Once upon a time, deep in the Sahara Desert, there was a small village called Dogolia. Due to the arid climate and scarcity of water, the village was isolated and extremely poor. More than ten miles away from the village, there was a well over a kilometer deep, which was the only source of water for hundreds of miles around. The water was turbid and bitter, but for those living in the desert, it was as precious and sweet as a spring! Each household was only allowed to draw half a bucket of water from here every day, and anyone who wasted water would face the harshest punishment—expulsion from the village and banishment to the desert! Here, disrespecting water was equivalent to disrespecting life.
Many years ago, there was a young man in the village named Bellaz. His wife, Adey, suffered from a terminal illness. With the few days she had left, Bellaz decided to fulfill a wish for his wife—to raise a goldfish. What a luxurious and dangerous dream it was; if discovered, he would be banished to the desert and buried in the sands! Even if he wasn’t discovered, the daily half-bucket of water wouldn’t be enough to sustain a person and a fish. Looking at his increasingly haggard wife, Bellaz decided not to think about it anymore; he would raise a goldfish for her, even if it meant banishment to the desert and burial in the sands!
Bellaz entrusted his beloved wife to the care of their neighbors and set off for the nearest city after making all the arrangements.
That morning, Bellaz bid farewell to his wife, who was lying ill in bed.
“I’ll be back soon, wait for me!” he said before hurrying away without mentioning where he was going.
A few days later, one evening, Bellaz returned, weary from his journey. He waited outside the village until nightfall before entering. When he arrived home, the candle was still burning, but Adey was fast asleep. He didn’t wake her up. Instead, he carefully placed a blue bundle he was holding on the table beside the bed, then lay down quietly next to his wife. Looking at Adey’s peaceful face as she slept, he gently brushed her hair from her forehead. At that moment, he felt truly warm.
Not long after, a fit of coughing woke Adey, and the serene face from her dream was replaced by the pain of her illness.
“You’re back,” she said, her eyes filled with a tenderness that was unique to her, looking at her husband who looked exhausted.
Bellaz tenderly touched his wife’s face, “I’m back. Have they been taking good care of you these days?”
“They’ve been very attentive, but I’m just not used to it,” Adey held her husband’s hand in her palm.
“From now on, I promise I’ll never leave you again. I’m not used to being without you either.”
“Adey, I have something to show you.”
“What is it?”
“Come, let me help you sit up.” Bellaz helped his wife sit up, propping her comfortably against the pillows, then carefully brought the blue bundle to the bedside.
“What is this?”
“You’ll see when you open it,” Bellaz’s words were tinged with a hint of mystery.
She gently tugged at the bundle, and as the blue cloth fell away, Adey was stunned!
Was it the dim candlelight playing tricks on her eyes? She blinked hard again.
“Is this?”
“The goldfish you’ve always wanted!”
Hearing the confirmation from her husband once more, Adey was overjoyed.
She took the fishbowl from her husband’s hands and stared intently at the little goldfish, “It’s so beautiful, like a sprite!”
“You are more beautiful, like an angel!” Bellaz looked at his wife, and Adey returned his gaze with deep affection.
“Look, it’s looking at me!” At this moment, Adey seemed to have returned to her youthful sentiments, her excitement bringing a flush of color to her cheeks.
Bellaz didn’t mention that fish are nearsighted and can’t see us, but instead said something else, “Only the most beautiful people can win the favor of the fish.”
Adey smiled radiantly at her husband, a smile that almost melted Bellaz’s heart. He had never seen Adey so happy since she fell ill, and for this smile, he felt that everything he did was worth it.
After the joy subsided, Adey furrowed her brows: “Can we keep it alive? Perhaps we can’t keep it at all, you know that.”
Bellaz knelt by the bedside, holding his wife’s hands, looking into her eyes, “We’ll use our share of water to keep it alive, without drawing a single extra drop. A fish is also a life, this is not a waste of water resources, I promise it will live!”
Adey thought for a moment and finally agreed, “Okay.” A smile reappeared on her face.
Bellaz still went to the well more than ten miles away every day, as before, and the water was still only half a bucket, but now it had to sustain an extra goldfish.
One day, after fetching water, Bellaz sat down next to his wife.
“What’s wrong, Adey? Why are you looking at me like that?” Bellaz felt there was something strange in Adey’s gaze.
“We only have half a bucket of water, and to keep this goldfish alive, you must not drink, I’m so silly,” Adey said, and then she started to cry, “I don’t want the goldfish, I just want you to live well.”
Bellaz wiped away his wife’s tears, “Silly Adey, if I didn’t drink water for so long, I would have died of thirst.”
“But your lips are getting more and more chapped every day!”
“Yes, it’s because summer has come, and the temperature is getting higher and higher every day, and our water is not enough, but fortunately, although it’s still half a bucket of water every day, I can drink water at the well now. I always drink my fill before walking back, so you don’t have to worry about me.”
“Really?”
“I’ve never lied to you, have I?”
“Don’t cry anymore, okay? A tear is a drop of water, and it’s very precious.”
“Then catch it for me.”
The two laughed, but there was still some doubt in Adey’s laughter.
Since having the goldfish, Adey’s spirits had improved, and there were more smiles on her face than before.
Now, the first thing she did every morning upon waking was to look at the little goldfish. She loved how the morning sunlight penetrated the fishbowl, where freedom and light coexisted, and she seemed to have become a devout believer, with her pain also fading away. She would pray devoutly, praying for her husband’s happiness and health.
A few months later, Adey’s condition worsened. One morning, she called her husband to her bedside.
“In this life, I am a grain of sand in the desert, and you are a drop of water in the well. Meeting you is my luck. You absorb me, tolerate me, give me warmth, and give me happiness.
You are the only concern and reluctance I have in this world. You must take care of yourself, and in the world beyond, I will silently bless you.”
“Adey, please stop talking, okay?” Bellaz was already in tears.
“In the next life, I want to be a fish, a fish with colorful scales.” After saying this, Adey’s pupils slowly dilated.
“Adey, Adey!” But Adey could no longer hear the call of her beloved, leaving behind a heartbroken Bellaz.
Adey passed away, and the villagers came to mourn. The grieving Bellaz forgot to hide the fishbowl, and as a result, people discovered the goldfish, and Bellaz was expelled from the village and banished to the desert.
Bellaz took nothing with him, only the goldfish, which was the only memory his wife left for him in this world. He walked deeper and deeper into the desert and eventually lost his way.
After walking for several days, the sandstorms and scorching sun made him thirsty and unbearable. Several times he wanted to drink the water in the fishbowl, but he still held back. He knew that he and the goldfish would both die in this vast desert, but if he were to die, he would die before the fish, because before dying, he could still have a trace of his wife’s memory.
When a bright moon hung over the sand dunes, Bellaz finally fainted. The moment he fell, the fishbowl fell onto the sand dune, but something strange happened at this time. The water in the fishbowl did not seep into the sand but flowed down the surface, forming a vast lake that one could not see the end of in an instant. Trees and grass began to grow around, and a vast oasis appeared. The goldfish swam into the lake, and its body grew colorful scales, leaving tears as it looked at Bellaz on the shore.
It was unknown how long it took for Bellaz to slowly wake up. He barely stood up and shook off the sand from his body. When he looked around, he found himself in an oasis.