The dead fish

This is the story of a romantic evening… and a dead fish…

A romantic and entertaining evening

We were staying by a lake, in the Camargue region. The evening was promising. A great bottle of wine, some nibbles, a comfy sofa from which we had an unobstructed panoramic view on what was going to be a memorable sunset. In that moment and in that place, we were at ease. Every thing was so quiet, so peaceful. It was all very simple, yet we had every thing we needed. Conversation was light, the wine was making my head even lighter.

As the sun was getting closer and closer to the horizon, the bank of the lake was getting busier. It started with the 2 cutest mallard ducks. I instantly felt certain that the male was named Gerard and the female, Simone. Gerard and Simone were guarding the bank, strolling back and forth and checking out their human guests, for this brilliant evening.

There was also a second female duck, whose name I didn’t get. She was younger and slimmer than Simone and let me tell you that it was clear, Gerard was not indifferent to her charms! Of course, Simone wouldn’t have it and was prompt to bitch at this younger female and at times, would strongly also call Gerard to order.

Gerard, Simone and the other duck were providing live entertainment, while the sky was getting ready to put up a show.

What time was it? It was clearly diner time!

The swan which had kept its distance, was getting closer to the shallow waters of the shoreline. Although he was starting to dip his head in the water to feed on submerged plants, truth is, he probably was a little bit interested by all the fuss the ducks had made!

More ducks had gathered and were checking out what guests of the evening were eating & if anything might be of interest while still digging up their preferred worms, seeds and roots.

While flamingos were elegantly passing by, a heron also came close by and started fishing. He was so close that we could see him catch his prey. He lost one, which felt back into the water, only to be caught back second later, before being gobbled up.

A coypu appeared and got me up, despite my slightly dizzy head. She mostly kept to herself and was very busy grabbing her food with her little hands, only occasionally glancing at me.

The place was getting crowded… crowded with busy animals while only a few human guests were respectfully admiring the live show.

So it was, until the seagulls came

There were only 3 seagulls and, at first, they were just flying around. One suddenly dived and came out of the water seconds later, holding a small fish between his jaws. He promptly let go off his prey, so it would drop on the ground of the shore. Landing victoriously near the knocked out fish, the seagull ensured the fish quick death, with a swift peck.

While the other seagulls landed close by, to share or maybe steal the fish, 2 ladies suddenly appeared, running to the diner scene, to whooshed the seagulls away. The seagulls quickly left of course and the 2 women stayed there for a while, staring at the dead fish.

They looked up in the air one more time, to make sure the seagulls were gone. Having won the battle against the 3 seagulls, they went back to their little cottage, giggling and apparently feeling proud of having saved a dead fish.

During a few long minutes after such scene, the shoreline stayed strangely silent. The ducks had flown off with the seagulls, the swan and the heron kept their distance and it took a while before they all came back.

At last, the sun was setting for the day, and was blessing us with the most gorgeous colors. As the sun disappeared, the sky started glowing even more vividly. The show was mesmerizing, up to the very last second.

Right before the night and the stars took their rightful places, the seagulls came back to where they had left their fish, which was still lying there… and was still dead. They fought a little, finally ate their diner and left.