The Fish Named Daisy

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It was cold and windy and there was a forecast for some heavy snow starting in the evening. Parvati checked her watch. It was only a little after four in the afternoon but darkness was already encroaching quickly on this mid-January day. She had parked her car in the barren parking lot of this out-of-nowhere park near the outskirts of the Town of Ajax and walked almost fifteen minutes toward the creek that ran through it on its far north corner. There was a thin layer of snow on the ground, a remnant from a snowfall a few days ago. She didn’t have her snow boots on. Walking in this condition on a three-inch heel was not particularly fun but she continued. This meeting today with Jay was important. She wasn’t going to miss it for anything. Though, she must admit, when Jay had asked her to come here, a place so out of the way, she was a little surprised. But then, if Jay asked her to go to hell, she probably would. He was the love of her life. The fact that he was married with kids didn’t make much difference. Love was divine and a bit of an obstacle wasn’t something to deter her. As she walked past a stand of pines she glanced around keenly. Jay was supposed to be here. He said he was going to park his car at the other end of the park and take the longer path to the creek. He just didn’t want anybody to discover them parked next to each other. There wasn’t anybody anywhere to discover anything in this wretched place but Parvati kind of understood why Jay could be so panicky. That wife of his was a bitch and things could get unnecessarily more complicated if they got caught together...  A faint whistle gets her attention. She quickly turned in the direction of the sound and almost immediately saw the man – a handsome, athletic man, in his early forties. “Jay!” She called out and gave away a wide smile before marching toward him. He had a pair of snow pants on and a thick winter jacket. His uncombed hair and unshaven face with a couple of days' worth of growth surprised her a little. Jay took care of himself. She had never seen him this way before. They had known each other for over a year now. Things had gotten pretty heated up to her complete satisfaction. The time probably had come to settle things down in a way that worked best for her. She was hoping to use today’s clandestine meeting to take their affair a giant step forward after she had inadvertently caused a bit of a headache for Jay. She tried to hug Jay to give him a passionate kiss, something she always did, but to her dismay, Jay took a step back holding a hand up signaling her to stay away. “Don’t Parvati, I smell like shit.”                 “Why? What happened?” Parvati knew there had to be some perfect explanation. The last time they saw each other Jay couldn’t keep his hands off of her. Both of them were incredibly attracted to each other.                  “Long story. A lot has happened since that text you sent. Walk with me. Let’s go near the creek. There’s more privacy.”                 Parvati chuckled. “There’s nobody here, Jay!” Jay was already walking away from her. She had to trot to catch up. “I am really sorry about that text Jay. You always have your phone with you. How would I know it was with your wife that afternoon?”                 Jay shook his head in frustration. “It happened because of that stupid fish. I was trying to get her into the aquarium from my pond. Left the phone in the family room in all that rush. You weren’t supposed to text or call me before midnight, anyway.”                 “I know. I am so sorry. I needed to confirm the Niagara Falls trip we have been planning for the weekend. You didn’t contact me since we talked about it sometime last week. I was so excited. I forgot about the time restriction. Was she mad?”                 Jay sighed. “She took the kids and went to stay with her parents in Brampton. Talking about divorce. One fucking text and everything just breaks down. It’s all the fault of that fucking fish. I should have just let it stay in the pond and get eaten.”                 “The fish?” Parvati was confused. She was extremely worried about this new situation that she had created. How a fish had any role in all that she wasn’t sure.                 “The fish in my backyard koi pond…I told you about the pond right?”                 He might have mentioned it once. It was supposed to be a small backyard pond where he kept a few medium-sized koi fish. She had never been to his house. He never shared any pictures. She nodded silently. Jay looked a little disturbed. Naturally. He appeared to love his family, especially the two young boys, 5 and 3. She had seen their images. Absolutely cute kids. She had even imagined herself mothering those two when Jay got through the divorce and married her. He hadn’t said anything about it but she kind of sensed things would eventually get there. The text was inadvertent but might have helped her cause.                 As they walked through a lightly wooded area toward the frozen creek Jay babbled, the irritation in his voice easily detectable. “At the end of the fall when it got cold I shut down the pump and closed the pond for the winter. The fish stays down, chilling. In the spring when the temperature rises, they resume. Unless you got a fucking mink looking for some expensive meal. That afternoon, that wretched stupid afternoon when you left that message that you shouldn’t have, I went on my deck just checking if everything was good in the pond and saw this badass mink diving into my pond! Can you believe that? I got two layers of net and somehow it finds room to wiggle through! I just lost it. I ran to the pond. All the fish were gone except the good old Daisy. That’s my oldest koi, five years old, about eighteen inches long. I knew I had to do something or it would become another expensive meal.” He took out a bottle of brandy from one of his pockets in the jacket, appeared to take a quick sip, and handed it over to Parvati. “You gotta be cold. Want some? I mixed up some lemonade with it.”                 