A reflective fable about familiar routines, loss and a remembered gesture.
The koi knew the pond’s morning shadows, the stones beneath the water and the empty bench at its edge. Then an old man began sitting there. At first he hardly looked at the fish, but he returned the next day, and the day after that.
Each morning, the old man sat on the bench a little longer. The koi began approaching the shadow he cast on the water, while he remained absorbed in thoughts of his own. Familiarity grew before either seemed to notice it.
Gradually, the old man began watching the fish instead of staring past them. With the pond keeper’s permission, he brought a few koi pellets. Before feeding, he always traced a small circle in the air above the water. His son, when he visited, smiled at the familiar gesture.
The fish learned the routine and gathered beneath the bench when the old man arrived. He stayed long after feeding, talking softly about his day. He asked no answers of them, and the quiet company seemed to suit him.
As the years passed, the old man grew frail, and his visits to the pond became less frequent. But the koi never forgot their friend, and they continued to wait for him, hoping that he would return.
One day, the old man didn't come back. The koi swam around the pond, searching for him, but he was nowhere to be found. Days turned into weeks, and the koi grew sad and listless, missing their friend.
Then, one day, the old man's son appeared by the pond. He sat on the bench where his father had sat, and the koi swam up to him, eager for attention. The old man's son watched the fish for a while, smiling at their playful antics.
Then the koi began circling beneath the bench, following the same slow route they had taken during his father’s visits. The son remembered the little circle his father had traced in the air. For a moment, the old routine felt close enough to touch.
The son sat until the light shifted across the water. On his next visit, he brought a few pellets and traced his father’s small circle in the air. The fish gathered below. The bench was no longer empty.
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