Even A Snail Will

Hi, my name is Snail, and this story might slowly bore you.

It doesn’t matter, but I will still tell you my story. It’s a story that no one seems to care, a story that no one seems to have heard, a story that's too slow to get you interested; but it’s a story of hope and purpose – no matter how sluggish it is.

I have been living this life full of uncertainty. I have never had parents to look up to. I don’t have friends to play with and talk to. All I know is that I live all alone in this mushy and wet grassland that seems endless as it is hopeless.

Surely, I meet some folks around. They don’t appear friendly but they’re fun to be with.

I meet this very hard-working ant often. His name is Ant. Well, I don’t know his real name, but that’s the first name I come up with. He never talks to me. Believe me, I try to say hello every time we meet in front of his hill, but he never greets back. He’s busy carrying food on his back... that I understand.

A few feet away, I always see this happy-go-lucky neighbor of mine. He is Grasshopper. He plays a lot. He always hops around the grassland all day and night – hence the name. He doesn’t seem to care about working at all. However, I witness how happy he is even though he’s alone... that I also understand.

When I get home, I recall that Miss Caterpillar used to bring me fresh produce from her garden. I remember she was very kind to me because she said I was the only one she could catch the same pace with. Now, it has changed. Everyone wants to be her friend since she became Lady Butterfly. She sometimes sees me all alone, but she doesn’t look at me like someone I used to know.

I learn that everyone seems to have reasons to live. They have roles and tasks to finish and complete. On the other hand, here I am, I waste too much time getting to the place I can get good food at.

It’s embarrassing to say that sometimes I scavenge for food far away from where no one knows me. Yeah, they’re small things like the rotting vegetation and the like. It’s not as good as what Miss Caterpillar’s garden can offer, but I have always had fresh green leaves. So, it’s something special anyhow.

One night, I stretch my small head up high as I stare at the vastness of the grassland. My shell feels freaking cold and dry. I can’t help but wonder my place in this life. I ask myself why I am not like Ant who’s been working all his life as an important part in their colony. Why am I not like Grasshopper who doesn’t care about work, but free and happy? Why am I not like Miss Caterpillar whose life rapidly changed for the best? I feel this deep envy and insecurity thinking I would die without a purpose.

Until one day, I meet Frog – I call him that because he sounds like that after a rain. Well, he changes the course of my perspective. He says he can empathize where I am coming from. Some people even believe in a dumb story that when you kiss him, he becomes some sort of a prince. However, that’s not the point. We have the right to live and choose how we live it. Everyone in this world has roles to play, like him in old fairy tales. It doesn’t matter how small it is, what matters is you live every single day like your own. We don’t have to be like someone, just be you.

I have never thought that I play a vital role in our ecosystem. The moist leaf litter I love to scavenge actually helps to maintain our soils healthy and clean, making the whole grassland livable to all lives in it. I may be slow and sluggish, but I do have a purpose like Ant, Grasshopper, Miss Caterpillar and everyone else. Even a snail will eventually reach its destination.