Chapter 1
“Sometimes, Gary, I wish I was a butterfly.” I watched as the little insect fluttered away. Gary didn’t respond to my confession. Not because he is ill-mannered or upset with me. Gary didn’t respond, because he is a fish.
He is my closest companion, and yes, I do talk to him. Out loud. Yes I think he understands me, and no, I am not a lunatic. I have had him for as long as I can remember. I don’t know what type of fish he is, or what exactly his lifespan is, but I think he must be very old in fish years.
Today I have brought him out to the garden with me. Or at least, somebody brought him here per my request. (I am a princess; I do not carry things.) I broke a few crumbs from the ginger snap cookie I was eating and dropped them into his bowl. They drifted about halfway down before he gobbled them up. He swam around in tight circles, his way of asking for more.
“No more Gary! You will get a stomach ache if you eat too much.”
Ginger snaps are his favorite. He would eat every crumb that I dropped into the water, even if his little belly was full to the brim. I had to be the adult here, I ate the rest of the cookie.
The sun reflected on his scales, shimmering green and hints of silver and gold. He swam to the opposite side of the glass bowl, looking towards the wood. Lately, he always seemed to be staring towards the wall of trees that bordered on the castle grounds. Perhaps, he felt the same as me.
Bored of the same rooms, and the same gardens. Maybe he felt that strange tug towards the woods as well.
