HAMMERHEAD SHARK

HAMMERHEAD SHARK- by rick castro

after many years of knowing a friend.... someone who i had known for over 25 years, 
we started to go out as BFs. 
after a short time we...... he decided we should not have a monogamous relationship.
 after awhile he invited me on a "date".  this was a surprise to me, as was the whole idea we were even "dating." it all just seamed so unexpected.

i accepted his invite and we made arrangements to go to a movie premiere on a friday. coincidentally i had four other offers that same night, including a offer from my father...

 very rare i would have so many offers. 

even though i'd known him for a very long time as an acquaintance , i really didn't know much about "james".  i did know he had a troubled past and a meth problem.  throughout the years he had burned many bridges.

as i made my way to his condo, i was impressed how highly designed it was. like an architectural wonder.  under the stairwell was a encased aquarium. in the aquarium was a 

HAMMERHEAD SHARK! a real live swimming~ hammerhead shark. 
i'd never seen one before... were they legal to own?!

i walked up the stairs and rang the doorbell. james answered looking sexy and somewhat nervous.    awwww.... he was nervous about our date... how cute.

"hi, how are you?" we exchanged pleasantries...  he seemed jittery.. was he tweaking? 
 he was supposed to be sober for three years or something.

once inside the first thing i said was "can i use your restroom?"
 "sure," james seemed to answer in relief. why was he so relieved that i wanted to use the restroom? did his relief depend on my continence?

 i remembered people that do speed have trouble urinating.

 he pointed to the door, which was right next to the front door... strange place for a restroom...

"wow!" i  suddenly remembered, "you have a hammerhead shark below your stairwell. that is amazing!"

"yah, he replied, and the aquarium goes even further."
 suddenly it dawned on me. "it goes into the restroom doesn't it?"
 yah, said "james" i have a glass bottom bathtub. so you can bathe while watching him swim beneath you." 

"oh i am not going in there" i responded with alarm. absolutely no way."

"no worries, it's totally safe, said  james.
 " dude, there is no way in hell i am going to the toilet with a hammerhead shark in the bathtub next to me!" i screamed.

"look it's fine. i'll show you." he opened the door. "see, the bathtub has a glass bottom. "

 i could see an eerie shadow of a giant fish in the bathtub. it sent chills down my spine.

"what the fuck! that is the creepiest thing i have ever seem!" why would you want a glass bottom bath tub with a hammerhead shark swimming underneath?"

"it's a conversation piece, and a real thrill to take a bath like that.. wakes me up every time" you should try it, "james said with glee.

it was all so bizarre...  it wasn't gelling with me.  something was off kilter about the whole thing.

i turn back to the restroom and quickly opened the bathroom door.  there was the hammerhead shark and it was rising out of the bathtub rearing it's scary face!!

"there is no glass on that glass bottom bathtub! that is the portal for the aquarium!," i shouted.

"james looked like a kid with his hand caught in  a cookie jar.
 "james!, the bathtub is where you feed your shark, isn't it?

he had no expression. "james, i continued, "whatever happened to ray? no one has seen him in years. everyone assumed he ODed...
 james looked worried.....
 "and whatever happened to brian? everyone thought he left town?"

all these guys we knew from back in the day had been james's BFs or FBs.  
they had drug problems and dropped out of sight.

"i am leaving" i said. and made a beeline for the door. 
i didn't even bother to look at james to see what his reaction was. 
he had a heart of stone.

as i walked down the stairs, with the hammerhead shark swimming below me, i wondered if i should go to the police.

this story is based on a dream i had last night~ 4.29. 2012 @ 4:57am

when i woke up i got an IM from a friend who ended his message with a little image of a shark.

"what does the shark mean?" i asked in shock. 
he responded~ "it is a baby shark. it is me. i am a vegetarian shark."
 he then sent me an image of two sharks and called them a gay couple, to which i replied, "they will eventually eat each other."

•  
• gay couple

posted by rick castro~ editor~ antebellumblog