The Gilded koi's Curse

My name is Chester Lincoln. I'd been with the Johnson family for three years—on the outside, I was known as the live-in son-in-law; while on the inside, I was just the gardener. Every single morning at dawn, I head straight to the koi pond to change the water and feed that red-and-gold koi. It's a ritual I never skip. Jane, the Johnson family's longtime housekeeper, always sighs as she passes the pond, "Mr. Lincoln, you care for that fish more than you do for yourself." I wiped the moss from the pond's edge without looking up. "It appreciates a kindness more than most people do." And that's no lie. The Johnson family has ridden a wave of fortune these past three years, all because of this koi—the sacred token of the Water Deity Priest—and it only keeps its spiritual nature because I nourish it daily with my own energy. I had just finished feeding the fish when I heard the sharp click of high heels at the gate. Chloe Johnson linked arms with a man as they walked in. The man wore designer clothes—her secret lover John Bailey, whom she'd been hiding for six months. "Chester, what are you just standing there for?" Chloe called from a distance, her voice full of disdain that pricked like needles. John strode over and kicked the water bucket I'd left by the pond, spilling water all over the ground. "I heard you guard this fish every day? Chloe says she wants to gild it. I think it's a good idea—once gilded and placed in the living room, it'd really boost our status." My hand paused: "The koi is a living creature; gilding it will destroy its spiritual nature." Chloe sneered, brushing her hair back: "Spiritual nature? How much is that really worth? John said gilding would cost fifty thousand dollars, and I already agreed. Since when do you, an live-in son-in-law husband, have a say?" John pulled several bills from his wallet and tossed them into the water in front of me: "Here, a reward for your hard work fishing. Don't linger around here any longer." The bills floated on the water, slowly soaking and softening. I didn't pick up the money or even look at them. I just bent down close to the water and whispered in a voice only the koi could hear: "Time to feast. From now on, you don't have to guard them anymore." A subtle ripple suddenly spread across the water's surface, and the koi's tail fin gently flicked, as if responding to me. Chloe saw I wasn't moving and shoved me: "Are you deaf? Hurry up and scoop it out!" I straightened up and stared at her and John: "The Johnson family's luck ended the moment you decided to gild the koi." John thought I was talking nonsense and raised his hand to strike me: "You brat, how dare you curse the Johnson family?" Chloe blocked him, a mocking smile playing at the corner of her mouth: "Don't waste time on him. Let the bodyguard scoop it out. We'll wait upstairs." As they turned to leave, I glanced back at the koi Pond. The koi had sunk to the bottom, showing only a patch of red scales—like a fire gathering strength, ready to explode. I knew right then that the Johnson family's curse had begun.