The narrator visits a pet store searching for a fish to distract from sadness but not require love back. The store clerk says goldfish are ordinary, but the narrator sees their grace and brilliance in the tank. In three months, the narrator will leave the city. The clerk offers to show fish aggression by dropping minnows in a beta fish's bowl, saying "it's good to see" sometimes, though the narrator is a girl. Outside in the rain, love is tied up while things tear away.