Marco Polo

Those thinking of burying a pet would have thought of a small box the size of the pet in a small hole in the family's yard. Not for the Smiths.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith, or rather, Gabriel and Selen, as they like to be called, have always wanted their children to develop and express their emotions in the freest possible way, without interfering with each other's freedom.

Whenever Colleen had a dead pet, her parents made sure that her feelings were not neglected, so they did everything possible to make sure that the pet's wishes were fulfilled; burying it with its favorite toy, in the vase on the backyard deck or under the flowers in the front yard. Fortunately, the girl only had eyes for small animals: ducklings, fish or birds.

The only dog in the family belongs to Gabriel and thank God he is still alive.

When the rest of the family heard the news of Marco-Polo's death, they were distraught... Let's face it, everyone was in their own way. But everyone had to participate in the funeral, no matter how long and sad it was.

When Jack saw Colleen sitting on a park bench, her head bowed over Marco Polo's coffin and her shoulders all shaky, his heart hurt so much he was already thinking about a heart attack. "Do not die yet, your sister needs you. "He said to himself to give himself courage.

He and Ellie approach the young woman gently so as not to scare her. When Colleen notices she has company, she looks up and is relieved to find her little brother and Ellie, hopefully her future sister-in-law.

"Hey." Her voice was broken and very unsure. So much so that she doesn't think anyone heard her. But Jack sat down beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, Ellie did the same, and Colleen found herself surrounded by a warmth that felt instantly good.

"We're here, babe", Ellie whispers to her.

A stranger to these highly emotional practices towards their animals, Ellie didn't seem too bothered by these outpourings of love and reciprocity at first. Her family is far from all that positivity. But perhaps Selen's temperament rubbed off on her, but as time went on, these almost incongruous and overly sweet customs became a part of her daily life and she was able to adapt to a boyfriend who cried at a too-sad movie.

Jackson, on the other hand, was happy that his girlfriend wasn't bothered by the whole marshmallowy thing that is his family. His other relationships always ended in one of two ways: either they preferred Emmett, who they thought exuded more masculinity than he did, and went to hit on him and then ended up alone in the end, or they left altogether, saying that it was all a lie to hide a truth far more sordid than a close and loving family.

He was used to these excuses. The Smith siblings even asked the parents these questions and they responded with almost hysterical laughter. "The only lie we're hiding might be that Iwas already pregnant with Emmett before I married his father," Selen replied once, "other than that, I'd say the corpse in the closet is more on their side."

No one would have thought they had their problems: Gabriel struggles with his wife's impulsiveness when they go shopping, Selen wishes she had a husband who was a little less emotional, Emmett ran away from home three times before spending three days in police custody, Colleen sometimes struggles with her depressive episodes and has been in counseling all through school, and Jack thinks he's less successful and attractive than his older brother; all of his girlfriends have made at least one comparison between the two anyway, and often at a very inconvenient time.

Ellie discovered these ink stains on the Smiths' beautiful whiteboard as she got closer to them each day, and grew to love them just as they are, especially Jack.

Colleen was crying her eyes out in her brother's arms when his phone rang. Ellie grabs it and picks up. The three individuals discover Emmett's questioning face. He had to be still in the hospital, considering the green wall which was used as a background.

"Is she crying?" He asks. Colleen's puffy, tear-wet face appears on the screen and she smiles through her teeth. "Hi Emy!" Her big brother rolls his eyes but smiles anyway. "Hi Lyly." He greets the others and announces that the parents will be there in a few minutes.

So as not to alarm her elderly father, who would have flown in to comfort his daughter, Colleen wiped her face as best she could and drank some water from her bottle to clear her throat. She had never cried so much for an animal. Not even for Po, a black rabbit who died suddenly three days after the adoption. Emmett sends a message to Ellie, sharing his thoughts.

Ellie: When we arrived, she was crying so hard her shoulders were shaking.

That's a little worrisome coming from Colleen, the two fountains in the house are Jack and Gabriel. Colleen was siding more with her mother and Emmett.

Emmett: That's weird. We'll talk to him later.

Ellie: Yeah.

A few seconds later, Gabriel and Selen call from their sides, one is at home, the other is at a convention at the hotel in the next town.

