by the pond

Prologue

"Mama?" she questions, trailing her stick across the surface of the murky water "what are they called?"

Lifting her head from her book and removing her reading glasses, her mother's eyes glaze the surface of the pond visible from her position on the wooden bench "what is it sweetheart?"

"the weird looking dragons fighting under the water" she explains, "what do you call them?"

"oh, the koi fish!" she chuckles "they're called koi fish" "what do you think of them?"

"it's a bad name for them. They don't look like love fish" she pouts, "they look weird and mean, and they look like they don't want anyone in their way" she mumbles "I bet they're bullies. Don't you Gloom?" looking over to the kitten by her side scraping the edge of the pond with small claws.

"do they look scary?" her mother asks.

"kinda" she starts poking at one of the koi fish and it bites onto her stick. She yelps and jumps away, letting go of the stick, now floating on the water.

"Oh Hanami!" her mother giggles. "be careful".

She quickly turns to take her small kitten in a tight embrace "Gloom! You'll protect me from them, right? I promise to give you extra treats if you do!" she nuzzles her head into the kitten's soft patchy fur.

"meow" was all she got in response.

Since that day, 14 years ago, I, Hanami Saori, have feared all bodies of water, large or small. I have Aquaphobia.

I take showers to avoid having baths.

I don't visit lakes, rivers or public pools.

I never learned how to swim.

I don't even visit the pond we used to live by, when I was younger, and my mother was still with us.

Now it's just Gloom and I.

My mother died when I was only 9 years old, so I grew up with my Aunt Reima who Gloom seemed to love, but I never got close to. I just turned 20 and recently moved out, into my own apartment closer to the city. Gloom lives with me, but often visits Reima at our old house closer to the countryside.

Sometimes he's gone for weeks, and I wonder what it is that draws him back constantly, and why he stays for so long...

He's 15 years old. For a cat he shouldn't live for much longer... but he seems so youthful.

Every time he comes back from Reima's, he seems less gloomy, more alive.

I wonder what it is that he does when he's there. what makes him brighter?

I never let my curiosity get the better of me though. I will never visit that house or pond or even Aunt Reima ever again.

I hope that doing so will make it easier to not dwell on the past...

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thanks for reading and i hope you enjoyed (❁'◡'❁)

i don't really have much else to say...  (。＿。*)

<3