![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cmk418For the flash prompt "goldfish" at ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
1_million_words
Pre-series & Season 5
Rated G
For her fourth birthday, Toby and Genevieve had purchased a goldfish for Holly. The little girl would sit for hours watching her pet swim around in a tank that held less than a gallon of water. She’d given it the very original name of “Goldie”. Every day she would ask him questions about the fish.
“Do you think Goldie likes her tank?”
“I think she thinks it’s the best tank in the world.”
“Can we get her a friend?”
“I don’t know, Holly. Some fish don’t play well with others.”
“I think she might be lonely.”
“She has her bestest friend in the world.”
“Who’s that?”
“You, silly.”
“Yes. I just wish I could touch her and play with her.”
“That would hurt her, sweetheart.”
“Can I give her a little more food?”
“Just a pinch. You’ve got to ration out the food. Not too much. Not too little.”
“Do you think it tastes good?”
“Maybe to Goldie, but not to us.”
Then, one day, Holly started screaming and wouldn’t stop. Toby ran to her side. “What’s wrong?”
He followed her gaze and saw that the fish tank was empty.
“Where’s Goldie?”
“I just wanted to… for just a minute…” Holly said between sobs. She uncurled her hand and in it was the fish.
“Oh,” said Toby. “Can I see?” He took the fish and put it in the bowl. It rose immediately to the top of the tank. He sat with his daughter and had a long talk with her about life and death. He had her decorate a small box. They placed Goldie in it and buried her in the backyard.
He hadn’t thought about that for years, but now, on the eve of his parole, after five years in this fishbowl called Oz, he wondered how he would fare. Could he survive taking his first breaths of freedom or would he go belly up?
1_million_wordsPre-series & Season 5
Rated G
For her fourth birthday, Toby and Genevieve had purchased a goldfish for Holly. The little girl would sit for hours watching her pet swim around in a tank that held less than a gallon of water. She’d given it the very original name of “Goldie”. Every day she would ask him questions about the fish.
“Do you think Goldie likes her tank?”
“I think she thinks it’s the best tank in the world.”
“Can we get her a friend?”
“I don’t know, Holly. Some fish don’t play well with others.”
“I think she might be lonely.”
“She has her bestest friend in the world.”
“Who’s that?”
“You, silly.”
“Yes. I just wish I could touch her and play with her.”
“That would hurt her, sweetheart.”
“Can I give her a little more food?”
“Just a pinch. You’ve got to ration out the food. Not too much. Not too little.”
“Do you think it tastes good?”
“Maybe to Goldie, but not to us.”
Then, one day, Holly started screaming and wouldn’t stop. Toby ran to her side. “What’s wrong?”
He followed her gaze and saw that the fish tank was empty.
“Where’s Goldie?”
“I just wanted to… for just a minute…” Holly said between sobs. She uncurled her hand and in it was the fish.
“Oh,” said Toby. “Can I see?” He took the fish and put it in the bowl. It rose immediately to the top of the tank. He sat with his daughter and had a long talk with her about life and death. He had her decorate a small box. They placed Goldie in it and buried her in the backyard.
He hadn’t thought about that for years, but now, on the eve of his parole, after five years in this fishbowl called Oz, he wondered how he would fare. Could he survive taking his first breaths of freedom or would he go belly up?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2019-08-03 10:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-08-03 06:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-08-03 09:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-08-04 04:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-08-05 06:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-08-21 06:20 pm (UTC)(And, my goodness, what a lot of Oz you've been writing lately! So nice to see!)
no subject
Date: 2019-08-21 11:38 pm (UTC)I think I've used the "goldfish bowl" analogy enough with Oz and particularly EmCity that the prompt just naturally called Oz to mind.
Glad you enjoyed it! (And it's nice to see you back!)