A man walking near a pond notices a fish who seems to have made his way onto shore.

The fish is helplessly flipping flopping around the bank, obviously distressed. As the man is sincere, he takes the time to approach the fish, and politely caresses the fish as he places it back into the water. The fish could have very well made his own way back to water, given that his flips and flops were orchestrated as such. But the man felt empowered, using his abilities to help a fellow life form in need. As these ideas sparked in his mind, he turned to stand and continue to his previously aimed destination. He got as far as the first step, just enough to redirect his attention, when this same fish comes flying headfirst in a trajectory heading straight back for land. Flipping, flopping. istress.

The man has already determined to assist this fish, and so he tosses him back into the pond. !"tubborn fish! he thinks. !#ow go on home.! he states, as the fish splashes in. As if the fish was jet$propelled, it shot right back out onto land. Flipping, flopping. istress.

As the mans patience begins to fade, he goes toward the fish, eyebrows s%uished, in an attempt to save him a third time. !This fish doesnt know whats good for him&! he mutters. 'et before the sentence could leave his mouth, he watches as the fish flounders right back into the water. !(aybe he does&! the man thinks. Feeling empowered again, the man does. This time not for saving the fish, but because the fish saved its self. )iberation always strikes strong emotions, and so he was happy for the fish. But the bewildering e*perience was not over. +ut ,oomed the fish from the water-s surface, looking almost determined for the land. As it lands, it begins its routine dance.. Flipping, flopping. istress.

The man is absolutely perple*ed. .s something forcing this fish out of the water/ "urely not. "o the man brings the fish to the water again. And again. And again. Flipping, flopping. istress.

This damn fish must really want to be on land 0meaning it wants to be distressed1& This is more than a coincidence that it keeps flying out of water. "urely by now it knows that it cannot survive outside of the water, yet it persists to be on land. !2hat would possess this fish to do such a thing/! the man wonders. !.t knows it cannot breathe out of water, yet it is so determined to jump out of the water where it then becomes distressed&!

! oes it have a death wish/! ! oes it think it can survive on land/! !.s the water of bad %uality and thats why he makes himself distresssed/! The man, now absolutely absorbed with the fish-s dilemma, racks his brain with %uestions such as these. He spends the whole afternoon by the pond bank, foolishly placing the fish into the water, just to watch it pop rightback out. +ver and over again. A few times the fish stayed in the water longer than usual, and the man-s Hope would build, that the fish will finally stay where it belongs. And a few times the man was convinced, yet before he would leave, the fish would shatter his hopes and end up right back on land, utterly distressed. 3eople walking by to see this charade smirked and snickered as they watch this spa,stic man hunched over trying to grab a fish. !4ettin all worked up over a stupid fish! a passerby thinks. !5ust let the fish die&! another onlooker thinks. !How could this man spend all his time worried about a fish that isnt even worried about its self. +bviously it wants to die, or it would not be putting its self onto the land like that.! The man had love for this fish. #o other reason would e*plain his persistence in assistance. 6vening came and passed, as night began its cycle. The man held strong, yet he was unsure how long he could manage helping this fish stuck in this vicious cycle. He tried throwing food into the water, in hopes of distracting the fish from his curiousity with the land. Fail. He tried yelling at the fish with pointed fingers and foot stomps, but . dont think the fish understood him. Fail. He finally tried praying with all his might, for the fish to decide to stay in water. But the fish-s fins contained more might, and relentlessly led the fish back to land. Fail. As morning crept up, the sun began to peek over the hori,on. 6arly morning joggers were the only ones to be found around. The man looks as if he has aged a year, over the past twelve hours, due to the frustration and perple*ity of his stubborn friend. The fish is starting to stay underwater longer, but still flops onto land over time. elusional and deprived, he tells himself he will help the fish one last time. "urely he cannot dedicate the rest of his life to the suicidal fish, hes got plans and dreams of his own. He decides he will throw the fish in the water one last time, with as strongest intention of love and well$being as he could muster, and turn his back. He will finally walk away from the fish, whether it decides to jump out again or finally %uit its shinanigans and go on to bigger, better things in its underwater haven. The man decides to cease acting for the fish, and leaves the fish to its own fate. He knows he cannot look back, for if the fish did in fact jump out again, its life was almost certainly over, and he would be watching suicide take place. The man will never know the fate of that fish. However, he did know that if he hadnt showed up at first instances, the fish would most definitely be dead by now. He did what he could to treat the fish, more than any average person would. "o he walks on home, neither in defeat nor in success, for the fate of the fish is unknown. 3erhaps it better that

he not know the fish-s fate, and only emphasi,e on the degree of help he offered.