The Rooster awoke. And the first two things he did were one: to breathe deeply— wholly & from the gut— & to love himself. Staring up at the blank ceiling from his bed, and feeling all of the love he had for any external thing— an artwork, book, film, other animal, ideal or principle, place or song, anythingelseatall— and take that love emanating from his heart & shower it back upon the entirety of his self. The image: the self as fountain.

And what struck him was this: the logic of it all, simple & true: all of this love he gave to others & other things: if he did not right now at this very critical moment in his life turn his heart upon himself: he would not survive. Therefore would he forfeit the possibility of loving all of the aforementioned. Put otherwise & perhaps more simply: if he wanted to keep loving the things he loved, he had to love himself first. Otherwise a misstep into an impossible-to-step-back-from darkness was all but certainty.

He told his revelation to Platy, waking her from her sleep to do so. She was tired & confused at first, hearing it all as if in a dream. The stars were out, the moon nigh full as well. After a few moments of getting her bearings, she nodded. And then said: “Yes, Yes you do— that’s what I was telling you about. You got it. Now do it. It’s one thing to know it, and quite another to do it. I see it in your eyes that you feel it; you’re on it. Now do it.”

And in this manner, the first of the heretofore closed doors were opened. Kangaroo was not perfect, was still quite rough around the certain edges in many ways. But he didn’t have to be perfect to be loved. And so loving himself— in all of his areas of perfection & failure both— was how he brought a start to his new day. And so the Fountain he became.

After a time, Platy turned back to K-Roo and said something more: “K-Roo. You know, if you become the Fountain, the goldfish are soon to come.” Before he could ask precisely what she meant, she had turned away with & on purpose, nestling back into his pouch: K-Roo had to— and so would soon— find out for himself.