Appreciative | Teen Ink

Appreciative

March 26, 2021
By ryanmeck, 67010, Kansas
More by this author
ryanmeck, 67010, Kansas
0 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Author's note:

This piece is very intriguing to me, about how unique this character is and how everything that they do is for naught. But even though they can't change their fate, they learn to love everything around them. 

The author's comments:

Taking a unique approach to this story, every paragraph begins with a two-hour time skip every single time a new one begins. 

 6 a.m.-I wake every morning to the sounds of nature. Birds chirping, grass growing, and the inevitable random car passing by. I cannot move. I am, by nature, stuck in life. My purpose every day is simple: open and close. But it’s not that simple. I see things. Many things. My life is interesting, and my curiosity is never-ending. I watch things pass by, and all the while I’m just waiting….for someone to come to my door. 

8 a.m.-The shimmering sunrise rose over the rooftops with a golden gleam, lighting up my face. Squinting my eyes to see through its fiery light, it soon ends as it ascends behind a tree laden in icicles in the front yard.  My view is now being revealed to me. Soon afterward bustling cars race down the street somewhere to a place where I cannot see. Hearing voices from behind me I soon feel a gush of wind, getting shoved with tremendous force, my vision blurred only to the white of the snow on the grass. Voices speaking they say, “You two are going to be tremendously late for school!”  My vision returns as I see a middle-aged woman walking away from me, heading towards her blue Honda Civic. Now only feeling a small little push from behind me, two children emerge and start to head towards the car as well. Their little laughs filled me with excitement as I laughed along with them. They glanced back with a smile and wave at me. The smile on my face growed twice the size, watching them then slide open the door, and pull out of the driveway, leaving me alone as I watched the snowmelt. 

10 a.m.-Though I am alone, it never felt like it as soon the movement of life around me exploded. The birds fly and throw themselves into the air, almost like gravity did not apply to them at all, was stunning and beautiful. Squirrels scramble on the snowy ground looking for an oak tree to wrestle themselves up into the high and mighty sky. The sounds that they made were so intriguing, little chirps, gurgles and so much more were just so unique to themselves. I almost can't keep my excitement together whenever they get close to me. Though usually that never happens, well all except one that is. While watching everything happen, it never crossed my mind to look upwards. Cranking my view slightly upwards, I saw a small hazel nest. Small and crowded up into a corner of the roof, the movement was up there. My eyes widened tremendously as I saw a small little head peek out of the top; its small black eyes surveying me intensely almost. It stood up, its chest was a bright exciting orange. I had never seen colors like this before, it was almost hypnotizing. It seemed shy, almost as if it had no idea what its purpose was at the moment.  I can relate to this little bird since I have also felt the same way. Though it soon disappeared back inside its tiny home,

12 p.m.-While watching the birds, squirrels are adoring, what one of my favorite things to do, is watching how people interact with each other while walking down the street, biking, and plenty of other things. Though time moves fast, I don’t really have a perception of time either. I just wait and watch and just love everything I see. Soon, I heard the crunching of snow down the street, I wait for it to come into my view. A silver-haired woman and man were steadily and slowly making their way down the snowy street. Their voices are soft and gentle as they talked about their past adventures to a foreign land of beaches and the vast ocean. I had no idea what they were talking about but it was fascinating to me, time seemed to slow down for just a moment for me to listen to them. The beach…..I had only heard of it from their story, but I want to go there so badly, to see the water stretch out for miles and miles almost endless. From what they describe, it seemed like paradise. Continuing to study them, their voices soon faded from my ears as they waddled down the street, my heart aches watching them leave and go away. I want to listen forever to the conversations of their lives. It would keep me entertained forever. I was so happy that I could look forward to the day that I could explore the world. 

2 p.m-Most of the snow by now had sadly melted away, though what is revealed underneath it was beautiful. Gorgeous lush grass, which looked like it appeared right out of a fantasy world. Spring was approaching soon, and I could feel the weather gradually get warmer throughout the approaching days and nights. I love the spring, the heat. The jumbled amount of people outside is usually where I don't feel so alone. During the winter, there's not too much of anything, only the harsh icy winter storms that cover me in wicked ice, some days making it impossible to see anything. Trapped and unable to move, frozen solid, stuck to the one thing that keeps me in place. Sometimes, I don’t even know how I even got here, just opened my eyes and I was here. The same outside world is always in front of me, but I do not complain. Its beautiful gifts and songs always make me full of happiness. Even in my times of doubt and sadness, there's also that one little bird that always says hello to me in the morning, that little oriole. It's gotten closer to me recently, standing and almost touching me. Though I don’t want to rush him or make them nervous, I wouldn’t wanna bother my little friend. 

4 p.m.- Same…

6 p.m.- The sun with its crimson flare soon started to fade down behind the murky rooftops, I praised its last rays of light before I was covered in a cold shadow. Though I was used to it, it scares me every time that I won't ever be able to see its light again. Though one of my wishes had come true as if someone was listening to me. Hearing tires rustled down towards the street, I waited for it to move in my point of view. The family had finally arrived home from their long day, I was almost jumping with excitement. My smile grew so large I thought it was going to fall off my face! Their car made a stop in the now mushy driveway covered with melted snow, coming to a slow halt as the kids burst themselves out of the car and raced towards me. Closer and closer to me, soon making a screeching halt in front of me. I heard one of them say, “I'm so happy to be home!! The school was so tiring today.” I was excited to see them again. I tried to speak to them, though It seems like my words were futile to reach their tiny ears. The mother soon appeared out of the car and also headed towards me, right in front of me, almost touching me. She put her clammy hand inside of her pocket and grabbed something shiny, though it looked like a key. She looked at me with almost a sad glare, then slowly, her hand started to raise towards me with the key in her hand, my eyes fixated on the key. It slowly and surely came straight towards my eyes, I closed my eyes so tightly I thought they were going to burst, soon hearing a small click. Keeping my eyes closed, I felt a warm hand grab ahold of me and slowly push me away, as if I was in their way. Opening my eyes again, they were gone…..just gone. I didn't even get a simple hello or greeting. Just pushed to the side not even remembered….though I was used to it. 

8 p.m.- The sun had almost disappeared, all I was able to see was the ground right in front of me. Few cars here and there bustled down the street with their windows up, I liked to study them. Blue car, red…, white, then black was usually the order that they came in every single passing day. The children in their cars usually either laughed or just watched out of their window, I always tried to wave to them but it was futile. It never works. Life seems to just… standstill, no more birds fly around the magnificent sky. No more squirrels scurry around on the ground. No more people walk down the street. Just me, and the street and the single oak tree were the only things that would stay with me throughout the night. The oak tree was also the only person to ever wave at me, usually during the winter storms or thunderstorms. His little branches waved at me almost every single morning and before bed. Though some nights they seem to forget, which is alright with me. At least they acknowledged me and stayed with me for as long as I could remember. 

12 a.m.- Only the dark. 

2 a.m.- Nothing...just me, myself, and I. 

4 a.m.- The days repeating themselves.



Similar books


JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This book has 0 comments.