Storygram #143

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The Story:

I smile down at an old friend. He wears a shell for protection and is unconcerned with struggles for power because he is a humble creature who wishes to be left alone. It’s a little habit of mine, picking up rocks shaped like animals I once knew.

I put the turtle-shaped rock in my pocket and remain squatted down. A breeze is causing the trees to audibly shiver, but otherwise, the world is silent. I never realized how wonderfully birds sang or how familiar it was to hear the scurrying of squirrels through leaves, until they were gone.

Now, spotting an animal is like finding a forgotten relic. They’re around but in small numbers, each species only an icy winter or a scorching summer from extinction. And it’s my fault.

I had hypothesized that we could synthesize anything organic just as we had the inorganic. We had synthesized gasoline. We had synthesized paper. It was only a matter of time.

After years of research, I did it. I synthesized corn. From corn I synthesized other vegetables and various fruits. But the real change happened when I synthesized meat.

With the ability to grow all of the nutritious foods in a lab, why bother to grow it in a field? Our genetically engineered foods gave way to our synthetic foods, but both evolved into animal killers. We contaminated the whole Earth with unforeseen diseases and side effects that were harmful to us and them.

Somehow, feeling the weight of my guilt, I manage to stand up. When my head summits the tall grass, I see a wild horse grazing only feet away from me. Everything in its posture suggests that it is fully aware of how majestic it looks.

I approach it slowly, and although caution has made it skittish, I am allowed to pet it. I’ve heard of Indians believing in every human having some sort of spirit animal, but I had never believed it until this moment.

Fated to be together or no, I can’t let this rare animal die. I decide with little deliberation that I will take this horse with me on a quest to find it a home, a land I haven’t ruined.