Rings
December 22nd, 2020
Starring: Explorer 1 & Explorer 2
The forest. The Explorers are hiking through. They come upon a big tree stump, and stop.
EXPLORER 1
Poor lad.
Gone too soon.
EXPLORER 2
Most are.
EXPLORER 1
How old, you think?
EXPLORER 2
The rings’ll tell you.
Explorer 1 crouches down to examine the stump, starting to count the rings:
EXPLORER 1
Do you think they know? How old they are?
EXPLORER 2
Dunno. They know they’re living.
EXPLORER 1
It is strange. How nature still finds some measure of age. Even if they don’t know it.
EXPLORER 2
That’s how it should be. You only know how long it’s been til they cut you open.
EXPLORER 1
I like knowing the number. It reminds me I’m finite. I live better.
EXPLORER 2
Because it’s all we know. If we didn’t, it would just be living.
EXPLORER 1
I can’t deal with uncertainty.
EXPLORER 2
How human of you.
EXPLORER 1
I can’t help being me.
EXPLORER 2
That’s our flaw. We can’t let things just be.
EXPLORER 1
Nope. We can’t.
Quiet. Explorer 1 finishes counting the rings:
EXPLORER 1
118
120
122.
...
Still kinda nice to know, isn’t it?