Parvati wasn’t a big drinker but she wasn’t someone to say no to quality brandy on a cold day wandering in the frozen woods. She took the bottle and had a couple of big sips. The feeling was good. A liquid warmth slipped through her throat to her stomach. She cozied up with Jay, flanking him as they walked at a leisurely pace. She wasn't much into all that fish talk but when Jay was by her side anything was okay. If he wanted to talk about fish so be it. “What happened then? Is Daisy okay? Who named it Daisy?”                 “I did. My grandma’s name was Daisy. She loved me very much. This was one way for me to remember her. These fishes survive like thirty-forty years unless they get freaking eaten. Anyway, I have an aquarium in the living room. A ninety-gallon. I keep some small fish there – mostly ornamental goldfish, some tiny guppies. I thought I’d just bring Daisy in for a few days until I figured out how to deal with the fucking mink before putting her back in the pond. Now, it’s not trivial work to catch a fish from the pond and put it in the aquarium. You have to give it time to gradually get accustomed to the temperature difference in water – from freezing water to room temperature. I spent like three hours doing that. I didn’t even know where my phone was. Anu saw your text but didn’t say anything until later in the night when the boys went to sleep.” He swiped his hands in the air as if to push that whole thing away from him. “Forget that.” He took one of her bare hands in his gloved hands and rubbed it gently. “Your hand is cold. Don’t you have gloves? Drink some more. It’ll keep you warm. I don’t want you to catch a cold.”                 He offered the bottle again which Parvati took and sipped a couple of more times. This time Jay gestured for her to hang on to the bottle. Parvati regretted not bringing her gloves. She usually never did. She wasn’t expecting to be out for this long. She faintly expected Jay to offer her his but that didn’t happen. His mind was occupied with the fish, she reasoned. Under normal circumstances, he was a very caring man. She put one of her hands in her pocket and took another sip of brandy from the bottle that she was holding with the other hand. It certainly was helping. She was starting to enjoy this unusual walk.                 “The relocation went perfectly,” Jay picked up from where he left. “Daisy seemed to be doing just fine in the aquarium. The first few days the ammonia went high – that’s the biological stuff that goes on in the aquarium. But things became stable after a few days. I was feeling good. Thought of keeping her in the aquarium for the winter. In summer I’d put a boundary fence with nets around the pond to stop predators. Raccoons and herons are also pestering problems. But, believe it or not, now I am having second thoughts because Daisy has broken my heart. You won’t believe what she did.”                 “What did she do?” Parvati was feeling a little light. She wanted Jay to keep talking.                 “You see, even though koi are omnivorous they do not really eat other fish unless they mistake them for something else. At least that’s what I thought. I had some small guppies and baby goldfish in that tank. And now I am missing at least three of them. Three! But wait, I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes small fish may die for whatever reason and just lay dead somewhere in the substrate. I have pea gravel as my substrate with rocks and some plants. That’s what I was doing before coming to see you. Looking for the dead fishes. And I didn’t see any. Which means only one thing.”                 “She ate them!” Parvati chuckled guiltily. “Sorry! But it’s a fish. Fish eat fish. Right?”                 Jay examined her for a long moment. “I didn’t find it funny. I loved those little ones. I got so mad that I thought of grabbing her and just throwing her back into the pond. Let the fucking mink eat her ass. I do you a favor and this is how you return it?”                 Parvati was holding him tightly now to balance. She was having trouble walking suddenly. The brandy must have been stronger than she thought. But the feeling was good. With Jay by her side, she had nothing to worry about. He would make sure she was safe. “What are you going to do now?” Jay said something, still sounding disturbed but she didn’t fully understand it. As Jay led her on the frozen creek she followed him dreamily.         *                           *                              *                                     Jay stood in the center of his living room, glaring at the lighted aquarium. After returning from the park he quickly changed, put the clothes in the washer for a lengthy wash, and rushed to check on his fish. At his sight suddenly there was a tremendous amount of activity in the aquarium. Human presence was linked to food. Daisy was particularly going nuts, swimming back and forth, making waves in the confined water body, causing all other fish to huddle away from her. Jay did a quick eyeballing of all the fish – ten adult guppies and a dozen goldfish - most larger than four inches with two surviving juveniles since one went missing the day before. He saw the two little ones swimming around happily. Good! Goldfish checked. He missed a heartbeat when it came to the guppies. The beautiful pair of dragon-faced guppies were missing. He took a deep breath and released it slowly to try to keep himself calm. His heart was racing, his mind was getting obscured with rage. Saving one fish to lose others was not what he was looking forward to. He knew he had no choice but to take action. Now. If he allowed this to go on there may not be any of his cherished guppies left. Perhaps keeping the koi with the guppies was a bad decision, to begin with. But he had no choice. Did he?                 