There was a faint sound of music. It was always there. Today, it was a bit louder than usual. He just got back from his afternoon walk, ready to go water his garden. That's when he heard it. Music coming together, forming a beautiful harmony. He turned up his hearing aids. The music didn't get louder. He went forward, the music becoming a bit louder with each step he took. He saw a leaf that was covered up by another leaf. He went to open the leaf, and what he saw amazed him.
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He always went to the garden. He went every day. Three times a day. His neighbor on the left was worried. Why did he go there constantly? She knocked on his door one day.
"Hey Mark." they had greeted with cheerful and worried eyes. He greeted them back with a smile
"Hello Ava. Hey kiddo." He raised his hand to high-five the young child beside Ava.
"Hello Mr. Wilson!" She said cheerfully, too young to understand her mother's worry.
"So. What did you need?" He asked.
"Mark, I've been quite worried about you. You're constantly going into your garden. Many people usually go every one week."
"Ava," he chuckled. "I'm perfectly fine. I love nature, and life is limited. I would like to be outside as much as I can!"
"Nature is beautiful!" the child piped up.
"It sure is, Ellie."
"Well then," Ava gently grabbed Ellie's hand and turned around. "We should get going. We promised dad to back cookies, right?"
"Yess! Chocolate chip cookies are the best!" The child filled with energy at the mention of cookies.
"Bye Mr. Wilson!"
"Bye Mark." Ava waved goodbye, Mark grinning. He loved his life. He enjoyed Ava and Ellie's company. He enjoyed seeing his snails each day.
Remembering about his snails, he went to the backyard to feed them. He picked some fresh leaves from a small tree and some strawberries. There was always some music in his backyard, but every time he got closer, it started to fade. This time, he walked silently towards where his snails lived. This time, the music didn't fade, but it grew louder. He opened a smaller leaf that was slightly covering a bigger leaf. What he saw was amazing. It was a group of snails, his snails. They were playing small instruments. When the covering was lifted, they scrambled to hide the instruments, but in the panic, the instruments slid off the leaf, breaking when they hit the ground.
The snails looked up with their small antennas.
"I am so sorry!" Mark apologized, handing them the leaves and strawberries. The snails nodded their antennas, a gesture they used when they responded to Mark's questions, or even just tried to answer. After the snails were done with the strawberry, they used a bit of its juice and moved around the leaf, forming words. Mark was very surprised. He had never seen anything like this. He never knew his snails were so intelligent.
'Help make new instruments?'
"Of course!"
Mark quickly jogged over to Ava's house and asked for her help after telling her all that happened. She hesitated but said yes. They quickly brainstormed on how to make them usable. Took them a few days, but after, the completed results left the snails very, very happy. They had finished the instruments after a week, and Mark lay down on his bed, happy to help his snails. He fell asleep, oblivious to the snails getting ready for something big.
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The morning had come, and while Mark was getting ready to go to his garden, the music had become quite loud. He walked towards the back door, and what he saw surprised him for the third time that week. The snails had gathered onto his outside coffee table, with a sign saying; 'Thank You!'
Mark went back inside and brought out some strawberries for the fellow snails. They played him a small tune with their instruments that Ava and Mark had helped create. It was the same melody that he continuedly heard every day for five weeks. The snails showed Mark their gratitude for taking care of them. Going outside each day was a good habit.
Lesson: SpEnd quality tiMe ouTsidE : DDDD
