I sat and waited.
I waited a little longer.
Pretty soon I forgot why I was waiting.
But I didn’t want to get up and leave because what if what I was waiting for showed up and I wasn’t there.
I sat for a while longer. A tiger arrived and walked right up to me. It looked me up and down and licked its lips.
I didn’t want to look like I wasn’t sure if the tiger was what I was waiting for, so I pet its head. The tiger purred.
In the afternoon, I went for a walk. At the normal turn around and go home place, I decided to keep going. Soon it was night. I wasn’t tired. So I kept walking.
One day past. Then another. I was on a non-stop roll. I drank from streams, ate from grass stalks, once I ate a pear off a tree.
I figured out a way to sleep while walking and not run into trees or out into the middle of the street.
Soon I reached the tip of Florida. I couldn’t go any further. I wanted to, but what could I do.
I was out late at night, walking through the desert. I soon got tired and went under a hanging rock to take a sleep. I laid down on the sand and was zonked out in seconds.
I woke up a few hours later to find that I was covered with sleeping rattlesnakes. They don’t snore, but shake their rattles while sleeping. That’s what woke me up.
I fought back my panic with the thought, “Oh, this is cute. They feel comfortable enough to sleep with me. Perhaps they might be my new found friends.” I managed to fall back asleep.
In the morning the rattlers woke up and thanked me for the warmth. I nodded and said I was glad I could help.
I was writing at my desk when the light cascading across the floor said, “What are you working on?”
I said, “I was writing about what you would say if you spoke.”
The light cascading across the floor said, “What did I say?”
I said, “Pretty much what you just said.”
The light said, “So it’s a work on non-fiction.”
I said, “You could say that, but then I did write these things before you said them. So it would seem like fiction.”
The light said, “Either way, it’s nice to talk with you.”
I said that I agreed.
I drove out to the Ocean. I got out, stood and looked.
The Ocean said, “Are you gonna say something or what?”
I said, “I just wanted to spend a little quiet time with you.”
The Ocean said, “Okay, sorry.”
I stood there quietly.
After a half minute, the Ocean said, “I’m sorry. I can’t do it. I gotta say something. So, tell me what’s up with you?”
I said, “Mostly I’m just tired from life and such.”
The Ocean said, “Yeah, I guess life can be that way.”
I said, “Don’t you ever get tired?”
The Ocean, “No, not really. I’ve been going at it for a little over 4 and a half billion years. I can’t imagine what it would be like to stop. Do you think I should give it a try?”
I said, “No, not really. I think it would cause a lot of problems.”
The Ocean said, “Sure, you’re right. I’ll just keep doin’ what I’m doin.”
I was sitting at the edge of the pond. The duck swam up to me and said, “Did you bring me any food?” I said I didn’t.
The duck said, “Well, could you go to the store and come back with something, like Cheetos or a loaf of Wonder Bread? I’m awfully hungry.” I said okay and left. But I went back to work instead.
I got a phone call and it was the duck. The duck said, “How much longer are you gonna be?!” I felt badly and said I’d be there soon.
I went to the store, got the bread, and went back to the pond and gave it to the duck. The duck ate the bread, and after a minute complained that it had an upset stomach.
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