Lizard Man in Clear Water

I wanted to tell a story about the difference in how we advise others to solve their problems versus how we treat ourselves with our own problems.

• Fiction
• Short story
• Fantasy

								
I like to crawl across the ground like a slithering lizard. One may find that peculiar, but in the world, I inhabit that is one of the most fun ways to live. A while ago I used to live in the town where everyone else did. I used to go to work, like everyone else did. I used to come home and watch the television until sundown, like everyone else did. I used to attend funerals and weddings and graduations, like everyone else did. 
Until suddenly, I realized this wasn’t the way I wanted to live. It came upon me slowly at first. It then began to truly pull me apart. I would be at my desk, filling in paperwork when this mysterious force would overtake me and ask me to abandon the town and all the people in it. I thought it was ludicrous at first and I ignored it. However, with each day that passed, the more I realized I actually didn’t like the life I was leading. 
I used to have fun, I used to be playful, I used to be entertaining to be around to say the least. And then I realized one day that I couldn’t talk to people. Yes, I could talk to them, but only small talk. It was a horrendous realization. I had not had a meaningful conversation with anyone in years. Everything boiled down to “good morning” and “I’m doing well, thank you.” 
I had become completely isolated in a town full of people living a life that was not mine. That’s what it really felt like, I promise. What I mean is that I felt I had been plucked from a different universe and dropped into this town. I was then sentenced to complete an itinerary of tasks until I eventually succumbed and died. This I could not stand for. I wanted to live a life that I could make sense of. Hence, I left my home one day, and suddenly decided I would get down on all fours and crawl away. 
I picked up speed as I crawled, and soon I was up and over the big hill that overlooked my town, and I was crawling away happily, and forgetting all my misfortunes and sorrow. I was alone in the town, but as I wandered the forests I still felt alone, but content. 
The forest was a new space for me to become whoever I truly wanted to be. What that mostly entailed was me crawling up and down trees all day. Sometimes, while I was up to my crawling, I saw one of my old friends walking on the forest trail. One time I thought I’d surprise them and tell them about my new condition. I was hoping I would be able to engage with them and have a meaningful conversation. 
They screamed and ran away. 
I guess my appearance may have been altered by all the crawling around I had been doing, and all the logs I’ve been sleeping under… 
But I didn’t let this deter me! I continued to live my days in the woods walking on all fours. One may wonder what I ate during this time, and my only response is that I ate nothing. I didn’t need to. I was always content and happy away from the town. 
Up in the pine trees I would watch as people I knew from the town, colleagues and neighbors, would walk the trails. I knew from my encounter with my friend that these people were not exactly thrilled to see me, so I stayed hidden. 
However, there was one occurrence when I must not have been as hidden as I thought, and I was seen by two people passing by. In fear they ran back in the direction of the town and left me where I was. 
I realized that I was now able to lick my eye with my tongue, and I was practicing it when they saw me. I am perfectly aware of how that was not the most attractive look I could have had. As such, I was not offended by their response. But rumors quickly spread of a large monster lurking in the woods outside of town, and naturally the teenagers became interested. 
One night, as I quietly gazed up at the sky, a group of teenagers marched into the forest with torches. They didn’t seem to believe I was actually real, but they did intend to kill me if I was. Fortunately, these teenagers were not hunters, and as such they never found me. But this event did rattle me. 
In fear I retreated deeper into the forest until I came across a river. I decided to just drop into it to see what would happen. All my actions were becoming spontaneous at this point. In the water I met a very nice rainbow carp. They told me I was not natural, but I wasn’t bad either. They told me to go upstream until I found a small creak leading into the river, and then follow it until it got me to a clearing. 
I bid him farewell and heeded his advice. I found the creek in no time at all and followed it for a short time until I came out into a gorgeous clearing. The grass there was tall and soft and waved in the wind. It was a brilliant green I’d never seen before, and the sky above it was a striking blue with only a few white wispy clouds floating around. 
As I was wondering why I came here, I saw a fish float by. At first, I didn’t think anything of it, until I realized I was on land! This fish was floating through the grass! I was stunned at such a sight. I decided to follow the fish, until my eye caught something else. It was a snail that was as big as a car! I then realized that all around me aquatic creatures were reaching bizarre sizes and living on land. 
Of course, I was curious, and I dipped my head back into the stream, and there I saw sheep grazing on the underwater plants growing between the pebbles and eagles were swimming below the surface gracefully! Now I knew that my appearance was odd, but I truthfully was not expecting anything like this to exist anywhere in the world. 
And so, I spent a few days mingling with these newfound creatures. They were all so fascinating! I had truly no idea what stories a snail could tell. Neither did I expect to hear a mollusk’s take on government! 
Here, there were no jobs, no tasks, no obligations. We all existed together always. I felt I had been given a gift that few living creatures ever receive, a fulfilling and safe life surrounded by people (if you can say that) who are genuinely fun to be around. I had truly become myself in this world. 
One notable event did occur after this. A woman wearing a yellow dress and a beige sun hat with a red ribbon did come out of the trees one day and walked out into our clearing. The other creatures scattered away, not knowing what to make of it. I was splashing in the crystal-clear sparkling water, and it took me an embarrassingly long time to notice her presence, or the absence of everyone else. 
She walked up to the shore of the stream and smiled at me. I was confused. I hadn’t spoken to a human in a while, and I didn’t know if I could anymore, but I tried regardless. 
“Good morning,” I said, immediately reverting back to my old self. 
“Oh, so you are a human,” she responded. 
It was then I realized that my tongue was now of appropriate length and my hands each had five fingers again. I was initially terrified at the powers of this woman that she could turn me back into a human. But I calmed myself down. She didn’t seem threatening. 
“Yes, I suppose I am.” 
“So, why do you live here?” she asked. 

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