I know not for sure when it began but out of the blue, my Cherry Barb fish, named " Fin," started doing backflips whenever I walked by, beginning in spring of sixty-five. It was of the Cyprinidae family and came from Tibet.

Another strange change that started taking place, in addition to its acrobatic leaps, was how it followed me in the direction I'd chosen until it hit the glass. There, it would pause, float slowly to the bottom, and lay at rest until I came back from whence I went, when it would activate its tail and zip to the top, making a wake like an outboard motor until it ran into the glass on the other end of the tank. Previously, it would swim here, there, and everywhere as if on a road trip with no map or wife telling it where to go.
In short, it was adventurous.

Finally, it altered how it would purse its lip while being fed, which had been accompanied by a sucking sound. Now, it echoed forth like a kiss, elevated with a wink of one eye. Surprised, it reminded me of my missus, the day we exchanged I do's. She did the very same thing. Is that what Fin has in mind? Marriage.

"Sorry, friend. This must end, for I am Catholic, and you, being from Tibet, would be... a Buddist?" Sadly, it closed both eyes and sank to the bottom of the tank forevermore, rejected.