TASK 001 ! THE NEW YEAR.
i. did you have any new year’s resolutions or general hopes and wishes for the new year? if so, which ones?
“oh, what a lot of pressure to have to tell someone about them. but i guess it gives me more... what’s the word? accountability?” rain pauses for a moment, a tight little smile playing on his face. “ i’m not really sure what i’m hoping for this year. a few months ago, i definitely would’ve said i hope my grandparents get better, but, ah--” he shakes his head and clears his throat. “i’d like to get even stronger. yeah! i’ve been really slacking off in the past couple of months.”
ii. how exactly are you trying to / going to try to achieve your goals?
“running more, lifting more, and sleeping earlier! especially since my body clock’s still trying to adjust.” he counts them off his fingers as he goes. “i’m gonna stop asking for help carrying the manure bags at work...i’ll carry them myself! it’s too bad they wouldn’t let me take them out of the store, ‘cause i’d love to jog with them or something. that would make a cool training montage, don’t you think?”
iii. is it something you have wanted to do for a long time or was it more of a sudden idea?
“i guess it’s something new. technically, i’ve been doing it for a while, but only because it was part of my schedule back at the farm,” he muses. “but i think i’ve been doing really well, so i bet i’ll do even better when i’m actively trying.”
iv. is there a specific reasoning to them?
“because i...can’t think of anything else to do,” he admits sheepishly. “i’m not that good with planning ahead unless someone else decides a schedule for me.”
v. have you already learned something new this year? if so, what is it?
“oh, plenty. first of all, neither of the islands are invisible. i don’t know why i thought that, but something about my grandpa’s stories just made it seem like they would be. secondly, the beaches aren’t actually made of gold. again, that was probably just a sm... smi... smiley... a metaphor that my grandparents liked to use. thirdly, i’m allergic to shellfish. i could go on, but i wouldn’t want to take up too much time!”
vi. is there anything you want to leave in 2020?
“um.” his leg bounces restlessly as he thinks. when it appears that he’s decided on what to say, he says, voice noticeably lower, “i’d really like to leave behind a lot of things that i’m scared of.” he straightens self-consciously. “not that i’m afraid of a lot! just one or two things. like groundhogs, airplanes, thunder, speed bumps, wasps, the usual. but i’d say the biggest one is this-- this, um--” he gestures to himself nonsensically, hating how being bilingual didn’t make language any easier.
“i’ve got this thing, where i just feel...randomly scared. sometimes it’s about something specific, but i also just get that feeling when i’m getting ready for work, or i’m walking down the street, or i’m about to go to bed. i’m scared i’m doing something wrong, or-- or something that my grandparents would be disappointed about, or--” the urge to start biting his nails suddenly washes in, and he crosses his arms over his stomach to keep them firmly away. “i don’t-- i’m not making sense, am i? sorry, what was the question again?”
vii. is there anything you want others to leave in 2020?
rain thumps a fist against his thigh. “stop stepping on flowers that grow through sidewalk cracks! it’s not their fault they were born there! they probably have a hard enough time being surrounded by all that concrete instead of the nice warm earth, and your boot probably isn’t making it easier for them!”