I miss my friend 🐟

This summer, my pet betta fish died. For a while I was trying to get him better from his sickness, doing as much as I could. But the extreme heat was making his health worse. (I don't have AC)

One day, he just seemed better. By a lot. So I dialed back on his treatment. Maybe a few days go by, then one super hot night, I forget to turn off his light. Someone got me out of my bedroom and told me: "Something seems off with your fish. He isn't moving at all."

And when I rushed over, he was dead on top of his plant. I tried to see if maybe he was just sleeping, but no. I immediately scooped him out of the water, then tried to lightly press on him to see if he would move, just in case.

I just held him in the palm of my hand. I felt devastated...

It was nearly midnight. And I just put on some shoes, grabbed my flashlight and took him with me in a little paper towel. Then went to my shared yard and buried him in the dirt. I was crying and trying to say some final words. But, I had to wrap it up quickly, because I heard footsteps nearby.

I miss seeing him everyday hiding behind something and then swimming out when he saw me coming. Wiggling wildly too. He would happily nab up the little bug bites, that he enjoyed more than any of the foods I gave him.

He was my friend. And he deserved better than me. I never felt like an adequate pet fish owner.