M I A

My neighbors upstairs have been away this past week – they left me in charge of their charges while they were gone.  We’ve gotten along swimmingly, these charges and I (for the most part).  Well… maybe not exactly swimmingly, the actual swimmer in the house has been missing in action for a few days.

Steve, the swimmer, has a weird sense of humor – even for a fish.  He (and his buddy George the mystery snail) thought it might be fun to do a disappearing act on the first night of my commitment.  Both were totally MIA when I went up to feed them.  I scoured the attractive aquarium they call home and found not a trace of life among the plastic plants and pebbles.  I immediately alerted their landlord and was told not to worry – apparently Steve and George frequently play hide and seek.  

Thankfully the boys reappeared the next morning and everyone could breathe a sigh of relief. 

The next night only George showed up for supper.  I wasn’t going to fall prey to Steve’s practical joke two days in a row so I didn’t bother to look for him. 

I became a little more concerned the following night when once again George was my only customer for dinner.  After a very close inspection I found Steve tucked between two pebbles on the floor of the aquarium.  Unsure if he was actually breathing I looked around for something I could poke him with.  He rose out of the depths in all his finny glory before I could decide what to use to do the poking.

I’d been warned Steve had been under the weather lately and shown where the fishnet was located in the event the worst should come to pass.  I assured his concerned parents I was a confident and experienced fish sitter and Steve would be safe in my capable hands.  

It turns out I may have lied.

It’s been seventy-two hours since that last sighting and I’m starting to fear the worst may have actually come to pass. I have no idea what could have happened to Steve – is he dead or merely in hiding?  There was only one witness when the disappearance occurred and George isn’t talking.

Steve’s parents come home tonight….