Solar-powered bobblehead otter

On a rainy spring day, Otto the otter sat on the banks of the Ottawa River. His dark gaze rested on the gray surface of the water. For the humans, it was bad weather, but for Otto, it was a perfect day: no one on the bank, no noise, just the rain and the river.

He dove in, darting like an arrow through the cold water, searching for his favorite toy: a red hockey puck that a boy had lost playing ice hockey in the winter. Otto had found the puck in the ice during the thaw and had guarded it like a treasure ever since.

Whenever he found it, his ritual began: He bounced the puck on the surface with his paw, caught it with his snout, and let it sink again. To the passersby on the bridge, it looked as if an invisible player was tossing the puck back and forth across the river.

That day, a school class had stopped at the railing. A little girl in a yellow raincoat pointed down:

"See? An otter is playing hockey!"

The teacher laughed, but just then Otto appeared, puck in mouth, laid it on his belly, and floated calmly downstream on his back, as if proudly displaying his trophy.

That evening, a video appeared on local social media: "Ottawa's Smallest Hockey Star." On rainy days, people came to the bridge specifically to see the otter and his puck. Many stopped complaining about the rain and simply said, "Maybe it'll be nice today after all."

Otto didn't understand "likes" or comments. But he noticed that on rainy days, people suddenly gathered on the riverbank, laughing softly and watching him. And so he continued.

So, when it's pouring rain in Ottawa and the river is a grayish-green, perhaps somewhere an otter is swimming with an old red hockey puck—happy for all those who love the rain because he can watch it play.