Mr. Carp

This story starts off the Mayumi telling her father, Shiomura, that someone is breaking into their house while they are eating breakfast. Mayumi can hear extremely well because of playing the piano and from being intelligent. Shiomura and his wife, Miwako, tell her she is just hearing things in her head. This family seems to be the typical family, one boy, one girl, with two loving parents. Things take a turn for the worst when they walk into the kitchen and someone had actually broken into their house and dropped off a carp. Miwako blamed her husband for the fish, thinking he made fun of someone. Shiomura began to tremble thinking that his wife may have found out; thankfully she didn't. The young boy, Mamoru begged his father if he could keep the fish because he has never had a pet. Both Miwako and Shiomura agree to let him keep the fish. They did not have a fish tank big enough to their son ran to the fish store to buy on while Shiomura contemplated with himself. He knew the fish was Mr. Carp because of the cut on its fin. This carp belonged to his secret lover Tsuyuko. She was a divorced 35 year old women. They met when he threw up all over the floor at a restaurant he was at, to forgive her he bought her a purse. Tsuyuko and him met 40-50 times in the past year, but decided he couldn't destroy his family anymore so he broke it off. He thought maybe this was a sign of revenge or anger. The fish was originally in the front entry way of the house but moved to right beside the TV a week later. The fish and Shiomura would just stare at each other, at first he thought the fish remembered him from her house where it was located right above the bed. His daughter suspected something with the fish and her father, and her attitude towards him became rude and snobby. A few days later, Shiomura took his son to Tsuyuko's town in Shiinamachi. He was torturing himself and really had no idea why he would bring his son to this place where people knew who he was. When he got to her apartment building, she had moved away. The two went to a diner where Tsuyuko and him used to go. He ordered a soda and coffee, just like her. The owner knew not to say anything and looked down in disgust. Shiomura talked to him in a code almost to figure out what happened to her. He said she was fine but needed to go somewhere new. When the boy and his father returned home, Mr. Carp was dead. Shiomura asked what had happened to the fish. Miwako told him the fish held its head above water to breathe in the air and it did not splash or anything, like it wanted to die. He stood there staring at the fish while his daughter told him the fish did not make any noise at all when it died. Mayumi asked her brother where they had gone and he didn't say a word; he just poked the fish.


I was really disappointed that Shiomura had an affair when he has a really nice family. I don't understand how people can do that to each other. This story was really ironic in a way. I think the fish remembered him and what he did to his owner. I also wondered if the fish committing suicide means that Tsuyuko did the same thing. The son may have in inkling of what his father has done and I think his daughter does as well, or they will all find out eventually.