Squirrel Girl put her small driving gloves on. It was time to speed. Thanks to the lockdown due to the pandemic, the roads were almost empty. The few who drove sped like lunatics and Squirrel Girl joined them. It was exhilarating to allow the wind to blow on her face as she sped like Speed Racer. In some way, a lockdown wasn’t so bad after all.

Wind agreed and whispered, “Earth needed a respite … see how you can see the stars at night?”

Indeed, Squirrel Girl looked upon heaven and saw that the stars radiated light. She was able to view them thanks to the clean air from the lack of pollutants since almost no one was driving. Feeling that she could breathe better, Squirrel Girl started jogging. She had never jogged before but decided to give it a try. Thanks to her friend Coach, who had twin sons, she gained excellent advice. She was grateful to Coach who had named her two sons Humpy and Dumpty. She never allowed them to be sat on a wall in fear that they would fall and hurt themselves. She was a good mother to them.

As Wind blew on Squirrel Girl’s face, she jogged at a snail pace. Admittedly, some walkers outpaced her. It was somewhat embarrassing to Squirrel Girl. Still, something about jogging, she felt her muscles getting stronger and lost a few pounds gained from the lockdown. It was pure bliss to be running even if you were running like a snail. All the worries of the world fell behind her as the wind blew it away from her. Not a thing mattered to Squirrel Girl. She felt nothing and thus felt joy. Why did feeling “nothing” cause joy? Was “something” always nothing but pain and sorrow? Was that why it prevented joy?

Squirrel Girl smiled and rested after her jog. She made sure to walk afterward for that was what her Coach advised. And as she walked, the real squirrels came forward hoping that Squirrel Girl would offer some french fries. It was then that Squirrel Girl realized the city squirrels were slimmer. At first, she thought that they were on a diet, but of course, they were not on a diet but had less to eat thanks to the empty trash cans. Humans caused so much trouble sometimes. It was another good outcome of the pandemic. The squirrels were slimmer thanks to eating organic foods. They had to work extra hard to find organic foods so they were getting plenty of exercises too. It was a lesson learned: organic foods did cause you to be slimmer.

Wind whispered again, “Let earth heal …”

Yes, it did well to allow healing for the earth. How it must have reeled in pain sometimes as humans created so much havoc. And like earth, Squirrel Girl was also healing as she ran like a snail.