Flash Fictions by Benjamin D. Togate

Still

Still as a stone.

I was standing there, with my bright yellow jacket. I didn't notice them and they didn't notice me. Despite sticking out like a sore thumb in these natural surroundings. Standing right by the little pond in the middle of the forest. Frogs, deer, squirrels and even the fish came out and went on their business.

My eyes were closed. It had been a hard day. Hard wasn't even the right word. It was soul crushing. Such a sad day. My dog had died in the morning. Yet I went to school to attend the maths exam. I failed the math exam. I was sure of it. I was bullied - as I was everyday - but now I had no dog to come home too and ease my pain.

So instead of rushing home after school, I went into the forest. My bike brought me there. I left my bag with my bike. My phone, my wallet, everything. If it was stolen, I didn't care. Nothing mattered today.

I walked straight into the forest with its tall, old trees. The air was cold but fresh, smelling like moss and old leaves. When I reached the pond, I just stood still and closed my eyes.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

I remembered my little doggo and how slowly he breathed when sleeping. I loved this furball. He was my only friend. And now he was dead.

"You look stupid in your jacket"
“What a freak you are"
"Bitch"
"Slut"

The mean words of my classmates echoed through my ears.
Breathe in. Breathe out.

Without my dog, I was alone. All alone. I might as well stop breathing like him. I was a bit shocked by those thoughts myself. But this is how I felt in my grief. I don't know how long I stood there, motionless, eyes closed, just breathing.

And then - all of a sudden - something tickled my leg and I opened my eyes in surprise. I looked down and into the eyes of another being.

"Oh, haha" I laughed and sighed in relief "hey there little one"

Without me knowing a little squirrel had made its way up to me and was hanging on my legs. Did it think I was a tree? It stopped dead in its tracks as I moved lightly, but then continued making its way up to my shoulder. The little squirrel sniffed me and then turned around and froze.

There had been a noise.

I turned around as well, looking into the eyes of a mother deer and her child. I stayed as still as I could and they casually walked up to me and pass me to take a drink by the pond.

"I guess I'm not alone, after all" I thought to myself, smiling slightly and taking in every inch of this magical moment, surrounded by my new friends of the forest.