I'll Be Your Hero (Nathan Sykes)

Summer of Bubbles

Now its July. I've been doing the journal almost every day. If my day consisted of sleeping or something boring like that, I would make a note the next day, I didn't want to bore Nathan. But if I did something like go to the beach or a lake or something fun, I would write about it and usually include a picture.

During the second week of July, there was the annual summer fair and I, of course, went. My dad and I went together and we had tons of fun. At the fair they had tons of rides, food, and games.

My dad had gone off to get us ice cream and I was left to sit on a bench in the ocean of carnival games. I had a bit of money on me so I decided to give a game a shot. I walked up to the nearest booth and see that it was a game of luck.

I paid the booth worker and chose my duck from the small pool. I looked at the bottom and saw it had a small red fish drawing on it done in sharpie.

"Congrats," the tall, scruffy man at the booth said taking my duck and handing me a small plastic bag. Inside the bag was a tiny orange goldfish. I gasped in excitement, but soon stifled my cheers because I was getting looks not only from the people around me but also from the guy at the booth.

"Thank you," I said being polite and walked back to the bench to see my dad eating an already half-gone vanilla cone. He was holding another dripping cone, this one chocolate, in his other hand. I came up to him and sat down next to him on the bench. I set my new little friend in between us and took my cone from his big sticky hand.

I dove into the already melting cone without uttering a word. After my dad finished his cone, he asked, "Who's this little fella?" gesturing to my fish.

"I won him from a carnival game," I said between licks. I looked down at the little goldfish swimming in the small bag.

I named the goldfish Bubbles and he became my friend for the summer. I got him a small bowl to inhabit and put him up in the tree house. Now if my life was a bit boring I would just write about Bubbles.

Over the summer, Bubbles kept me company. I would go up to the tree house every morning and say 'Hi' to him and feed him. He kept me entertained even though all he could do was swim around the small bowl he lived in.

Pictures of him soon found their way to the memory wall, along with some of the numerous photos I took for my journal. I didn't put these near the center of the memory wall where all the other pictures were though. I put these up on the edges in a corner I had specially designated for them. They were memories, but the ones I wanted to remember almost always included Nathan.

One humid late-August day, I made my morning trek out to my backyard and up into my tree house to feed Bubbles. When I got to his bowl, I knew that he wasn't okay. I knelt by his bowl and picked it up to examine him. His fins weren't gently circling through the water anymore. His eyes were glossed over and he would jiggle around in the water as I moved the bowl.

I soon came to the sad realization that Bubbles, my little buddy of only a few weeks, was dead.

I decided that it was only fit that I had a small, yet memorable, funeral service for the little guy. I paced a few feet from the tree with the tree house in it and scooped up a small mound of dry soil. I set Bubbles, still in his fish bowl, behind the small grave. I sat on my knees in front of the grave, setting my 'My Summer' notebook to the side, and began the service.

"Bubbles," I said, my voice cracking. "Though I only knew you but a few short weeks, we bonded this summer. You kept me entertained and gave me something to write to Nathan about. I will miss you very much." I gave a moment of silence then gently drained the water from Bubbles's bowl into the dry earth where he was soon after buried.

I put a small stone which I carved a fish into on top of his grave. I let a small tear escape from my eyes. I never knew that I'd get so attached to him. Then, I took a picture for Nathan and started writing:

'Dear Nathan,

Bubbles died today. I know you didn't get to meet him but he was sort of your stand-in this summer. I wish you could have seen him, but I will show you all the pictures I took of him this summer.

I had a small service in his honor and a picture of his grave site is below. Rest in peace Bubbles.'

A/N - Hey everyone! I'm sorry this chapter was short and sort-of a filler. When I wrote this, it wasn't my best writing day. I may have a surprise up my sleeve for you tomorrow, maybe. Hope you guys are liking it so far!

Please feel free to tell me what you think in the comments below! Vote, comment, share! :) Thank for reading! - Cassie