Geoffrey

"you make breaking hearts look so easy"

Isn’t it obvious? I am very sad and lonely, short of being depressed. I barely eat; I have no appetite for stale crustaceans. Sleep eludes me; I am not comfortable in my new home–if you call these synthetic corals home. I say “new” because unlike my neighbors here, I wasn’t bred in captivity. I had a home once, a real one where I was free and happy. Now, look at me: I look old and weary. And I am. Everyday I remember how it was like to be with my family. I miss them so much. They loved me and loved to look at me racing away or dancing around. I made them smile and laugh. Now, my audience consists of children poking at the glass to get my attention and people taking pictures of me–sometimes forgetting to turn off their flashes. The horror! They hurt my eyes; they blind me! There was a time when these humans were interesting, and I swam around for them for a while as they watched. But I soon grew tired of it and them; they don’t know how it feels to be trapped in here for a long time and being made a clown–I’m not a clown fish, there’s nothing funny here; if you’re looking for Nemo, he’s in the next aquarium! I just want to be free. Is that so hard to ask? If I break your heart for looking like this, you’re breaking mine for keeping me here. Let me go.

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