The Koi in the Lotus Pond

When the lotus pond in my backyard was still a lotus pond, I always wanted to see what rare things there were in this world, worthy of carp always buried themselves in the water, flinging the tail that was becoming transparent, and twisting the body that was not proportional to the tail, the color was pure golden yellow, white with red spots, white with red and black spots, white with black spots and pure red. There were four, three, six, eight, and two carp of each of these colors. Don't ask me how I figured it out, but I know that I was squatting on the small gravel road outside the large stones around the bank of the lotus pond, and even the sun was with me until I ran to the west side of the sky, and if I hadn't seen the rattan whip in my father's hand, I would have remained to squat after the sun became the moon. If it were now, two eyes would be looking at these carp in different colors, and swimming here and there all day long, coming and going, messy, really do not let people worry.

The most interesting thing is that this large group of unsettling carp would occasionally gather together out of nowhere. They especially like to hide under the lotus leaves of the field that they usually use to hide from the rain, covering themselves up and using the leaves as canopies. I think they may have heard what the adults were chatting about and were discussing how to get the adults not to shovel sand and soil into the lotus pond. Unfortunately, I couldn't hear or understand their koi language. However, these carp are naive at the same time. They are in the lotus pond, but they don't know the true nature of the pond, thinking that if they hide under the lotus leaves, they will be invisible. There will still be seams between the lotus leaves in Tian Tian, even if they are only as big as stone seams. Small tails are revealed, not to mention that they always fling their tail fins, so that the lotus leaves above the carp begin to fluctuate, and the sparkling water surface splashes with faint waves. The whole lotus pond was a little unsettled.

However, the more unsettling is yet to come. Although I usually want to jump into the lotus pond, if the family saw me after I landed, I could not help but let the rattan whip leave a scar on my hand. On weekdays, my little finger touches the surface of the water, and it is cold, so my little finger has to retract. The carp was probably harassed and all swam away. And this time, I was too embarrassed to harass them, but I still looked at them with two eyes. Now I feel that the lotus leaves are a bit of an eyesore, so I can't see what they are doing. If I can't see, then I'll crouch forward; if I can't see, I'll just crouch on a big rock by the lotus pond, where I can see clearly!

But before you can squat, carelessness, because of the already uneven boulders, "poof", the whole person fell into the pond. I could feel the pond splashing with bigger waves, and the waves pounced on the big rocks unawares; the carp also scattered unawares and swam to all parts of the pond. In retrospect, I think these scenes are especially like the blood splattered on the ground by the beheaded prisoners in ancient times after autumn.

When I fell into the lotus pond, I didn't sink to the bottom with those hard rocks, which must have been dark and cold and weirdly horrifying. I was always on top of the water like the carp, not knowing what to do, except they were swimming and I was struggling. The carp bumped into me and then rushed out. Did they think I was an enemy invading a world that belonged only to them? Let's hope they don't think so. Luckily, my water is not bad, while struggling, but also do not forget to aim at the shore than those who "set" me in the water culprit. Hold on tight, feet a stomp up; stepping on a large stone, this is almost the only time I used all the strength of the moment. When I intended to escape, I almost slipped and fell back to the center of the "battlefield". At the critical moment, I was able to keep my feet on the ground.

After that fall, I did deserve a beating. I didn't dare to go near the lotus pond, even though I knew it wasn't a scary place. After a while, I suddenly remembered that I hadn't been to the lotus pond for a long time, and before I went there I repeatedly warned myself not to step on the big rocks and scare them, just as I did last time. I didn't know if they were whispering now, but I was looking forward to the first glimpse of the canopy that the carp use to keep out the rain and whisper for shade; to the naive and unconcerned carp.

I expected the same thing as before, a lotus pond surrounded by large rocks in a small gravel path, a gentle and shy current in the pond, and a carp canopy on top of the current. However, this time the first thing I saw was a thin but hard lattice wire fence that replaced the carp's canopy. Without the lotus leaves, the shy water flow was like a married girl who was forced to throw away the fan used to cover her face. As you look around, you can see the surface of the lotus pond and even the bottom of the water. The rocks under the water, the original thought that only the color of turquoise lotus pond become dappled.

The carp were the poorest of all, no longer able to hide from the rain, no longer able to whisper, and if they did so openly, I was still very worried that the adults would find out, even though neither adults nor children would know they were talking. The lattice wire fence covers the carp's sky. The sun was spreading sunlight as usual, but this time it was not warm, only blinding and hot. A dark and strange shadow was reflected in the water. I wondered how the carp were feeling. I couldn't help but feel guilty for them, so next time I'd better not get too close to them. I was also puzzled as to why the big odious boulders had not been replaced by thatch and small flowers. But luckily, the carp were still there.

After my parents and I stopped living in the old house and moved to the city, everything about the old house became faded in my mind with time, but completely lingered and confused.

The year I graduated from junior high school, I didn't go back to my hometown for seven years. If I hadn't suddenly remembered this time, I probably wouldn't have thought about the lotus pond and the carp that I had missed as a child, perhaps because I was becoming an adult. Will I see the carp still living under the shadow of the lattice when I suddenly go back this time? The answer is "no". After New Year's Eve dinner, I walked along the familiar and unfamiliar path, thinking about the large rocks I used to hate a bit, the gentle water, and of course the carp, which I hadn't felt like looking forward to in a long time. It didn't occur to me that not only the lotus leaves, but everything else could not escape the fate of being replaced, the fate decided by the adults. The lotus pond was replaced by the land, the water was replaced by the grass, and the carp were replaced by a variety of trees that had not yet blossomed. What used to be an overlooking view has now become an upward one. This time there is no dark and shadowy, but the whole row of trees is dark and shadowy. The trees are not as tall as the tall buildings that stand in front of me, and for some reason standing here today is a bit suffocating.

I don't hate big rocks anymore, at this point I just want to know why the lotus pond has turned into a forest. Adults say that they would rather have trees that bear fruit than beautiful lotus ponds. Now I do understand this statement, but whenever I think of those lotus ponds and carp that can only remain in my memory forever, I can't help but leave a heavy sigh, after all, almost all of my childhood is their existence. It was only after I started to get into literature that I felt that the words "naive" and "careless" to describe carp alone were not very graceful. One poem about carp that stuck out to me was.

"With eyes like real pearls and scales like gold, they move from time to time in the waves and out of the sink. If you can go to the dragon's gate in the river, you will not sigh at the depth of the years in the lake."

The carp has long jumped out of the lotus pond, perhaps now has jumped into the Dragon Gate that larger lotus pond, and do not need to lament what the river and lake years deep, after all, the Dragon Gate does not need to care about these.

If you can afford to buy a house with a backyard in the future, perhaps the lotus pond of your childhood and the carp will get a share of the pie.