CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
She decided to cut through the park to get to work. It was quicker, she'd get in early and get a head start on everyone. She walked briskly, not looking at any of the children playing, not even thinking about stopping to smell the flowers. She was nearly through to the other side in record time...when a squirrel threw a bagel at her.
She stopped and tried to take it in. She had seen the squirrel out of the corner of her eye. She had paid it no thought. Then the bagel came flying at her, from the direction of the squirrel. She looked up. No one but the squirrel could have thrown it. It was, perhaps, not all that unusual for a squirrel to have a bagel. It could have just found it on the ground and taken it up its tree. But for a squirrel to throw a bagel at her? That was quite remarkable. She wanted to just keep on walking, get into work quickly, but she couldn't stop thinking about it. Why would a squirrel have thrown a bagel at her!? It was a waste of food, for a start. And what had she done to deserve it?
She shook her head, trying to come back to her senses. Deserve it? Of course she'd down nothing to deserve having a bagel thrown at her...and it was a squirrel. A squirrel! It couldn't reason! It couldn't come to the conclusion that she "deserved" to have a bagel thrown at her. Why had she even thought about it in such terms? She felt something stirring in her mind. Old memores and emotons. Happy memories, but so deeply buried she could not recall them at all. Buried for a reason, she decided. She had work to go to. She started walking again.
And was hit on the back of the head by another bagel.
She turned round this time, on impulse, angry. "OWW!" she shouted, at the squirrel. She then looked around, embarrassed, but apparently no one had heard or cared. She walked over to the tree...and started shaking it. The squirrel jumped down...brandishing another bagel.
"Don't you throw that, you little shit!" she said. "Why are you picking on me?" Squirrels can't talk, she said to herself, as if she had forgotten.
"Meep meep!" said the squirrel.
"...did you just speak?"
"Meep meep!"
He was speaking in squirrel talk, she remembered. "I...this is crazy," she said outside, but she knew it was not.
"Glad I got your attention!" said the squirrel, in squirrel talk, but she translated it in her head.
"You...can talk," she said.
"You know I can," said the squirrel, juggling the bagel. It was still speaking in squirrel talk, but she was translating in her head. She was translating before she even remembered how to translate. It was like something out of a dream. Or something out of childhood.
"I used to talk to squirrels!" she exclaimed. "When I was young...very young."
"You stopped at about six, " said the squirrel. "You mum was worried about you, since you spent so much time with us. You convinced her that you'd just been playing, imagining it. You even convinced yourself eventually.
"How...how could you forget?" She felt ashamed.
"Well, you were picked on at school," said the squirrel. "You didn't have many friends at first...maybe because you spent more time with us than with your own kind. That was our fault, we should have encouraged you to befriend some other little girls. Then, you started to grow up. You were popular in school. Popular with boys. You started going to parties, drinking those drinks you humans enjoy...then you decided you had to grow up, once again. Now you think about nothing but your job."
"You've been watching me!"
"Of course. We always keep a close eye on those who can talk to us. There's so few of you."
"But why are you talking to me again now?"
"You were the one who shouted at me!"
"I didn't know you were going to talk back!"
"Perhaps not consciously, but deep down you had a reason for shouting at me...you knew I could answer."
"I suppose I did."
"I'm glad we're talking again."
"You...have I talked to you before, specifically?"
"What, do we all look alike to you?"
"I..."
"I'm just joking! Now, you haven't talked to me...but we squirrels tell stories about those humans who can squirrel speak. I know everything about you. And I know you need a friend."
"I have friends."
"Not reall. Your friends from the party days have all grown up too, got their own jobs, families. You're so busy with work that now you interact with other humans as much as you interact with us squirrels!"
"And you want to be my friend?"
"A twenty four year old woman with a squirrel as her best friend? That would be quite odd. No. We can talk, every day when you come through the park, if you want. But you need human friends."
"I don't remember how to make friends!"
"It'll come back to you. Just like it came back to you how to talk to us."
"Thank you...for the davice...for speaking to me again after I ignored your kind for so long."
"No problem. The pleasure was all mine. Now, you better get going...you work too hard, but you don't want to be late, I'm sure..."
"Yeah...hey, one more thing."
"What's that?"
"Why do you have so many bagels?"
"To throw at people like you, of course!"
She walked on, oddly calm. She did not tell anyone, of course. She did not think about the squirrel all day. It could almost have been something she had imagined.
