the lullaby fish sings only when not observed. the song is slow and three-noted; recorded transcriptions exist, but no recording captures it directly, because the act of recording is observation enough to stop it.
the song has been confirmed by ear and by sleep. children sleep deeper in houses where one lives in a clean basin. adults often dream of the sea they have not seen for years. the fish itself is small, slate-coloured, and unremarkable.
it has been suggested that the lullaby fish is the missing verse of humming; that its song and the silence in the room next door are reciprocal; that anything you ever knew you forgot was sung first by such a fish.
— sat by the basin and waited. the longer i did not move, the closer the song came to being mine. — w.t.