As a child, I wasn’t the loudest or most social person. In fact, I much preferred talking to rocks than people, and I had a fascination with dictionaries and encyclopedias. It was in the midst of August, on an extremely hot day where I couldn’t even bear to read as I left sweaty fingerprints when turning each page of my favorite book at the time- Anne of Green Gables. I was on the part where Anne had accidentally intoxicated Diana, when I heard the notorious melodic chimes of the ice cream truck and a chorus of children laughing and screaming. I mentally apologized to Anne for abandoning her as she got yelled at by Diana’s mother, and I quickly ran to grab a SpongeBob popsicle- the gumball eyes had always been my guilty pleasure. As I happily walked back, popsicle in my hand, I noticed a little slug on the side of the sidewalk. It’s awfully strange for a slug to be on the sidewalk with no shade… I thought as I remembered a book I read by David Gordon on gastropods. Then, it hit me, slugs can’t survive in this much heat for a …show more content…
I had been so caught up in creating an imaginary life for him that I had been totally oblivious to my surroundings and lost track of time. The sun was setting and leaving behind an alluring splash of red, orange and purple; as if the sky was God's canvas. Suddenly I felt chillier, the sun was no longer hitting my back. Sadly, I admitted that this meant Gastro was no longer in need of the protection and as much as I wanted to stay and chat, I knew my mom wouldn't want me out in the dark. I said goodbye to my unusually muted friend and headed home. That night, I slept knowing (or at least I like to think) that thanks to me and my shadow, Gastro could return home to his two kids just in time for their bed time story. If there's anything I learned from my slimy little pal, it's that there's always a reward in taking some time out of your day to make someone else's just that much