as the celebration wound down, and only Leonard remained, he decided to ask. “Leonard, where do the animals go when they leave here?”
Leonard scratched his snowy white beard, then thoughtfully replied, “Well little Quinn, I’d hate to see you leave, but if you ever do, it will be to a place where you belong!”
Quinn, astonished, paused while it sunk in, then said, “You mean I don’t belong here?”.
The old man chuckled, “Good heavens no! This is just a pet store--” The words died on his lips as he considered the can of worms he had opened.
“I don’t understand . . . what do you mean . . . ‘just a pet store’ . . . isn’t this our home Leonard?”
He sighed, scratched his beard, and fumbled for a suitable answer. "Uh . . . well . . . well Quinn . . . to be perfectly honest, it is not. The pet shop is more . . . uhhhh . . . what you might call . . . a short stop along the way.”
“I don’t understand! Along the way to where?”
Having finally come up with an answer, Leonard didn’t hesitate, “Why, to your true destiny of course! Sometime soon, nice people will come and take you away to where you belong.”
The old man had hoped his answer would satisfy the fish, but instead, Quinn became even more confused and upset. “Just where does a koi fish like me belong? Where do any of us belong? Do I belong in The Great Coral Reef like my neighbor the clown fish? Am I destined to swim both the oceans and rivers like my friend the eel, or the air and sea as my brother the flying fish? Certainly the emerald tree boa needs more than a solitary branch in a glass box to be happy. An entire tree in a jungle would be more to his liking wouldn’t it? I’m not sure where the mongoose would prefer to be, but I’m quite sure it wouldn’t be in this shop, or in that tree! Speaking of trees, isn’t that where that noisy parakeet belongs?” He said, referring to the bird down the isle that never shut up.