"Oh, Colleen!" complains Gabriel. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm so sorry for your loss!" Seeing his daughter's tormented face brought tears to his eyes. Already prepared for this kind of situation, Selen lets him know that there are disposable tissues in the desk drawer. He thanks her and the two adults greet everyone warmly, reminding them in turn to eat, get some sun and work a little less.

After the greetings and the small words of daily life and support for Colleen, she goes to the edge of the lake, holding a box of matches, containing the poor inanimate body of Marco Polo.

Jack turns his phone so that his brother and parents can look at Colleen, as one would if everyone was there.

"We are gathered today not to mourn Marco Polo's death but to celebrate his life." Colleen clutches the box to her stomach and closes her eyes. "I took Marco under my wing about five months ago. He was tiny in the pet store aquarium and he was a little clown fish. Smaller than the others. I even felt like the others were laughing at him. So I took it. And I bought a beautiful jar. With lights and water plants. Just for him. He didn't like the lights too much so I took them off. And soon Marco Polo grew up and learned to explore his aquarium that was all his own. I never thought of getting another fish, so he wouldn't feel forgotten."

"When Aidan first saw Marco, he joked that clown fish are exotic fish and that he would love to try it. I don't think Marco Polo liked the joke because every time Aidan came to the house, he would hide in his anemone."

"Marco was a very nice fish, he made a good chit-chat buddy. He didn't talk much but always listened to me. I am saying goodbye today to a dear and much loved friend. Jack liked you, you know."

Colleen strokes the box again. Tears roll down her cheeks and let them flow. Then she turns around, opens the box and takes Marco out. To keep him from floating away and being eaten by raptors, she hangs a few stones from her aquarium around his body and lets him sink into the darkness of the lake.

The spectators remain motionless and mute for a few minutes out of respect for Marco Polo and for Colleen. The latter remains seated during these long minutes then rises and turns to the assembly with a forced smile.

"We send our condolences to you sweetie." throws Selen, her face closed. It was indeed odd to see Colleen crying so much over a fish. But maybe Marcel or maybe Macro was just the last straw. She would talk to him about it in the next few days. Jack came to embrace his sister, tears in his eyes, carrying a toilet paper that Ellie gave him in the middle of the oration. She took the phone that was shaking from her boyfriend's hands. Gabriel was no better than his son, which annoyed Selen a little since she wasn't with him to console him or calm him down. She had to remind him to make tea before going to sleep; otherwise his night will be short.

Emmett, who unfortunately slept through half of Marco Polo's eulogy, is now wide awake, revealing an even sadder face than before.

As everyone was saying goodbye, Gabriel, after clearing his throat to erase any trace of weakness, asked, "Hey, but, where is young Aidan? Didn't he come?" A few seconds of heavy silence follows the father's words and he immediately regrets his words. Colleen keeps her eyes on the floor and begins to sob. Selen waves to her husband and they walk away in a weak "goodbye."

Colleen makes her way between Jack and Ellie and goes to sit on the bench where she was a few hours ago. On her way, she notices Misha and Ida, her two longtime friends, standing not far from them. "Jack told us the news about Marco. We didn't know him but we wanted to be there anyway" says Ida, followed by a small smile. Misha nods behind her but says nothing.

The young woman closed her eyes and sat down on the bench. Emmett was still on the phone waiting for the outcome of the situation.

Anger, grief and especially guilt overwhelm Colleen at the same time, preventing her from speaking. She has walked away from the people who have loved and supported her for years. Her family and friends who have always come to her rescue. And now she was alone. Her pride weighed her down and she couldn't say a word.

She did what was easiest for her to do: she took her phone out of her jacket pocket, removed the code, got into her conversation with Aidan and gave the device to whoever would take it. Someone made the gesture, it was Ida. She quickly read what was written and swallowed, closing her eyes. Misha grabbed the phone, repeated Ida's actions, but expressed herself differently: "Oh, that bastard, I'll kill him!

Ellie picked up the phone and read the message aloud, which caused even more prolific tears on Colleen's side.

Aidan: Hi Colleen. Sorry about Marco. He was a nice fish. Look, I think we should call it a day. It's been great with you, really. But I have other plans. I'm getting married in a few months and I want to do everything right. Take care of yourself.

"I'll be there in three weeks, Lyly." Said Emmett before cutting the call off.