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Counter Arts

The (Counter)Cultural One-Stop for Nonfiction on Medium… incorporating categories for: ‘Art’, ‘Culture’, ‘Equality’, ‘Photography’, ‘Film’, ‘Mental Health’, ‘Music’ and ‘Literature’.

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Two Fishes, A Hamster, And Panchito The Dog

5 min readOct 12, 2021

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My buddy, Panchito. Photo from the author.

Storming into the house, I couldn’t wait to play with my pet fish. One was white with a red stripe, and the other a vivid coral. Two small fish called Santa Claus because of its alabaster and red scales, and the other I named Spider-Man. At six, my parents took me to a pet store to pick out a new friend, since I strive to have a companion. My folks understood I didn’t have the mental maturity to care for a dog or cat, so they settled on a fish.

My parents kept my little fishes in a tank near the front door kitchen, which would lead to their demise. I have no semblance of feeding them or cleaning out their water tank, but I remember staring at them for minutes on end when I would get bored from playing video games or watching TV. Every day, I’ll plaster my face to the tank to witness those two tiny fish swimming around, wondering what they’re doing in a container. Someday they may escape to be among the other fishes who frolic in the ocean without a care in the world. Just the two of them relishing the open waves as they scourge to their next locale. That’s any pet fishes dream.

Given that my parents parked the car near the kitchen entrance, it became problematic for my fish. Each time they would turn on the engines, the fumes would permeate to the fish tank. Gradually, the vehicle exhaust…

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Counter Arts
Counter Arts

Published in Counter Arts

The (Counter)Cultural One-Stop for Nonfiction on Medium… incorporating categories for: ‘Art’, ‘Culture’, ‘Equality’, ‘Photography’, ‘Film’, ‘Mental Health’, ‘Music’ and ‘Literature’.

Alexander Razin
Alexander Razin

Written by Alexander Razin

Aficionado and connoisseur of obscure and experimental music, movies, and TV. I have a BA in digital journalism, but who cares.