Losing a relative is an awful, traumatic experience to go through. Losing a pet can sometimes be even worse. You bond with them. They're your shoulder/paw/fin to lean on when you're sad. Even if they have no say, they're our emotional support and we love them. I'm here to say that a great member of room 103 has passed this past week, our beautiful bouncing baby betta fish, Neptune. I wrote him a letter to help me deal with my grief. So this goes out to you little buddy. I hope you're thriving in fish heaven.

Neptune,

You were the best fish I ever had. I mean, I've never had a fish before so I have nothing to compare the experience to but that's beside the point. We only had you for two weeks but in that short time, we created a special bond. You taught me so much like how to not bang on the desk where your bowl was or you would get really scared and swim around in circles really fast. You also taught me responsibility like no other. Remember when we first brought you home? My roommate put you on the fridge and you almost froze to death. Boy, did we freak out when you stopped moving. It turned out okay though. We quickly realized that you stopped moving and weren't eating and we moved you to a warmer spot. You had a fast recovery and everything was fine. Our ignorance almost seems comical now. Another experience that can only be shared by a benevolent owner and her fish is the gift of song. I remember, my roommates and I would come home after a long hard day of class. We would pull out our guitars and sing a few ditties. You would bang your head against the glass. Most people would think that you were trying to swim away from us but we knew deep inside that was your way of saying you wanted to join us.

I want to formally apologize for both the times we cleaned your tank. You would get so mad when we put you in that cup while we were cleaning it. I hope you know that we didn't mean any harm. You were living in your own filth and well, that's disgusting. We always had your best interest in mind.

You were so full of life and ambition up until the very end. I respected that about you. And although we had our squabbles, we always apologized and hugged it out after. I'm going to miss saying hi to you every morning and reading you your bedtime story every night. Just know that we will never forget you. We love you and rest in peace in the pipes little buddy. You deserve it.

With love,

Your Parents <3