Bob
“Steve! What do you think about some ice cream for all? Would you go to the supermarket and buy some?” My mother always asked me to go. I didn´t know why, but I think she wanted me to leave the house so she could be alone with her new husband - Clement. He was born in France and she always told everyone how romantic this guy was. I could puke. But because I didn´t want to see what they were going to do I left. “Ok mom. I´ll return a bit later. I´d like to visit old Henry.” So I grabbed the money I had got from an old lady for carrying her bags, went outside into the hot summer sun and started my way down to old Henry. Henry was the owner of this little pet shop at the end of Corner Avenue. I liked this shop a lot, because it wasn´t one of those loud and kind of strange smelling shops. I also liked Henry, because he was gentle, smart, funny and loving - like I imagined a grandfather at this time of my life. Some minutes before I reached the store, I decided to buy the ice cream at first. So I turned into Market Street and walked straight to the supermarket. It was one of these shopping centers they were building all over America. “Bigger, better, Burket Mall” was written above the entrance. And they meant what they said. You could buy everything. I mean really everything. Ice cream, car wheels, little cute puppies or even constrictor snakes, if you like it exotic. After finishing my – or better said my mother’s shopping- I walked back to old Henry´s store. When I opened the door and entered the shop I thought I got the wrong house. The whole room was full of cardboard boxes and I wasn´t able to see even one animal. No rabbits, no bird, no fish – only cardboard. “Hello?” I asked into the mountain of boxes.” Henry? Are you somewhere?” At first everything stayed quiet but then I saw a movement next to the pay desk. “I´m sorry but we have closed! You can see the chaos”, a voice without a body called through the room. Then I could discover Henry´s head and he also saw me. “Oh! It´s you Steve. How are you?” he asked me with his deep voice. “I´m fine but what are you doing? Where are all the animals?”I couldn´t understand what was happening. He sighed and channeled a way to me. His big hand laid on my shoulder and he sat down on top of a box, so he could look into my eyes. “I have to close the store, Steve. I don´t like it but I have no choice. Almost all of my customers are buying her stuff at the mall now. I can´t pay everything I have to anymore. I sold the animals to other shops. Only old Bob still stays here. Tomorrow I move to another town.”Bob was a goldfish. He never got sold. No idea why. I shook my head and stared into his brown eyes. “No…That´s not fair. Your shop is way better than any animal shop in the mall can ever be. You can´t leave me behind. You are my friend. What shall I do? No, no, no, no. You cannot leave. That is so unfair!” I felt some tears running down my face. “Oh Steve…don´t cry. You aren´t a little child anymore. Do you remember? You told me a week ago. On your tenth birthday.” He smiled at me and I stopped crying. “But what if I am not able to forget the shop and I miss you?” He sighed again with a smile on his lips. “Steve…You are a young boy and life will have a lot of turns. This is one turn. Don´t try to forget something you lose. Keep it in your heart and it will never leave you behind. Maybe you don´t understand the tattle of an old man like me but I´m sure you know what I mean someday.” He got up from the box and watched me. I thought about his words and understood this nonsense very well. He lied at me. Then, I got this idea. “Let me buy Bob. I have some money.” I showed him the remain of my money. His look was kind of confused. “Well, you can buy him but I think your mother gave you the money for something…” “No!” I interrupted him. “It is my own. You take my money and the fish is mine. Ok?” I put it in his hand. At first he looked as if he wanted to say “no” but he agreed after a minute or less. Bob and I left the store and my mind had only one thought. “Bob is mine. Only for me. No other person has the right to see or even touch him.” It was quite late when I returned home but I didn´t care. I also didn´t give a damn on the melted ice cream.
