Short Story | [Beside the Kakogawa River] The Cotton-Filled Aquarium

I wonder how many children know that
methylene blue is
a blue-green chemical
often found in
science classrooms.

I learned that
at a bookstore when I was in the sixth grade.

On the brown shelf at the back of the classroom,
near the entrance,
in the left corner of the room,
there was a large aquarium.

One day, something strange happened.
The medaka fish were covered in something like white cotton,
and they grew weak one after another.

I scooped out the ones that seemed beyond saving,
but even so, in the blink of an eye,

the classroom aquarium
became filled
with strange cotton.

At first,
some children felt sorry for them,
but gradually, the children

began to look away
from the eerie sight.

I was the only one
who didn't look away.

I wanted to do something.

I just wanted to know.

Driven by that
impulse,
on the Sunday of that week,
I headed to the bookstore.

"Methylene blue"

If I could use that chemical,
maybe I could cure them.

After learning that,
on Monday after school,
I told Mr. Nakagawa.

"If they are going to die anyway,
please let me try this first."

Mr. Nakagawa
listened to me,
and gave me permission to use the chemical.

The teacher and I
poured the chemical into the aquarium.

The deep blue-green color
drifted softly through the water.

The next morning,
the medaka fish
were completely healthy again.

Mr. Nakagawa, who had come to the classroom a little early,
and I found the aquarium.

The teacher
bent down to my height
and looked at me with gentle eyes.

Then, he softly
patted my head.

If the Spider's Thread
truly exists,

it will be those medaka fish
that save me.

I have always
thought so.

----------

The same teacher, reappearing.
▶︎[Beside the Kakogawa River] The Teacher's Poor Lesson

Talk with classmates is here, too.
▶︎[By the Kakogawa River] The Pink-Clad Snare Drum

If you would like to peek into other worlds
▶︎Welcome! To Tsuharu's World

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