But she knew it wasn't. It was real. She could talk to squirrels. She was so lucky.
She stopped and tried to take it in. She had seen the squirrel out of the corner of her eye. She had paid it no thought. Then the bagel came flying at her, from the direction of the squirrel. She looked up. No one but the squirrel could have thrown it. It was, perhaps, not all that unusual for a squirrel to have a bagel. It could have just found it on the ground and taken it up its tree. But for a squirrel to throw a bagel at her? That was quite remarkable. She wanted to just keep on walking, get into work quickly, but she couldn't stop thinking about it. Why would a squirrel have thrown a bagel at her!? It was a waste of food, for a start. And what had she done to deserve it?
She shook her head, trying to come back to her senses. Deserve it? Of course she'd down nothing to deserve having a bagel thrown at her...and it was a squirrel. A squirrel! It couldn't reason! It couldn't come to the conclusion that she "deserved" to have a bagel thrown at her. Why had she even thought about it in such terms? She felt something stirring in her mind. Old memores and emotons. Happy memories, but so deeply buried she could not recall them at all. Buried for a reason, she decided. She had work to go to. She started walking again.
And was hit on the back of the head by another bagel.
She turned round this time, on impulse, angry. "OWW!" she shouted, at the squirrel. She then looked around, embarrassed, but apparently no one had heard or cared. She walked over to the tree...and started shaking it. The squirrel jumped down...brandishing another bagel.
"Don't you throw that, you little shit!" she said. "Why are you picking on me?" Squirrels can't talk, she said to herself, as if she had forgotten.
"Meep meep!" said the squirrel.
"...did you just speak?"
"Meep meep!"
He was speaking in squirrel talk, she remembered. "I...this is crazy," she said outside, but she knew it was not.
"Glad I got your attention!" said the squirrel, in squirrel talk, but she translated it in her head.
"You...can talk," she said.
"You know I can," said the squirrel, juggling the bagel. It was still speaking in squirrel talk, but she was translating in her head. She was translating before she even remembered how to translate. It was like something out of a dream. Or something out of childhood.
"I used to talk to squirrels!" she exclaimed. "When I was young...very young."
"You stopped at about six, " said the squirrel. "You mum was worried about you, since you spent so much time with us. You convinced her that you'd just been playing, imagining it. You even convinced yourself eventually.
"How...how could you forget?" She felt ashamed.
"Well, you were picked on at school," said the squirrel. "You didn't have many friends at first...maybe because you spent more time with us than with your own kind. That was our fault, we should have encouraged you to befriend some other little girls. Then, you started to grow up. You were popular in school. Popular with boys. You started going to parties, drinking those drinks you humans enjoy...then you decided you had to grow up, once again. Now you think about nothing but your job."
"You've been watching me!"
"Of course. We always keep a close eye on those who can talk to us. There's so few of you."
"But why are you talking to me again now?"
"You were the one who shouted at me!"
"I didn't know you were going to talk back!"
"Perhaps not consciously, but deep down you had a reason for shouting at me...you knew I could answer."
"I suppose I did."
"I'm glad we're talking again."
"You...have I talked to you before, specifically?"
"What, do we all look alike to you?"
"I..."
"I'm just joking! Now, you haven't talked to me...but we squirrels tell stories about those humans who can squirrel speak. I know everything about you. And I know you need a friend."
"I have friends."
"Not reall. Your friends from the party days have all grown up too, got their own jobs, families. You're so busy with work that now you interact with other humans as much as you interact with us squirrels!"
"And you want to be my friend?"
"A twenty four year old woman with a squirrel as her best friend? That would be quite odd. No. We can talk, every day when you come through the park, if you want. But you need human friends."
"I don't remember how to make friends!"
"It'll come back to you. Just like it came back to you how to talk to us."
"Thank you...for the davice...for speaking to me again after I ignored your kind for so long."
"No problem. The pleasure was all mine. Now, you better get going...you work too hard, but you don't want to be late, I'm sure..."
"Yeah...hey, one more thing."
"What's that?"
"Why do you have so many bagels?"
"To throw at people like you, of course!"
She walked on, oddly calm. She did not tell anyone, of course. She did not think about the squirrel all day. It could almost have been something she had imagined.
But she knew it wasn't. It was real. She could talk to squirrels. She was so lucky.
