Episode 6: The Fish Pond
The incident with the deer threw Elmo into the longest depression of his short life. Dark moods haunted Sir Elrod occasionally, but they did not last for long, a day or so at the most. Usually a new song idea would get Sir Elrod out of his ugliest mood and into his dungeon studio where he could bring his new creation to life. Not this time.
Days passed and Sir Elrod did not even descend to the dungeon of his castle, where his wonderful little studio awaited him. He just sat on the wooden recliner on the deck and stared out into the thistle patch that was a poor excuse for a meadow in his little world. Even the appearance of the first spring flowers failed to get Sir Elrod out of his dark funk, which was very unusual as the spring flowers were one of the joys of his little fiefdom.
As Sir Elrod descended deeper and deeper into depression he started to wish there was a way to end what seemed for him to be his miserable and useless existence. “What’s the point of being given such talents,” he would say to himself, ” singing and playing and writing and recording if there is no one to share it with?. I wish I wasn’t alive, I wish I was never born!”
After that, Elrod stopped eating, as it wanting to commit suicide by starving himself to death. He would leave his cot in the morning and make his way to his wooden recliner on the deck and plop himself down and just stare into space. Today there were new flowers on the thistle patch. This year they were of many more colors than in other years. Some were of an unusual shade of orange, same as the koi in the pond behind the castle. Thinking about the fish distracted Sir Elrod from his gloomy mood.
Sir Elrod hadn’t been out to see the fish in quite a few days and he usually brought them food he made from vegetables he grew in a little garden patch he cultivated. He felt suddenly
guilty for neglecting his fish and got up fast to get the food and feed them. Getting up so suddenly made Sir Elrod very dizzy. He hadn’t eaten in quite a few days and was very weak. Elrod is a strong willed person and just thinking he was weak made him more determined to get up and go feed the fish. He pushed himself up, went and got the food and slowly made his way behind the castle to the koi pond to feed his beloved creatures.
As Elrod stood in front of the pond, the fish saw his silhouette and started swimming about, as fish always recognize those who feed them and love them. Elrod started feeding the fish
and the koi swam fast through the water trying to catch the bits of food as they sank into the pond. Elrod’s eyes got wide as he suddenly knew how the deer got in and out of his world! He finished feeding the fish and walked a straight line, as fast as his weakened legs could take him, to the spot in the forest where he had last seen Elsie the doe disappear out of his sight.
TO BE CONTINUED!