19. Once there was a boy at camp who loved fish.

(Read in Turkish and/or Spanish)

Once there was a boy at camp who loved fish. Boys are not allowed at their camp, but this boy was somebody’s younger brother, and for some reason, he got allowed to stay. He would follow their mom around all day whenever she would let him because he fell a little bit in love with her, even though he must have only been eleven or twelve. This was all a long time ago, before Amy and Zoe were born.

The boy was always talking about his aquarium at home and all the exotic fish he had. He always did his homework fast so he could take care of his fish. He cleaned the tank a lot and watched them and played them different kinds of music.

One day when he became a teenager he committed suicide. Their mom says it proves he didn’t know what he was doing that he shot himself in front of the aquarium, breaking the glass, and spilling all the fish out. Their mom says he didn’t die right away. His parents came running into the room when they heard the gunshot and found him lying on the floor in saltwater, blood, flopping fish, and broken glass. He was saying, shit, shit, shit, like that, over and over, and then he died.

Their dad doesn’t like for their mom to say bad words to them because he says they’re too young, but their mom says that’s just the way the world is, she didn’t make the words up.

She says suicide is the most selfish thing you can do, and to never do it.