Life has been chaotic lately. I’ll keep this short and skip over the family background, fights, and mental stress—I just want to move past it all.
In short, my dad got a call from the landlord’s lawyer saying he was about to file a case against him for not paying rent for five months. The only way to stop it was to pay the full amount immediately. My dad, stuck in legal issues for years, hasn’t had a proper job, so our family has often struggled financially, borrowing from friends and relatives, mostly from my mom’s brothers.
The apartment was under one of my mom’s brothers’ names because my dad couldn’t rent it himself due to legal complications. When my dad told my uncles about the situation, my younger uncle (I’ll just call him Jake) panicked because the case would be against him. Despite being frustrated with my dad and having lent him a lot of money, Jake immediately contacted the landlord and paid the rent. However, we were given just a week to vacate the apartment.
This situation only happened because my dad recently took a job at a company, but they couldn’t transfer his salary since he didn’t have a bank account. It took time to open the account and for his salary to arrive. Luckily, it has now come through, and we’re finally getting back on our feet.
That week was a nightmare. My siblings, mom, and I returned home from my aunt’s house. My mom and I were in shock, and Jake was furious, refusing to talk to us. To make things worse, my siblings and I got sick, delaying the apartment search. My dad’s car was broken, and he couldn’t afford to repair it or hire a taxi. Plus, he couldn’t rent a new place under his name because of his legal issues, and my uncles refused to help.
When the moving day arrived, we still hadn’t found a new place. My dad and a kind man helping him search for apartments were out all day. Meanwhile, my mom and I stayed up for three nights straight packing. The man offered to temporarily store our furniture and arranged for trucks to help us move, which was a relief.
Despite everyone’s efforts, we couldn’t secure a place. My uncle Jake managed to convince the landlord to give us one extra day, but the pressure was unbearable. By the deadline, I was exhausted from packing and still had to deal with moving my fish. I quickly packed them into doubled trash bags inside cardboard boxes, filled them with water, and sealed them with tape, hoping they’d survive.
As night fell, my dad finally found an apartment. My uncle Jake paid the rent and took it under his name after being convinced by his older brother. I refused to leave without my fish. My dad called the movers to make another trip, but they handled the boxes roughly, and I had no choice but to let them take the fish. We finally left the apartment with the remaining items, arriving at the new place late at night.
The new apartment was tiny and chaotic, filled to the ceiling with furniture and boxes. The movers refused to arrange the furniture and left my fish boxes on the terrace. Beyond exhaustion, I rushed to check the fish, finding them barely alive after six hours in bags. I quickly changed their water, aerated it, and set up their tanks as best as I could. By morning, I was physically spent.
Over the next few days, I worked on stabilizing the situation. Thankfully, the fish are now recovering, except for one walking catfish that didn’t survive. Just the other day, I managed to set up the pond. I’ve also organized the apartment and started focusing on my studies again. There’s still a lot of work left, but I’m slowly getting back on track.
While I usually don’t share my household problems, I felt the need to this time because of how it affected my fish, my physical and mental state, and how terrible it all was. Life can throw curveballs in different ways, even when you’re not expecting it. I’ve cut out many other details that made this even harder and focused on the main points, hoping this will help people realize the importance of being prepared for any situation—especially for their pets. They are sentient beings, and we took them into our custody, so it’s our responsibility to ensure their safety no matter what.
In short, my dad got a call from the landlord’s lawyer saying he was about to file a case against him for not paying rent for five months. The only way to stop it was to pay the full amount immediately. My dad, stuck in legal issues for years, hasn’t had a proper job, so our family has often struggled financially, borrowing from friends and relatives, mostly from my mom’s brothers.
The apartment was under one of my mom’s brothers’ names because my dad couldn’t rent it himself due to legal complications. When my dad told my uncles about the situation, my younger uncle (I’ll just call him Jake) panicked because the case would be against him. Despite being frustrated with my dad and having lent him a lot of money, Jake immediately contacted the landlord and paid the rent. However, we were given just a week to vacate the apartment.
This situation only happened because my dad recently took a job at a company, but they couldn’t transfer his salary since he didn’t have a bank account. It took time to open the account and for his salary to arrive. Luckily, it has now come through, and we’re finally getting back on our feet.
That week was a nightmare. My siblings, mom, and I returned home from my aunt’s house. My mom and I were in shock, and Jake was furious, refusing to talk to us. To make things worse, my siblings and I got sick, delaying the apartment search. My dad’s car was broken, and he couldn’t afford to repair it or hire a taxi. Plus, he couldn’t rent a new place under his name because of his legal issues, and my uncles refused to help.
When the moving day arrived, we still hadn’t found a new place. My dad and a kind man helping him search for apartments were out all day. Meanwhile, my mom and I stayed up for three nights straight packing. The man offered to temporarily store our furniture and arranged for trucks to help us move, which was a relief.
Despite everyone’s efforts, we couldn’t secure a place. My uncle Jake managed to convince the landlord to give us one extra day, but the pressure was unbearable. By the deadline, I was exhausted from packing and still had to deal with moving my fish. I quickly packed them into doubled trash bags inside cardboard boxes, filled them with water, and sealed them with tape, hoping they’d survive.
As night fell, my dad finally found an apartment. My uncle Jake paid the rent and took it under his name after being convinced by his older brother. I refused to leave without my fish. My dad called the movers to make another trip, but they handled the boxes roughly, and I had no choice but to let them take the fish. We finally left the apartment with the remaining items, arriving at the new place late at night.
The new apartment was tiny and chaotic, filled to the ceiling with furniture and boxes. The movers refused to arrange the furniture and left my fish boxes on the terrace. Beyond exhaustion, I rushed to check the fish, finding them barely alive after six hours in bags. I quickly changed their water, aerated it, and set up their tanks as best as I could. By morning, I was physically spent.
Over the next few days, I worked on stabilizing the situation. Thankfully, the fish are now recovering, except for one walking catfish that didn’t survive. Just the other day, I managed to set up the pond. I’ve also organized the apartment and started focusing on my studies again. There’s still a lot of work left, but I’m slowly getting back on track.
While I usually don’t share my household problems, I felt the need to this time because of how it affected my fish, my physical and mental state, and how terrible it all was. Life can throw curveballs in different ways, even when you’re not expecting it. I’ve cut out many other details that made this even harder and focused on the main points, hoping this will help people realize the importance of being prepared for any situation—especially for their pets. They are sentient beings, and we took them into our custody, so it’s our responsibility to ensure their safety no matter what.
