âSo, Mrs Lont, did you say youâre a designer?â asked Mrs Pensatore as he secretly tried to glance at the fish tank to see if the last egg had hatched.
âYes, I design circus puppets. I have a workshop in the village where I grew up, not far from here. Iâm planning to go back there after we finish. You see Mr Pensatore I only came to the city for my husband, but now heâs left me I have no reason to stay. You should understand that...â she paused âWhat?â Mrs Lont had caught the lawyer looking at the fish tank and automatically looked over too.
âOhâ¦what a pretty fish tankâ¦and what beautiful fish!â said Mrs Lont as she took off her sunglasses. âYouâve just become a father!â
âSorry for being distractedâ¦These fish have been my company for three years and today is an amazing day for them.â
âOh no, please donât apologise. I should be apologising to the fish for not noticing them when I came in. Theyâre so impressive they donât deserve to be ignored by anyone! Iâve been so sad since my husband left me that I donât notice much around me.â Mrs Lont looked at the lawyer and he frowned when he saw her red teary eyes.
âDo you have fish Mrs Lont?â he asked her to take her mind off the divorce.
âYes! In the village I have a small lake near my house and while I lived there I used to catch fish in the sea and take them to the lake. But at some point the lake got so full I had to stop bringing new fish because I didnât have time to feed them all!
In the tankâ¦
âLook Bravado, a smile has wiped away the ladyâs tears. She mustâve loved her fish a lot!â said Artles looking at Mrs Lont.
âMaybe if sheâd loved her husband like she loved her fish, he wouldnât have left her,â said Bravado, proud of thinking of such a clever comment.
âDonât forget that some fish...I meanâ¦humansâ¦are selfish!â Artles had rushed to tell him off but sheâd mixed up her words so her comment went unanswered.
In the officeâ¦
âSo tell me, how did you end up designing puppets?â asked Mr Pensatore, âI doubt Iâve ever met a puppet designer before.â
âWellâ¦I like the way they look and theyâveâ¦enchanted meâ¦ever since I can remember! Where there are puppets there are always people laughing. And I love making people happy so I saw puppets as a way of doing that. Hang on; Iâve got one in my bag.â Mrs Lont looked into her bag and pulled out a long box. She opened the top and out poked a little piece of tissue paper. She unwrapped it and a puppet with gold clothes, a purple hat and pointy red shoes greeted Mr Pensatore.
âDid you make this little guy?â
âYes! Heâs the only one I brought with me from the village. Heâs the last one I made and I brought him here to the city to buy him some new fabrics and make him some new clothes. But because of the situation with my husband I havenât been in the mood and heâs been in his box until today. Today I took him out into the city for the first time. I took him with me to make sure the fabrics I buy match the colour of the wood heâs made of.â
âCan you stand him up so I can see him a little better?â
âOf courseâ¦here you goâ¦â she said unfolding the puppet and holding him up by the wood attached by strings to various parts of his body.
âThere are so many strings! Iâve always wondered how puppeteers manage to move them so well!â
âItâs actually not that hard. Look, this piece of wood breaks down into three smaller pieces and they eventually re-join and each piece controls different strings. Watch, the right piece controls the right side, the left one the left side and the one in the middle controls the body and the head. Remarkable isnât it?â
âItâs like magicâ¦â whispered Mr Pensatore who had was now so mesmerised by the puppet he had forgotten about the last little egg. And he wasnât the only one engrossed in the puppet.
In the tankâ¦
âBravado!â exclaimed Artles.
âYes my dear?â he replied.
âLook at our little one!â
âYes, I can see. Youâre teaching them to swim, theyâre doing really well.â
âNot themâ¦thereâ¦the last one has hatched,â Bravado turned his gaze to the egg and shook his head in surprise when he saw the egg was empty.
âButâ¦Where is he?â he asked Artles.
âDonât move,â she told him, âheâs on your tail.â
âOn my tail?â said Bravado and he arched his body to see.
The little one was also entranced by the puppet. He wasnât paying attention to anything else. He hadnât even noticed his mother. He stood still, staring at the puppet. Mr Pensatore was holding it now and Mrs Lont was trying to show him how to move it.
âLook Artlesâ¦â
The little one was moving his fins, his body, his tail and his face, exactly like the puppet. He was copying it so precisely that Bravado looked above him to see if he had puppet strings as well.
âOh! Look! Look at that little fish Mr Pensatore!â
âYes, theyâve all hatched now,â said the lawyer not taking his attention away from the puppet.
âStop moving the puppet and look.â
âOK, OK, Iâve stopped.â
âShhâ¦. Look at the little fish in the tank.â
âI see it. Itâs not moving. Whatâs so special about that Mrs Lont? Didnât the fish in your lake ever stand still?â
âKeep your eyes on him and move the puppets hand.â
âAlright.â said the lawyer and pulled the corresponding string.
The little fish immediately moved his fin.
âDid you see that!? Move it again!â
But before Mr Pensatore could move the puppet again Bravado ran over and took the little fish in his arms, saying to Artles:
âI promised our little ones while they were still in their eggs, that Iâd never leave them unprotected. And Iâm not going to let these humans make fun them either.â
âBut Bravado you know very well that Mr Pensatore would never ever harm any of our children!â
âYes but you saw for yourself Artles,â he whispered as he ushered the little ones towards her, âthis little one is special.â
âDo you mean in an artistic way?â
âShh, donât speak too loud, he mustnât know and neither should his brothers and sisters.â
âFine honeyâ¦if you say so.â
âBut Iâm telling you Mr Pensatore! That little fish was copying the puppetâs movements!â
âIâm sure you mustâve been confused.