Alicia Zhang 5: My Hermit Crab

   When people ask me if I have any pets, I respond with a definitive no. In the past tense, however, the question would have a different answer. I used to take care of a lot of fish when I was a kid, and once, just once, I owned a hermit crab. It was the kind commonly found at boardwalk shops nestled beside the beach, and had I known more about hermit crabs, I wouldn't have even thought about getting it. But kid me always judged based on the exterior, and the hermit crab's gauzy red shell with Hawaiian flowers painted on was more than enough. Did you know that hermit crabs change shells every four to eight weeks? It's probably a good thing that I usually stuck to raising fish, since I am horrible at long term planning.

   In the end, I didn't even get to own my hermit crab long enough to find that fact out. Within a day upon returning home from our beachside trip, my sister and I had an argument while the hermit crab was outside its cage, and we lost it. After a few days of searching, and a lot of crying, I gave up the thought of ever seeing my hermit crab ever again, and that was that. Fast forward a few months later, and one early morning, I decided to get out of bed and go downstairs to drink some milk. Going down the steps, and still half-asleep, I suddenly noticed that right in front of my eyes there was the hermit crab skittering on the floor! That was a surprise, and it would turn out to be an unfortunate one.

   Of course, I was overjoyed to see my pet hermit crab again. It had lost its shell, and some of its legs, but it was alive at the very least somehow. The next day, I brought it with me to the pet shop, where I would hopefully get some food for it. It died by the time we arrived, probably from the blistering heat felt even in the well-insulated car. And I have never had another pet from then until now. I don't even remember what name I gave to the hermit crab, but this whole experience is weirdly clear compared to my other, arguably more important, childhood memories. Maybe because it was so awful, but who knows? I just hope the hermit crab is enjoying a better afterlife than the life it had under my watch.