Daisy calmed down and was now looking right at him, holding her position about at the center of the aquarium by wiggling her tail gently, begging for food. Jay exploded as their eyes met. “You bitch! Why are you eating my fish? Don’t I feed you enough? I warned you last time. You eat any more of my fish you are going back to the freezer.”                 Daisy pleaded, “Please don’t. I didn’t eat your fish. I swear upon Dagon, the God of fish.”                 “Don’t lie to me. Two more are missing. They can’t just disappear from a closed aquarium. You made me mad now. I am going to get the bucket. I wish I could just eat you. But I’ll be civil. I’ll give you a chance to live. In. That. Pond.”                 “You can’t do that. That mink is out there. I’ll get eaten even before midnight.”                 “You should have thought about that before you ate my fish!”                 Daisy swam to the bottom and looked very remorseful. “I might have swallowed them. Not knowingly. The light is sometimes too bright. I can’t always see very well when looking up. I must have thought they were food. It’s just instinct. Trust me, Jay.”                 Jay was steaming. “That’s what you said last time too. I am not listening to you anymore.”                 “Come on Jay!  Think about it rationally. I am an expensive fish. Those fish cost nothing. Why do you care so much for them?”                 “I care because they are my fish. I don’t care how much you are valued. Nobody eats my fish.”                 “How about that mink? He is gonna eat me. How can you allow that? Where is your ego?”                 “I am making an exception for you. I’ll send an invitation letter to that mink. Now shut up and let me do my job.” Jay was about to go looking for the bucket when he saw Daisy taking a couple of quick laps across the length of the six-foot-long aquarium, creating large waves in his wake.  “Stop that or you’ll regret it even more.” “I know what you did!” Daisy cried out. “I am not stupid. I can read people’s minds. That’s a virtue we fish have acquired over our coexistence with humans. You can’t fool me. You are mad at yourself. You are just finding an excuse to take it on me.” “Shut up! Just shut up! Enough with your blabbering.” “What did you do to her? “ “That’s not your business.” “You did something bad, didn’t you? Did you kill her? The woman you loved so much that just a week ago you were planning to secretly go to Niagara Falls with her for a weekend. You are a monster! “ Jay looked at her with fiery eyes. But when he spoke again there was a touch of doubt. “What choice did I have? She is responsible for everything. How many times did I tell her not to contact me when I am home, at least not before midnight.” “You didn’t have to kill her. You are a terrible person. It was you who pursued her. You lied to her about your marital status. Even after knowing the truth, she stuck with you.” Jay started to pace up and down the room. “She was talking about marriage! Come on! We were just having a fling. I can’t go for a divorce. I’d lose everything. Anu quit a bank job for our children. And she is a great mother. Any judge would give her anything she wants from me. I’ll lose the house, and half of my salary every year until the kids are adults…it’s like my life would be over. I had to do it. Don’t you see it you stupid fish?” “Yeah, I am stupid! I wasn’t the one who left like a thousand clues out there after a murder. They are coming for you big guy. Just make sure you have somebody to take care of us. Three meals a day, water change once a month. I’ll just hang on here. Forget the pond.” “Just shut up and let me think. I didn’t leave any evidence there. Nobody saw me. I parked far away in a subdivision. The park was empty. I had my gloves on. There was no blood, no struggles, it was quite peaceful. It started to snow after I left. So my footsteps would be under several inches of snow. The only thing they’ll find is her car and a body. There’s no way they can put me there.” “Oh really? How long do you think it would take them to find out that she was having a fling with you? Once they do, guess who they would want to talk to. And what would be your alibi?” “I was home, putting a stupid fish back in the pond. Are you ready to go big mouth?” “Not so fast, dickhead. I am sure they won’t mind giving your wife a visit to her mother’s house. What do you think she is going to say to them?” “She has no way to know about our meeting today. Whatever she says wouldn’t change a thing. I had an affair that doesn’t mean I killed anybody.” Jay sounded confident. He had planned the whole thing very carefully. It was solid. From acquiring GHB to suffocating Parvati. Cops weren’t going to poke a hole into it, no chance. “Where is the brandy bottle?” Daisy asked. “I am guessing at the park, next to her. Good job. You just got caught.” “How? You can buy brandy everywhere. How would they tie me with the purchase of that one bottle? I still thought about bringing it back but then it would have looked very suspicious. Now they would know that she went there, was drinking, and somehow slipped on the ice, banged his head, and passed out. Then she froze to death. That’s quite plausible. Even you should agree with that, peabrain.” “You gotta be nuts! The woman you loved so much, that’s what you did to her? No wonder you want to eat me. You