Ale started talking a lot. He often expressed small protests. I was grateful that God gave him the freedom to think and express his opinions as early as possible. Mischievous behavior of young children was also not uncommon in all his playfulness. We told each other many stories, about success, failure, and the spirit of never giving up. Even though Ale didn’t have many life experiences yet, he started telling stories about everything he experienced. About his encounters with insects and worms in the backyard. About the banana leaves he used as toys. He described in detail what happened and what he felt. Ale was smart enough to describe something.
At his age, which did not fill my hand, Ale began to have pets. He chose to raise ornamental fish that were commonly sold in front of the school near our house.
Why fish, son?
Ale fell in love with the colors and resilience of fish. Fish never cried out to go out for a walk. They always accepted their lives.
How do you know?
I saw it behind our mini aquarium. The mini aquarium came from his mother’s unused glass teapot, without an oxygen pump, I just added some plants on top to beautify the makeshift aquarium. Ale cherished it so much. Almost every day, he never missed cleaning the aquarium.
One day, a friend of his mother came to visit. The typical excitement of young mothers adorned her way of appreciating Ale’s ornamental fish. Ale just silently watched every movement of his mother’s friend’s lips. Until it came to a conversation that made Ale restless and uneasy.
“What kind of ornamental fish is this, it probably won’t last long either. How much did you buy it for? Only five thousand, right? In front of that elementary school, right?”