Body.

Ah water! Such a pleasant element. It’s cool, calm, life giving and beautiful. It is everywhere and anywhere. No part of world exists or can exist without it. It’s perfect, well almost. First of all it’s not really calm like I said before. Seriously, sometimes it can be a psychopath. It drowns EVERYTHING all because it couldn’t stay in the river. F**king drama queen.

Fortunately, I don’t have the misfortune to exist as a river. I exist peacefully in my sweet clearing in one corner of a forest. When it rains, the trees protect me from heavy rain. The animals are sweet and gentle. I provide them with water, and they provide me with their company. It’s a perfect exchange and this is another perfect day. First the wind came and took all the fallen leaves away. Such a kind soul. Then that giant scarred tiger came, drank water, and relaxed for a while. He doesn’t talk too much or even emote. Nothing ever seemed to move on his face except the giant scar across his face.

Eh, who cares? I don’t really care, I love him anyway and even though he doesn’t say it, I know he feels the same way. My favourite part is when he mumbles in his sleep. Some wild stuff, some personal, none of it repeatable.

After the tiger, stuff happens. You know the daily. Animals come they drink and then they leave. Then the damn monkeys show up. They’re loud, obnoxious, and filthy. I mean their babies are cute. Unfortunately, not cute enough for them to redeem their dirty parents. If they go extinct tomorrow, I would throw a party.

My favourite part of the day was late today. He always shows up exactly when the sun is at the highest point in the sky. The sun had passed the highest point quite some while ago and yet he wasn’t here yet. Must be running late. That’s bizarre though. He’d never been late. He even entered the clearing every day from the same direction. Rather unusual this instance WAS!?….oop I was wrong, here he came.

The leaves rustled like they did everyday, but to my dismay it wasn’t the tiger. It was men. Ugh! I had only heard of them from animals. Animals who’d been hurt by them and animals who had lost loved ones to them. How none of them had any respect for wise trees. Wise trees who defended men saying they cut them down because they can’t hear their screams, so how would they know about the pain they cause.

Five of them were here. They even looked bizarre. Animals did tell me, that humans’ skin around their legs and torso could change colours and be of whatever colour they wanted (all of these idiots chose purple today).

The chameleon does it to survive, they did it for fun, without need.

They came and covered the grass with a giant…sheet? I guess you could call it. Was the ground too dirty for them? Everything they did made me mad. They even started a fire in the middle of the forest. What kind of idiot plays with such a destructive force. Fire kills my people…of course men enjoy it.

Maybe I was judging them too harshly. Are they peculiar, their ways strange or just different? Maybe I shouldn’t be judging them. Sure they have fire but they know how to control it. They might be idiots who cover the ground below them but they do seem to get along with each other. Their skins might be all purple but they are a tad bit adorable. Just a tad tho.

They’re even gentle with me. I am doing the same things I do for them that I do for the animals. I was providing them with a place to rest, hydrate and wash. That’s all they were doing. I suppose it’s fine if they stayed.

I trusted the humans, closed my eyes and decided to rest for a while.

**

I woke up because I felt ripples. Apparently the humans had decided to wash up. I was wron—-THEY WERE TAKING OFF THEIR SKINS!! WHAT THE HELL!!

Calm down. Calm down. It’s not weird, it’s just different. Breathe. Breathe.

The humans swam and laughed. They seemed to be just enjoying themselves like anyone else would. Wait a minute. Are these idiots eating? How disrespectful! You’re not supposed to eat while in the water. What next? A bear eats his fish while he swims and I let him drop all the blood from it in me? No, absolutely not!

Then two of them were kissing. Great. That’s what I’m for. I AM A PLACE OF PURITY AND NOURISHMENT, DID THESE THICK F**CKERS NOT UNDERSTAND THAT. Even a baby deer would know that. Let the tiger come and he’ll rip them to shreds and then I’ll find peace. I was write to judge them. LET THESE MEN DIE!!

