Loners

Loners

By

Karen Chadwick

                  He was a loner. All turtles are. The minute he emerged from his egg case, he ignored his siblings while crawling over them as he worked his way through the dirt to the sun. He knew it was going to save his tiny little life to get sun, it would dry off that annoying egg case hanging off his backside. His fierce determination paid off, and after a few hours in the sun, he was free. His tiny little nose told him water was nearby, he pushed his tiny little self to the banks of the Kalamazoo River and paused. Belligerent Crows blasted his ears, but they were screaming something important. A raccoon was coming. He instantly sensed danger and scrambled into the water, disappearing into the current.

            Over time, he found food, avoided danger, and grew into a big, smart, snapping turtle. He survived all odds on the banks of the famous river. His nose told him there had been some serious poison in the water. He hated it when the scientists grabbed him once, he was infuriated with their rude behavior. He bit one of them and drew blood. They examined him then put him back into the cool depths of the river. That scientist was too salty, ugh.

            She was a loner. All turtles are. Her early life was in an aquarium, some joke of a pet for a difficult child. Snapping turtle for a grumpy kid, duhh. Stinky stale water, boring industrial turtle food, and always, glass walls, which only intensified what she was missing. She could not find a way out no matter how she tried. She was trapped in the glass prison cell for years, bored to the bone. Artificial light, slimy rocks, tv blasting long into the night, never real fresh air.

            But one day a miracle. She heard them talking. The kid was leaving home, what to do with the turtle? She was too big to flush down the toilet.  No one wanted her, and she was glad. She knew she would be most happy if she never saw another human ever again. What? Take her down to the Kalamazoo River and let her go? YES! There is a turtle God! In the box, in the car, out of the car, carry her down to the muddy bank. Let her go. OMG, free at last, thank God, she was free at last. The cool mud felt wonderful, smelled wonderful, she was home! She quickly headed for the water and slipped into the current.

            She faced much struggle now, and plenty of danger. But she was a big girl and highly determined to survive and thrive. And she did, quite successfully. She loved the sun, the fish, the constant flow of the river, loved the rain, the birds, the sunrise, the stars, she loved it all. She especially loved to stick out her tongue at the passing canoers.

            It was inevitable. Their paths crossed. They puzzled each other. They cautiously circled each other. Yep, same species. Should they? Could they? Would they? He was old and had a bad back leg, his mounting days were over. She was old, her eggs were long gone. One more slow circle and they went their separate ways. Neither had need or interest in each other. It’s better to be alone.

The End.

October 2014