Koi Boy

metropolitan koi (Senopati area, 2007)

I hadn't seen him for about 6 years, so i was excited to see him. But before kak Sam greeted me on the gate, Roy, who i never knew, almost leapt on me. Surprisingly this German shepherd din bark. my hands were received warmly with eager grunts. He was a gift from a local police, so i say that Roy was a retired cop. Good boy.

Four days of holiday turned into four days of labor. To be exact, it was a labor of love. hahaha

To see hundreds of fish in large cement tanks was awesome. colorful and active. Very cool. Kois, goldfish, and 'invisible' gouramis. More surprising, i arrived at tank-cleaning-week.

Oom couldn't be happier with my staying there. Thus i was employed by oom Alex. For him i was like a Godsend because he had like 10 large tanks. He spared only the baptism tank for the namesake's purpose. The lichen scrubbing was exhausting but it seemed kak Sam had got used to the rhythm there. Working was his daily exercise. He got muscled in the tanks and gardens--not in a gym room haha

Equipped with plastic brush, wire brush, and syringe, I dipped into the biggest tank to catch the big kois. "Careful, careful! They're easily distressed!" said oom. More distressed was i who knew not the hows. That day i also learnt how to spot the gold: kois with unique "spots" sold better.

Tante Hwa seemed to see a fatigue face and a low spirit, so she served the best food of her gardens--and tanks. (in the afternoon, i learnt that exhausted kois could die easily of rough or wrong handling. They went straight to the frying pan). In my wildest dream I never know kois were edible. Tante deep fried them and served with steamed vegetables and fiery sambal. The slimy carps (kois) however can't beat the taste of fellow common carps aka mujahir.

What made my staying there 'worthwhile' was something in a container. I was indulging myself with homemade wine. they made wine out of fruity parts of cashew nuts! Oom was a genius.

Last July or eight years later, i remembered the tanks and asked kak Sam. "Ah, they're for gouramis," he said. Eight years before, I asked kak sam: Why din your pa allow me to scrub the gourami tanks?

"Ah they love lichens," kak Sam said. "The greener the water, the better."

I love gouramis