[ WP ] A normal family goes about their normal lives in a very normal way . You are the family 's goldfish/pet . `` What is normal ? ''

I go around, around and around. The night is warm and shows no sign of letting up soon, but I've awoken anyway. Another lap around the area, and I finally pause, searching quietly for food, finding nothing in the midst of the native, neon-colored flora, dimmed by the darkness. 
 
 When I was younger, there was often light. I would wake up to brightness, blinding for a moment until my eyes could adjust. The sounds, oh the sounds; I still hear them in my memories, sometimes, their intensity and pure joy. I would dance in the light, dance to the sounds, and dance for the gods. They would smile upon me, and I would often find food after I performed. I pleased them, and in their benevolence I was blessed. If others of my species came near my territory, I would do my best to selfishly scare them away, wanting to keep the gods' favor for myself; I wish I had n't, as it's so terribly lonely in the darkness. 
 
 As time passed, I noticed that the light would come less and less. There were fewer smiles, and it seemed as though many of the gods had forgotten me, leaving one who did n't care about me as much as she had before. I would move for her, finally resigning myself to using the hours of daylight to simply searching for her attention once more. The night grew even longer, seeming to last for days, and food became scarce. I could hear the noises, but where they were once so joyful, they had become flatter and farther away. 
 
 It's almost always night, now. The heat, once released during the daylight, has become unbearable. The waterfalls, once a place to frolic with glee, are now sometimes painful. Sometimes, I get a few hours of brightness to dance for my god, though I think she turns from me almost as soon as she looks. It's not hard to ignore me, for I am small and I'm sure they have greater things to which they must attend, but what I would n't give for them to just prove to me that I mean something. 
 
 Quietly, I sink to the ground, past the native plants that swallow me whole. Perhaps I can sleep, and gain a reprieve from this hell I once called paradise. Perhaps I can dream of those days again... 
 
 *** 
 
 The girl picked up the blanket covering her fish tank, waiting for the colorful betta to dance in front of her again. The water quietly cascaded from the filter as she stood there for a moment, which stretched into minutes. 
 
 `` Mom? Have you seen my fish?'' 
 
 `` No. Why would I? He's your responsibility.'' The girl shrugged, peering through the glass once more. Finally, she saw the red of his body, resting in the silk plants she had bought and smiled, opening the lid to sprinkle food. 
 
 He did n't come for it. He did n't dance for her, and it only took a second for her mind to reach the logical conclusion. Grabbing the net from next to his tank, she reached in, catching him with ease. His eye, silvery with the taint of death, stared at her accusingly. 
 
 Her mom found her a few minutes later, emptying the tank. 
 
 `` Got too busy, I take it?'' 
 
 `` Yeah,'' the girl replied, her expression rather solemn. Her mom smiled, sympathetically amused, before stepping into her daughter's room. 
 
 `` Do n't worry about it. It was just a fish.'' 
 
 `` Yeah, you're right. Just a fish.''