are no human. You aren’t a smart killer. You were her lover. The cops would surely try to find out what kind of brandy you buy. I bet she never bought any brandy. They are coming for you stupid! All that cruelty for nothing. Your wife will take everything you have. You brickhead!” “Shut up! I don’t have to listen to your crap. I was thinking of being a little nice to you. Not anymore. I am just gonna throw you into the pond. That will teach you some lessons.” Jay took his shirt off and walked to the aquarium, pulled up the glass top, and inserted his right hand into the water. “Come to me, baby!” He laughed devilishly. Daisy desperately moved away from his grip and slammed into the glass wall, turned around, and torpedoed to the other end, unfazed. “You have to catch me first, you monkey! Bad boy, bad boy whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?” Water splashed out on the floor, wetting Jay partly. He used some expletives and had both of his hands in the water now, trying to capture the slippery fish like a vice. The aquarium was deep, standing on the ground he could only reach halfway down. He stood on tiptoe to follow Daisy as far down as he could but every time she was able to quickly maneuver her body and escape out of his grip, splashing more water on the expensive wooden floor, making a few streams running down the room. It was starting to look like a mess. Jay paused for a moment. He didn’t have a net small enough to get into the aquarium to catch that crooked fish. He glared at Daisy. She had now placed herself at the bottom of the far corner, looking straight at him, wiggling her tail to keep balance. She was afraid alright. She was breathing heavily. The idea that her little heart was throbbing hard gave Jay some satisfaction. Suddenly he started to enjoy this little game of cat and mouse. A deranged smile spread across his face. “Where are you gonna go, fishy? I’ll catch you eventually. You are being a good game, sweetheart.” Daisy twisted her face. “Not so fast, Jay. Not so fast. I still have one trick up my sleeves.” “And what would that be? Hypnotize me with your little fishy eyes!” He broke into laughter. “Don’t make me do it, Jay. Just leave me alone. Go plan your escape. What you did was deplorable. If they catch you they are gonna put you away for a very long time. Just go say goodbye to your kids.” Jay cautiously examined her. “Don’t worry about me. Worry about your ass. Either you’ll die freezing or that mink is gonna eat you for late-night dinner. “ “Aren’t you forgetting something, Jay?” “What?” “The guppies!” Daisy left her position with a quick push of her tail, approached a group of colorful little fish, and in a quick, coordinated effort took one of them inside her mouth. “No!” Jay howled. “Let it go! You’ll regret it, Daisy!” “I am dead meat anyway. Why would I care for your threats anymore?” She chewed on the little fish before swallowing. “How about that blue-tailed one? Come to mommy.” She went after the fleeing little fish and sucked it into her mouth. “By the time you catch me, they’ll all be gone. Consider it as my last supper. “ Jay was shivering in anger. His face was red, his mind went bonkers. He snatched a nearby wooden chair, placed it next to the aquarium, stepped on it, and got his arms fully submerged in the water, this time easily reaching the bottom. As he chased Daisy she swam across the aquarium with all her might, slamming her body against the glass wall to avoid getting caught. The more he failed the more enraged Jay became. He cursed, yelled, and tried to hit Daisy with his fist to get her to stop fighting. She desperately moved around the small space somehow avoiding him. But all that intense maneuvering was taking its toll on her too. She was getting tired. Wasn’t sure how long she could keep doing it. Jay was breathing heavily, his rage and exertion were affecting him too. After some orchestrated hand movements he was able to get the fish cornered and was going for the kill when he leaned too much forward, disturbing his balance on the chair and flipping it. As the chair was moving away from under his feet he tried to grab the edge of the aquarium to keep his balance, failed, and fell backward in an angled way, his buttocks hit the floor and then the head jerked back into the same direction only to get obstructed by the steel-rimmed glass tea table that sat heavily at the center of the room. His head caught the corner hard enough to cut open, blood gushed out, he screamed in pain and agony and soon slipped into darkness. Daisy watched the whole scenario unfolding in front of her, like a slow-motion clip in an action movie where particular sections are slowed down to create a greater impact on the audience. She sure was shaken but relieved. From the huge cut and the way blood was gushing out, she could sense that if Jay didn’t get some treatment quickly enough he would probably die from losing too much blood. Considering he passed out and there was very little possibility of anybody checking on him anytime soon, the guy was as good as dead. Daisy cocked her head and observed Jay for a few long moments before swimming away. There was not going to be any food tonight. Jay may not be found in several days. But starving for a few days won’t kill her. She was a fish, she could survive without food for a while. She surely wasn’t going to eat any of the little ones. The first three were accidents, the last two weren’t something she was proud of. She felt a little bad for Jay. He was a good keeper. Unfortunately, one mistake led to another, and there he was, slowly fading away. Whatever! She was already looking past him. She liked Anu and the boys. Let's hope they won’t put her back into that little pond to become that bloody mink’s dinner.