A Recollection of a Time I Spent in Nature

Sitting against a tree in the forest by myself, but not at all alone, I watched as the animals buzzed about. They were all keeping to themselves, but the longer I lingered, the more comfortable they became with my presence. This happened to the point where bugs crawled over my leg, and an owl perched itself on a nearby branch and gazed at me with interest. The animals knew I was one of them, though it was unfair how my thoughts alone that could rise to a higher level of depth.

The owl spoke. I was sure the other animals only heard an owl because only the nearby mice scurried away, but I heard English clear as the night sky. It asked me what I ate last. I thought back to that afternoon, and then as if I relived it, I took an enormous bite into a piece of steak. It was drier than I remembered, but either way I told the owl. It flew away; however, in its stead were several owl pellets. I immediately knew what meal the owl last enjoyed. I couldn't help but feel bad for the mouse which was only alive for the owl to eat, and I unfortunately made this same comparison to me and the cow I had devoured for lunch that day. Optimistically, I thought the cow at least provided milk for humans as well, but the idea of its purpose remained the same - the cow lives for humans, not itself.

I soon after, began to observe the food right in front of me. A small ant carried a small leaf back to its hole when a mouse leaped for the ant. Not long after, a snake flung itself around the mouse ready to swallow it whole. The snake was about to ingest the mouse when the old owl from before swooped on the snake in hopes of snatching a meal of its own. The two fight it out fiercely. I couldn't help but be entertained by this amazing sight. In the end the smell of blood stained my nose as the snake, slid into the dark with a full belly. The owl made no movement, for the poison already began to show symptoms. I wanted to tend to the owl as if I had befriended it, but a cold thought crossed my mind. This owl, which was hungry before, did not get the food it needed to survive. So I got up from my seat. I looked down and saw that I had left a small imprint in the leaves as to where I was. I shook off all the bugs that tickled me quite a lot at this point. All the animals that were so used to me quickly retreated at my sudden movements. At the end of the night only the fitter animal was only able to survive through another day.