By Cindy Hossain
We hadn’t long moved in; this was our first Christmas in the new house. Brian and Sue gifted us with a chocolate hamper because they thought it was the “neighbourly thing to do”, but also because they intended to use it as bribery. We were obliged to agree to it.
“It’s only for two days they said,” waving out the car window as they drove off.
All we had to do was keep their fish alive until they returned. The tank appeared to house every finned species alive. Their energy and excitement seemed to decline with every meal; at the last scheduled feed we found every last one of them lifeless on the gravelled glass bottom. Brian and Sue omitted to tell us to switch the heater plug on for the tropical creatures. We have fifty-two fish souls on our hands. The realtor listed the house on the market yesterday.
Cindy Hossain was born and raised in the Free State Province, South Africa. She emigrated to Manchester, United Kingdom in 2006 where she now raises her beautiful young family whilst doing a degree in English Literature and Creative Writing. She is an enthusiastic reader and writer of micro prose, and believes little stories sometimes deliver the biggest punch.
The Birdseed 