Origami (A to Z Challenge)(Infinite Monkeys)

Origami

In a park sits a man.  From out of his pocket, he pulls a small sheet of paper, only about

This

big.

He folds it,

this way,

that way,

another way,

l

e

n

g

t

h

w

i

s

e

,

A          c          r          o          s          s,

D

I

A

G

O

N

A

L

L

y. He p-u-l-l-s
on one end
and

  >pushes<
a crease in, and

suddenly there is a

bird sitting next to him.

The bird looks at him, quizzically.

Was it like that for you?

It asks him.

The man asks was what like what, for him?

Creation, the bird says. Was creation like that for you?

That depends, the man says.  Like what? What was creation like, for the bird, he wonders aloud.

It was tough! The bird tells him.

I began to know, the bird tells him, before I knew what knowing was, and what I knew was that things did not feel right.  Then, as you folded or pressed or pulled or bent, more, I knew more things and saw more things and then I heard things, and then I was here.

Was it painful? The man supposes.

Not painful, not at first, as I did not know what pain was, but the part where you did that thing?

This one, the man guesses, moving his hands around in a certain motion.

Yes, I think that was it, the bird responds.  That part was pretty… hurtful? Is that the word?

That is probably the word, the man says. 

I’m sorry, I don’t know all the words yet, the bird tells him.

I am sorry, the man says, because I did not know it would be painful for you.

It’s not your fault, the bird says.

In a way, the man knows, it is.

The bird thanked him, and flew away.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Okay, this isn't a 250=1 story, because I didn't want to cut it down to 250 words, so it's an "Infinite Monkeys" story.  Infinite Monkeys stories are part of a project I'm working on that you will learn more about probably in August, but for now, they're stories mostly like this.  Here's a list of other Infinite Monkeys stories if you liked this one. 

OTHER NEWS!  The free book of the day is The Scariest Things, You CAN'T Imagine, a collection of short horror stories like The Deal, in which a young boy is tormented by a demon and gets no help from his parents, or Rage, which has a boy kidnapped by gargoyles and then returning to his mom... mad.  Get it free by clicking here.  

As always, the post below is also an A To Z post, the continuing story of turmoil in the alphabet: When X, overcome by sadness at witnessing a suicide, overlaps the world of the abstract with the real, it gives humans an afterlife but angers many of his fellow letters -- and has the unforeseen consequence of demonstrating that there are many worlds!  Check out O's installment in the next post.