On one warm summer work day I met my girlfriend for lunch as we have in the past on occasion. She parked near the front of my office building and waited for me to arrive. When I got in the van she looked dressed to impress and had a smile on her face that was so welcoming I leaned over to kiss it. After a few nice comments she told me she got me something. She reached behind the seat and grabbed this little cube, I was in amazement at the beauty of this bright shimmering blue fish inside with its cape like dorsal fin and tail. It was the first pet I've ever owned. I always wanted a betta fish but didn't ever feel like I had the knowledge to care for such a pet. I never knew they came in such a brilliant blue color which matched my car and it was the greatest gift I ever received.
I named him Chimo, the spanish version of Nemo :) I kept him on my desk at work and over the years all of my colleagues had grown to love him. They would ask me all sorts of dumb questions out of curiosity and I answered every single one with enthusiasm because I was happy in their efforts to understand his world and mine too. Shortly after I got him his little gallon cube was upgraded to a 2.5 and 3 filters later I had the best you could buy with triple stage filtration and weekly water changes, he was happy guy.
Before I left on my holiday vacation I noticed he had a few white spots near his head but I wasnt too concerned as he had this many times before and would go away after a fresh water change. When I had come back into the office from vacation I noticed he was sitting at the bottom on the gravel and that he was not eating his food. I took him home with me that day in a little travel cup and noticed how badly he had ick and maybe velvet too. He was in bad shape and I picked up the medication on the way home but only a few hours into his treatment he had alot of difficulty just staying upright and I knew I had let him down and the worst was to come. He took his last dashing attempts for oxygen and then his gills stopped moving. This was about 5 hours ago and I needed to tell my story of the greatest gift I had ever received and how he brought a smile to my face while I was stressed at work or when I was down from going through a breakup with ex, the same one that gave me him. I buried him in the backyard tonight and gave my eulogy which was a shortened version of this story. I will never forget the day I got him and the happiness he gave me, my ex, and my co-workers.
I'm sorry for letting you down buddy, RIP Chimo.
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