Fish Talk

‘Oh no, please don’t apologise. I should be apologising to the fish for not noticing them when I came in. They’re so impressive they don’t deserve to be ignored by anyone! I’ve been so sad since my husband left me that I don’t notice much around me.’ Mrs Lont looked at the lawyer and he frowned when he saw her red teary eyes.

‘Do you have fish Mrs Lont?’ he asked her to take her mind off the divorce.

‘Yes! In the village I have a small lake near my house and while I lived there I used to catch fish in the sea and take them to the lake. But at some point the lake got so full I had to stop bringing new fish because I didn’t have time to feed them all!

In the tank…

‘Look Bravado, a smile has wiped away the lady’s tears. She must’ve loved her fish a lot!’ said Artles looking at Mrs Lont.

‘Maybe if she’d loved her husband like she loved her fish, he wouldn’t have left her,’ said Bravado, proud of thinking of such a clever comment.

‘Don’t forget that some fish...I mean…humans…are selfish!’ Artles had rushed to tell him off but she’d mixed up her words so her comment went unanswered.

In the office…

‘So tell me, how did you end up designing puppets?’ asked Mr Pensatore, ‘I doubt I’ve ever met a puppet designer before.’

‘Well…I like the way they look and they’ve…enchanted me…ever since I can remember! Where there are puppets there are always people laughing. And I love making people happy so I saw puppets as a way of doing that. Hang on; I’ve got one in my bag.’ Mrs Lont looked into her bag and pulled out a long box. She opened the top and out poked a little piece of tissue paper. She unwrapped it and a puppet with gold clothes, a purple hat and pointy red shoes greeted Mr Pensatore.

‘Did you make this little guy?’

‘Yes! He’s the only one I brought with me from the village. He’s the last one I made and I brought him here to the city to buy him some new fabrics and make him some new clothes. But because of the situation with my husband I haven’t been in the mood and he’s been in his box until today. Today I took him out into the city for the first time. I took him with me to make sure the fabrics I buy match the colour of the wood he’s made of.’

‘Can you stand him up so I can see him a little better?’

‘Of course…here you go…’ she said unfolding the puppet and holding him up by the wood attached by strings to various parts of his body.

‘There are so many strings! I’ve always wondered how puppeteers manage to move them so well!’

‘It’s actually not that hard. Look, this piece of wood breaks down into three smaller pieces and they eventually re-join and each piece controls different strings. Watch, the right piece controls the right side, the left one the left side and the one in the middle controls the body and the head. Remarkable isn’t it?’

‘It’s like magic…’ whispered Mr Pensatore who had was now so mesmerised by the puppet he had forgotten about the last little egg. And he wasn’t the only one engrossed in the puppet.

In the tank…

‘Bravado!’ exclaimed Artles.

‘Yes my dear?’ he replied.

‘Look at our little one!’

‘Yes, I can see. You’re teaching them to swim, they’re doing really well.’

‘Not them…there…the last one has hatched,’ Bravado turned his gaze to the egg and shook his head in surprise when he saw the egg was empty.

‘But…Where is he?’ he asked Artles.

‘Don’t move,’ she told him, ‘he’s on your tail.’

‘On my tail?’ said Bravado and he arched his body to see.

The little one was also entranced by the puppet. He wasn’t paying attention to anything else. He hadn’t even noticed his mother. He stood still, staring at the puppet. Mr Pensatore was holding it now and Mrs Lont was trying to show him how to move it.

‘Look Artles…’

The little one was moving his fins, his body, his tail and his face, exactly like the puppet. He was copying it so precisely that Bravado looked above him to see if he had puppet strings as well.

‘Oh! Look! Look at that little fish Mr Pensatore!’

‘Yes, they’ve all hatched now,’ said the lawyer not taking his attention away from the puppet.

‘Stop moving the puppet and look.’

‘OK, OK, I’ve stopped.’

‘Shh…. Look at the little fish in the tank.’

‘I see it. It’s not moving. What’s so special about that Mrs Lont? Didn’t the fish in your lake ever stand still?’

‘Keep your eyes on him and move the puppets hand.’

‘Alright.’ said the lawyer and pulled the corresponding string.

The little fish immediately moved his fin.

‘Did you see that!? Move it again!’

But before Mr Pensatore could move the puppet again Bravado ran over and took the little fish in his arms, saying to Artles:

‘I promised our little ones while they were still in their eggs, that I’d never leave them unprotected. And I’m not going to let these humans make fun them either.’

‘But Bravado you know very well that Mr Pensatore would never ever harm any of our children!’

‘Yes but you saw for yourself Artles,’ he whispered as he ushered the little ones towards her, ‘this little one is special.’

‘Do you mean in an artistic way?’

‘Shh, don’t speak too loud, he mustn’t know and neither should his brothers and sisters.’

‘Fine honey…if you say so.’

‘But I’m telling you Mr Pensatore! That little fish was copying the puppet’s movements!’

‘I’m sure you must’ve been confused. Maybe the reflection of the puppet on the tank tricked you and you thought it was the fish that was moving. And you’re quite upset today which doesn’t help either.’

‘Well…OK…I’m going to go now and I’ll book another appointment with you about my divorce, but I’m going to leave my puppet here so please, investigate it for yourself, and keep an eye on that playful little fish.’ said Mrs Lont tying her belt around her coat and walking towards the door. ‘Goodbye Mr Pensatore!’

‘Goodbye Mrs Lont, I’ll expect your call! Oh how rude of me, I didn’t even open the door for her, he said to himself as the door closed and he was left in silence looking from the puppet to the fish. ‘Ah… I’ll not give any more thought to this today, it’s been a long day for the fish, I’ll let them rest and maybe look into it tomorrow,’ he said and wrapped the strings around the puppet and left it on his desk. He looked at the clock and as it was already midday he left for home so the fish could have some time to themselves.