Nobody had known weather this severe before. Everyhing froze where it was. Nobody and nothing

could move. The only noticable movement was in the snow which dangled and settled in the hollow

city. The parklands seemed devestated by it's emptiness. So much effort had gone into todays

preformance.

It seemed like something conjured from a child's dream. The pond, pristine and frozen,

looked like a set stage. Reeds, cold-snapped to attention, framed the stage and served to focus the

audience on it but of course there was no audience. Light, filtered through the trees, was projected

against the ice distorting it's usual dappled pattern to a rich, pale glow or so it must have seemed to

any below it.

Kai, as he was known to Miss Kujiradou's class, was a rather unusual fish. He was as large

as a goldfish, if not larger. He was by no means gold but glimmered a thousand different shades of

blue.His top fin was quite remarkable but that was the only one. No one was sure of his origin or how

he found himself in the pond at all. The pond was always the most popular attraction during the visits

to the park made by Miss Kujiradou's class. Everybody longed to catch a glimpse of Kai. Any reports

of him always made Miss Kujiradou smile.

One day Kai found himself in unusually cold waters. In fact, as he scouted his pond, he felt

he might be nibbled away by it. Surley that is what must have happened to his family and friends for

they were nowhere to be found. It must also have finished off his food for as the day wore on he

became very hungry.

As the day tumbled on Kai continued to search the pond for his friends. The icy-black depths

were so continuous it was impossible to tell how many times he had circled the pond if at all. Even

the oddly glowing surface was left unblemished, like a pale new moon.

It was only later on in the day, for a brief moment, the monotony was broken. Variations of

grey and black skirted the edges of the surface. Kai could not help but dart so far p his top fin

grazed the ice. He could feel the disturbance in it but soon they were gone once again and loneliness

rushed over and enveloped him, like a concerned friend.

It was now even later in the day and Kai noticed the light from the surface was waning. He

floated up to it and begged it not to go. As the light continued to retreat the cold began to advance.

Eventually the light was gone and the cold consumed him.

He woke the next day feeling like some part of him was missing. He flicked his tail fin but

with some pain. He hastily found some water weed and settled there. He had no intention to move.

Later that day the shadows came back but Kai, deplinished by both cold and hunger, made no

attempt to greet them.

I remember, as a young girl, being told a tale of Japanese origin. I can't remember who told

me or where I heard it.

Fish, renowned for their short memories, upon death soon forget they are dead. The soul tries

to continue it's ascent to the heavens but cannot escape the confines of it's physical body and so you

will find every recently dead fish. In turmoil with both physical and other worlds.