I must tell you that last week my oldest and most beloved goldfish died. Frankenfish (belovedly known as Franky) died. Now to you this may not seem like a major event but Franky was the fish that never died. To fully understand the tragedy of his death we better start at the beginning.
When I first bought him my ex-boyfriend chose him and to be honest I didn't really look at him until we got home. However, once I did look at him I realised he was without a doubt the ugliest fish I had ever seen. He was therefore christened Frankenfish.
Now anybody who has kept fish will know that fish come and go... they die pretty much most of the time. And one small mistake in changing the water can result in mass death, one small infection from a new fish introduced can kill the whole tank if not caught on time. Many times since Franky joined my tank this happened but always he somehow lived through it.
One day, my tank randomly sprouted a fungus that clouded the water and killed my fish one by one. Despite a water change and fungus medication I lost five fish. Franky was the last fish alive and he fought so hard that when it appeared he had finally died I could not bring myself to flush him. There he lay lifeless and not breathing on his side. It broke my heart.
Eventually a day later I decided it was time to flush my friend before the stench of rotting fish started... I plucked up the courage found my fish net and went to retrieve my friend Franky. When I got to the tank I discovered to my utmost surprise Franky was swimming quite happily around. Frankenfish it seemed was a very appropriate name.
Franky went on to survive a relocation in a cooler-box (strapped in to my front seat like a passenger) to my new home in Pretoria. Franky was alive and well. I live alone and so as time went on my fish become more my friends than just merely fish. After all one seems less marginally less crazy talking to your fish than to yourself. I even gave up eating Pecks Anchovette for breakfast because its hard to eat fish while your fish friends are watching you.
Last week, I returned from the weekend to find Franky lying on his side, barely breathing. I medicated the tank and held vigil. But in a few short hours he was gone... I waited two full days hoping for the same miraculous recovery as before but none came. Frankenfish had finally died.
So here is to a fish that was more than a fish. Here is to my friend Franky....
