Upa has died

We had an axolotl at home.
His name was "Upa."
I wanted a name that would be easy for my child to say, so I named him Upa (after the Pokémon).

He was a pet we got after moving into our current house, so I think we were together for about four years.
I thought that if I raised him well, we could be together for about ten years.

I first met Upa at Solamachi, where the Skytree is.
One day, when I was vaguely thinking about wanting an axolotl, I happened to visit an aqua shop in Solamachi and found a large number of them for sale.
I believe the price was around 1,000 yen.
I remember being shocked, thinking, "Axolotls are this cheap?" (Of course, I'm sure it varies).

From there, I bought a tank, gathered the equipment, and even prepared a cooler for the summer.
Changing the water once a week was my job.
When we first got him, Upa was about 5 cm long, but by the time he passed away, he had grown to about 25 cm.
It was Upa who made me realize, "Axolotls grow this big."

He passed away on January 3rd.
Upa, who usually stayed at the bottom, had been floating at the surface for about two days, and then he passed away in the blink of an eye.

I told my child (5 years old) that he had died, and he reacted with a simple "Oh," showing no signs of being shocked, but when it came time to actually say goodbye, he cried and said, "I don't want to not be able to see Upa anymore."
It seems my son is grieving in his own way after all.

Upa was a source of comfort for me, too.
I love that indescribable, goofy face of his.
Just watching him blankly was truly healing.
When I went near the tank and called out "Upa," he (presumably) would approach and stand up as if to say, "Hmm? Is it feeding time?"

As a pet embalmer, I wondered if I could embalm Upa, but it was impossible to do so inside the tank.
I couldn't keep his remains in the tank forever, and I also hesitated to take him out, as he was a creature that lived in water.

I buried his (presumably) bones under the olive tree in our garden.
My beloved dog (Purin)'s bones are also buried there.
The olive tree is named "Hinakaze-san."

Hinakaze-san has become one with Purin, and now she will become one with Upa.
That is how Hinakaze-san continues to grow.

So I told my son, "If you come to Hinakaze-san's side, you can always see Upa."
I don't know how my 5-year-old son understood, processed, or digested this.
The next day, he said, "I'm lonely, so I want a new Upa" (bitter laugh).

Since we have a large tank, I think we will eventually welcome a new one.
But that child's name will not be "Upa."
Because our "Upa" is only him (presumably).

Even so, yeah, I'm lonely.

Postscript
On 1/23, there is a "Sharing Meeting (Bereavement of Pets)."
If there are few participants, maybe I'll talk about Upa.