“Lazy River”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

Prompt: Write a story titled “Lazy River”.

I stare out across the rocks at the trees. They always seem so happy, swaying to and fro, providing support for all the little woodland creatures who are scurrying about on their day.

Then, there’s the dirt. Plain, old dirt. It’s really not that exciting, other than the stuff that some people find buried there. I’ve seen people dig up pieces of junk and metal and some of them even get really excited about it. “Look at what I dug up!” they yell, running to show it to the bigger people. I kind of wish that I had that enthusiasm whenever I found a bottle cap. But I’m not happy when I find a bottle cap. No, they hurt when I step on them. So I try finding other things instead.

Like that plastic bag I found last week. That was kind of exciting. It was different and new. I didn’t used to see a lot of plastic bags, but now there’s quite a few. Sure, it wasn’t nice for the turtle who was caught in it, but at least it caused some ripples as it struggled to get out.

And don’t even get me started on the fish. Those pesky creatures are always swimming this way and that, not minding where they go. Sometimes, I wish that I could suffocate them, but I’m not able to. They think they own me! But they don’t. No one does.

There was this really big machine once that swam around really fast and made me dizzy. People were standing on it and I watched as they raced past me, giving me a headache. But that was only once.

Otherwise, it’s pretty boring around here. Other than the occasional rabbit and deer that comes along to grab a drink, no one visits me. I’m not saying that I’m lonely—I like spending my days doing whatever I want—but I think that I don’t have a purpose in life.

That’s weird, isn’t it? To have no purpose? I mean, isn’t everyone and everything supposed to have a purpose?

I mean, I guess I’ll figure out what mine is eventually. Until then, I’ll just continue on as I am: being a lazy river.

Final Comments: This one was really rough. I had the idea that I wanted the POV to be from the river, but I got to the conclusion way too fast and I found that I finished with 2 minutes left. I went back after and filled in some paragraphs in between, but I didn’t really have a fully formed story in my mind.

Overall Rating: 😥