A Long Road to Go

WORD ART by Sanné Haiduk

One Sunday afternoon, Spencer and Jack were sitting on a bench in the park watching the big football game on Spencer’s phone. Jack suddenly turned to see geese swimming around in a pond. Spencer noticed Jack had wandered off and paused the game to join him. They stood there for a minute until Spencer asked Jack what he was thinking.

“In my next life, I want to come back as a Canadian goose,” Jack said.

“What?” Spencer asked.

“If reincarnation exists, I want to be a Canadian goose,” Jack answered.

“So if you could come back as anything, it would be a goose?” Spencer questioned.

They both looked at each other and Spencer was in disbelief about what Jack was saying.

“Yeah, I mean why not, they just eat food all-day and are free to do whatever they want,” Jack said while watching the geese.

“So is any pet… so you don’t want to come back and do anything important?”

“I already did everything that is important in my life.”

“Ok, picking up some trash is not that important.”

“It is to those Canadian geese.”

Spencer started to walk slowly down the hill away from Jack while still watching the geese play with a piece of bread that floated in the water.

“Oh come on man, you’re telling me you don’t want to discover anything or change the world drastically?” Spencer asked while walking towards Jack.

“Hey, I did change the world… The Canadian geese will thank me in my next life.”

“Dude, Canadian geese are just there, they don’t do anything,” Spencer says while pointing to the geese.

“Exactly!”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I have done everything: I went to school, worked, and got married.”

Jack starts to walk away from Spencer again and down a path at the park.

“So you’re saying you want to spend your next life just laying around and waiting for things to come to you?” Spencer asks as he joins Jack.

“Yes, see, now you get it.”

“No, I still don’t get it.”

“Why would I want to do things when I can just fly and go wherever I want.”

“Because you wouldn’t be able to do things.”

“Like what?”

“Well have friends, eat real food, find love--”

Jack stopped in his tracks and turned to Spencer with an expression on his face that made him feel confident.

“See, that is where you are wrong. I will have plenty of geese friends, people will toss their food out so I can have some and I am already planning on marrying a lovely dame.”

Jack and Spencer continue walking as Jack tries to convince Spencer how Canadian geese are awesome.

“Are you kidding me? Wow, I can’t believe I am arguing with a goose.”

“Hey, that was hurtful.”

“What do you mean? You just said--”

“I said in my next life, I still have plans for this one.”

“Oh really? Well, that’s good.”

“Yeah, I have always wanted to eat every flavor of ice cream in a store.”

“I…Why?” Spencer asks while staring at Jack with a confused look.

“I don’t know, I’ve seen people do it on TV and it just seems so interesting.”

“It seems like I chose the wrong friend to hang out with.”

“Hey don’t mess with me now, or I will find you with my Canadian Goose senses when I come back,” Jack says, flapping his arms imitating geese wings.

“How will you know what animal to look for in our next life, if it even happens?”

“You want to come back as a sloth.”

“I knew I liked you when we met.”

Spencer seems convinced that whatever animal they could come back as would be equally as good in different ways until Jack says something that makes Spencer think differently.

“Yeah, but Canadian Geese are way cooler than a dumb sloth.”

“Hmph, you take that back or else—”

“Or else what?”

Jack and Spencer stand facing each other with their arms crossed until one of them continues to talk.

“Ok, there are plenty of good reasons why a sloth would be a good animal,” Spencer finally says.

“Enlighten me.”

“Well they have long arms for reaching scratchy areas and they can climb trees.”

“Ok wow, I had no idea sloths were so cool man,” Jack says while slow clapping.

“Really?” Spencer says with a smile “well—”

“No, I-I was kidding.”

Spencer's smile suddenly disappears and a frown spreads across his face.

“Why can’t you accept my sloth?”

While arguing they bumped into a runner.

“Ok then let’s ask her what she thinks,” Jack says while catching up with the runner.

“Excuse me? Ma’am?” Jack asks, tapping her on the shoulder.

“Yes?” She stops to turn around while taking out her earbuds.

“My friend and I were discussing reincarnation, and he thinks that a sloth would be better than Canadian geese and—”

“That is not what I said, I said it would be a good animal, I totally respect your Canadian goose,” Spencer says.

“Aw, Do you really think that?”

“I do buddy,” Spencer says while putting his hand on Jack's shoulder.

At that moment, Jack's anger turned into softness, and hugs Spencer.

“I’m glad I could help,” the runner says while watching the two hug.

They both shoo her away while they continue hugging.

“Look I’m sorry I guess I thought sloths were dumb because they just lay in trees all day.”

“Dude, I just said Sloths can climb which is basically their way of flying and you know they have legs.”

“Wait they do?” Jack pulls away from the hug“ I always thought they just laid in trees and used telepathy to eat food.”

“Seriously,” Spencer says while looking so done with Jack.

“Ok maybe sloths aren’t so useless,” Jack says while they return back to the bench.

“Dang that path was long,” Spencer says while sitting down.

“Yeah, I now get why they call it the problem-solving path,” Jack says while sitting down next to Spencer.

“I love you man.”

“I love you too.”

They hug one last time and continue watching the game.

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Bio: Sanné Haiduk is a 2022 graduate and is a very creative person. In her free time, she likes to write songs and short stories, make art, and sing for hours. She currently has 8 dogs and loves on them while they watch movies together.