[SS] Galaxy Seller #Shirokuma Literature Club

"Galaxy Seller"

I stop in my tracks, drawn by the sign.
I know I shouldn't get close, that I should just pretend I didn't see it and walk on by, but I tell myself, "I'm just looking," and step into the shop.
Once I've seen it, there's no turning back.
I bought a "Galaxy."

Silver Hikari Longfin
Commonly known as "Galaxy," it is a beautiful medaka (rice fish) with a pearl-blue body and long yellow fins.

Leaving the shop, I call my company to say I'm leaving early due to feeling unwell, and head straight to an aquarium shop.

At the shop I haven't visited in a while, the manager greets me with a complicated expression as I hold the bag containing the "Galaxy." He knows all too well about the trouble from a year ago.

***
Several years ago, I, who had lived my life without any particular hobbies, suddenly became obsessed with raising medaka.

Starting with the classic Miyuki medaka, the vermilion Youkihi, and the black Orochi, my tanks multiplied every time I acquired new varieties like the Hikari type or albinos. I grew aquatic plants, changed the water, set up tanks, and uploaded videos of the medaka swimming beautifully. By the time I was selling the eggs and extra plants online and posting care guides on social media, I was completely hooked.

My girlfriend, whom I'd been with since my student days and with whom talk of marriage had become concrete, laughed about it at first.

"It's rare to see you get so obsessed with something."
"I wonder if our future kids will be animal lovers too."

But as the tanks increased until there was no room to sleep, and my weekends were entirely consumed by the medaka, we began to fight constantly. When I started skipping work frequently for the sake of the fish, she issued an ultimatum.

After discussions involving both our parents, I decided to let go of all my tanks.

Once the tanks were gone, my obsession vanished just as easily. "Why was I so obsessed?"

From then on, I worked diligently and spent my weekends with her. She began to smile more often, and seeing her happily talk about wedding venues and rings filled my heart with affection.
"Ah, this is how it should be."

When she entered the room and saw the tank, she stood frozen, a silent scream caught in her throat. That very night, she packed her bags and left. Despite our long history, she didn't say a word, nor did she meet my eyes.

In the room now shared only by me and the "Galaxy," I have been lying down for hours, staring at the tank. Staring at those round eyes that don't look at me, and those shimmering, swaying fins, over and over again.
My heart is somewhere far away, lonely and calm.

End

*I am participating here.