You tell the lizard you have a natural curiosity. It cannot be helped. You saw a rock. Many rocks. You had to push them. You did not mean to squish the tiny being that was the lizard. It was an accident. You ask the lizard why it was there anyway. It does not need to explain itself now. You know why it was there. You want a way out. You cannot find a way out.

You keep wandering.

It follows.

It always follows.

You go to you cave.

You sleep.

The lizard is there.

You wake up.

The lizard is there.

You go to the river.

The lizard is there.

It is always there. It never leaves. It follows you everywhere. It watches as you hibernate, but you do not hibernate this year. You cannot focus. not with the lizard watching. It follows every year. You never feel right. You stop eating. You stop sleeping. You never think of anything but the lizard.

You

are

not

a

lizard.

It was.

You choose to…

• …die.