Wait..what is that. That’s not my water. That’s not cool and calm. What is that? No…no it can’t be. Was he PEEING!? I couldn’t help but cry at this moment. This was too disrespectful and humiliating. I’ve spent centuries being a source of life and this is how I’m treated. My dear tiger where are you? It’s been hours.

If you don’t come. I’ll do it myself. If you don’t save me, I will save myself. I take a deep breath and push as hard as I can. Not a drop moves. Why did I have to be an inanimate object?

Leaves rustle from the same spot once again. He’s here. Yes he’s here!

You would have already guessed it but it wasn’t him. It was another two men, here to drag me down further. Behind them they trailed the body of my dear old quite friend, the tiger. Humiliating me like this was already painful, but killing my friend….how dare they?

Enough! I put all my might, all my spirit, all my force and all my energy. Trying to produce a wave. I wanted to drown them. It wouldn’t happen. Come on. I pushed harder. One ripple emerged. Yes!

Harder! I took everything I had and produced a wave so giant, the ocean would be jealous.

The humans seeing this freak of nature were terrified. They all swam as fast as they could trying to run away. The wave feel and they all were pushed down under. They came back up gasping trying to reach for air. They all swam and were able to escape, except one. One wasn’t enough but I could make do. I slammed another giant wave into him and held him down. It was his punishment and their example. How dare they do this to me and my tiger? I’ll not be like the wise trees or the hurt animals. I’ll show them their place. The man thrashed as water filled his lungs. I knew it was the end when I could feel no dirty tear coming from his eyes and polluting me. I had expelled all my energy all my anger. I guess this whole moving my water thing would be a once in a life situation. I was too…I don’t know what I was. I was done with this existence though.

The men never returned. They didn’t even bother coming back for their dead buddy. His body lay there in the water, rotting slowly. It was going to be there for a time close to eternity.

Eventually the animals stopped coming. My water was too filthy for them to drink it. I don’t blame them. I wished all my water would evaporate and this misery would end. Wind was the only one that visited now. It was less frequent. I guess it didn’t want to mix it’s sweet smell with that of rotting human flesh. It was only its kindness that it would still come and clear the leaves out making it all a tiny bit better. For that I’ll forever be grateful.

**

I don’t know how many seasons had passed. I had stopped counting. The man’s corpse was now half rotten, bones now visible. I don’t know after how many years but I had a visitor. Through the leaves came a tiny baby fox. It walked towards me and then fell on its side. It was hurt and badly so. The wounds were unlike anything I’d seen before which could only mean one thing…humans. AAAAHHH! what’s with humans? Before my rage for them could overtake I heard the baby squeak. It wanted water. After all these years someone wanted water and I couldn’t give it to them. Every squeak was painful and reminded me of my uselessness. I saw him die thirsty, a tiny fox that didn’t deserve this painful end. I couldn’t even provide him with one thing, the last thing he wanted before dying. All this time I thought I was a shell of my former self, but I was a ghost. Unlike the men, the fox’s people came. The cried, they wallowed and they left. My stench didn’t even let them grieve properly.

These men had hurt me for too long. I cried, filling myself up. The water overflowing. I felt the same anger I did that day. Once again I’d had enough. I missed who I was. I didn’t want to be a rotting pool of germs. I felt some strength after all these years. One moment of calm to prepare myself and then I pushed. I pushed so hard and created a wave so big that it made the corpse fly. It flew not just over the tress but across the forest. It was gone. I didn’t feel free, but this was definitely better.

*

Slowly with time I cleared up. The water became potable once again. The wind took the message across the forest. I was back. The first animals that came and drank out of me were the family of the fox I couldn’t help. Now I could play with the animals. I would create tiny waves that the cubs rode on. I helped the giant animals clean themselves. I helped the hurt ones heal.

Even the monkeys were less annoying now. I had once again started to feel not completely useless.