Thursday, August 09, 2007

A mysterious being

There is a boat repair place behind the building where I work. On my daily walks, I pass the parking lot full of boats, weeds and various stray dogs. Normally, my walks are pretty dull and consist of important activities such as daydreaming, cloud gazing and searching for my ever elusive butterflies. However, lately I've had a much more important task at hand: The Quest to find the Mysterious Beast.

The Mysterious Beast lives in the overgrown sunflowers and weeds that clutter the far left corner of the boat lot behind the tall chain link fence. Among abandoned trailers and sheds stuffed with rusty parts and old buckets, a group of sunflowers and tall green weeds entwined with a large green bush have staked out their claim.

Normally, the bush is still when I walk past it. However, every day for the past week the bush had shuddered and shaken the moment I pass.

Thinking it must be a stray kitten or dog, I threw a few rocks into the bush. Nothing. The bush remained still. It was only when I began to walk past that it would shake violently again, as if a creature was escaping.

For the last three days, I've repeated this process with no avail. No matter how many rocks I throw or crackers I leave outside the fence, the Mysterious Beast will not emerge. Shouting doesn't startle it, sticks can't find it and the barbed wire strung across the fence prevents me from climbing over and telling the Mysterious Beast exactly what I think of it's rude manners. If you're going to shake and shiver at me, at least have the cajones to show yourself.

While I search for ways to find the Beast, I've been trying to figure out what it could possibly be. Is it a mother cat hiding her kittens? Is it a confused squirrel who thinks the bush is a tree? Is it a toad or frog seeking refuge from the sun and boat lot workers with large trucks?

Perhaps it's something really mystical, like a fairy or gnome. No matter what it is, I won't rest until I flush out the Mysterious Beast. It's only a matter of time.

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