The Fish in the Puddle – A Gentle Story About Finding Meaning in Unexpected Places
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I almost stepped on it. A shallow puddle by the curb, leftover from last night’s storm, shimmered in the morning light. And there, flickering just beneath the surface, was a fish. A real one. Small, silver, and terribly out of place.
At first, I thought my tired eyes were playing tricks. But no, it darted, spun, and paused again, its tail stirring the muddy water like it belonged.
The Last Place You’d Expect
It didn’t make sense. There was no pond nearby. Just concrete, cracked sidewalks, and litter from the weekend’s rain. I crouched down, coffee in hand, suddenly wide awake.
How did it get here?
A child’s pet dumped? A survivor from an overflowing storm drain? No way to know. But there it was, alive, moving, insisting on being noticed.
People passed without seeing. Dogs pulled on leashes. Cars splashed past, and still the fish swam, or tried to. It looked absurd. And yet, something about it stopped me cold.
Staying Still, Seeing More
I stood there for almost ten minutes, watching that fish in its inch-deep universe. And the longer I looked, the more I saw.
There was beauty in its persistence. In the glimmer of light on its back. In how it navigated that tiny world with instinct, not panic.
I thought of all the places I’d dismissed old jobs, small towns, awkward phases of life, as meaningless or unremarkable.
But that fish, absurd as it was, reminded me that sometimes life shows up where you least expect it. That growth, survival, even beauty, can exist in the cracks. In forgotten corners. In puddles.
Helping It Move On
Eventually, I couldn’t just walk away.
I grabbed an empty takeout container from a nearby trash can, rinsed it in a spout of clean water from the park fountain, and gently scooped the fish inside. I carried it a few blocks to the small drainage pond behind the library, the only proper body of water I knew nearby.
When I let it go, it disappeared almost instantly, swallowed up by reeds and light. But I didn’t feel sad. I felt strangely hopeful.
Sometimes, the smallest encounters can shift something deep inside you.
Nadeera Nilupamali
Nadeera Nilupamali
. 300 Stories
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