The Raindrop

A nihilist sees the tree and questions why a single leaf fears the wind. If the tree exists at all. An invisible speck of mathematical matter tucked away in a nebular equation. If the equation exists at all. He stands alone on a sunny day beneath a cloudless sky and waits. Nearby, a family celebrates their ability to multiply. A child’s birthday party. Just one of many for one of the many. God willing. The father smears mustard on a hamburger bun. His daughter objects to the sesame seeds. She picks a single seed from the soft bread and positions it beneath the blue nail of her middle finger, presses the top of that nail to the bottom of her thumb, then sends the seed soaring to Kingdom come. The nihilist refuses to see the seed. How it glides through air defying gravity. How it waits for an opportunity to strike like a military drone (all systems green) looking down on the park ready to blow that fearful leaf away. In the name of self-preservation. 11/22/2018