Frank the water molecule lay on the blades of grass. It wasn’t the first time he was in this situation. After multiple centuries on earth, Frank had been almost everywhere and done almost everything.
He knew the names of most objects, which was very unusual for a molecule. In
their minuscule quantum state, newer molecules had trouble recognising the physical shapes of the world. Only old hats like Frank had the ability to comprehend the patterns of bonds and emissions of light that made each object unique. That was why Frank could recognize the patters of phosphorus, nitrogens and carbons emitting green wavelengths of light underneath him as GRASS.
Franks was close to omniscient in his long-lived experience. He’d spent a year in the bloodstream of Marilyn Monroe, before being peed out. In a glass by Lincon’s right hand as this Great Man drafted the Emaciation proclamation. Frank was pretty sure, he had been rushing down a glimmering stream as humans discovered fire! At the beginning of his existence only glimpses and pieces came from the world, however over time the puzzle had come together to give him a clear picture. In particular, he had learnt a lot when he once spent three years in a dusty water bottle that had fallen behind a cupboard of a middle-school history class. It had been illuminating. Centuries of existence had flowed into each other settling as pearls of knowledge.
So he lay on the grass. His previous posting had been a beer bottle, but he’d accidentally been dropped on the ground. Warm rays of light were coming from the sun and Frank knew what would happen soon. Sure enough! A few minutes later the light started filling him with a vibrant energy. Frank felt the bonds keeping him close to the grass weaken as he started to buzz! With a few shakes, he was off!
He floated up into the air.
It was a familiar journey and the sky was waiting.
Winds pushed him around through their cool breeze.
Time passed.
After quite a while, Frank resigned himself to this being one of the longer trips in the sky.
The world merged below, emitting light and heat from it’s various surfaces.
Floating along, Frank arrived to a space in the sky with a more than average number of water molecules, along with other particles and molecules in the air. The breeze turned him and with immense glee he recognized an old friend, Walter! He had know Walter from his time in the middle school water bottle. They’d enjoyed many spirited discussions over those three stagnant years.
“Hey Walter!” Frank yelled out to his old friend.
The breeze slowed. The temperature dropped.
A large number of water molecules were just hanging around.
A dust particle stood between Frank and Walter, so Fank made his way over. It was a perfect place to just chill and chat.
Walter took his queue.
They latched onto the grainy surface.
“Frank! How long has it been!” Walter seemed thrilled to see him. They aligned their bonds, oxygen to hydrogen, it was the way water molecules would interact, so their charges were well paired.
The temperature dropped some more.
“What was your last posting?” Frank asked after having told his tale of the beer bottle.
A chill was setting as they moved further up. Walter and Frank relaxed on the dust particle. Other molecules followed their example. Now Walter had a stranger on his other side who had also aligned himself to Walter’s bonds.
As the air froze, more and more water molecules clumped along the dust particle. A crowd of oxygens and hydrogens was forming in perfectly aligned hexagonal structures. Unperturbed, Frank and Walter chatted away.
Crystalline hexagons were forming all across the sky.
Their agglomerate became heavier.
Gravity doesn’t appreciate anything above a certain mass to be airborne. Unless it has wings.
The snowflakes started to fall.
Frank knew when the pull of the earth started to take effect, instead of going up, their particle started to go down. He paid it no mind. It had not been his first time as a snowflake. Instead he kept on asking his friend for stories. Where had he gone after spending a year in a rose? Was the rose he was part of given to anyone interesting? Walter was even older thank Frank, he had the wealth of millenia of stories with a young spirit! Always ready for the next adventure.
Their snowflake meandered downwards, taking them towards earth at a steady pace.
Walking in the air. Floating in the moonlit sky.
In the descent their snowflake started to take a more unique form, modified by it’s encounters along the way. Frank was knocked by a nitrogen molecule and slightly turned away from Walter. It was disappointing as it put an abrupt end to a thrilling conversation. However, Frank knew the expectations of a water molecule. To live a stable, yet lonely existence. He sighed comfortably after the catch up with his friend. Lulled by their slow descent.
Frank observed the world below getting closer.
White and silent. Trees already covered by a dusting of other iced water. Snowflakes, so similar and so different from Frank’s own.
As they neared the ground, Frank saw an animal watch them fall. A bird. Frank recognised the symptom of red light. A red robin perhaps? It was possible considering the height and time period.
Frank was happy. He had met an old friend. What other gift could he ask for?
It was a peaceful night.
Before they landed he glimpsed a lit window. A family sitting together. A tree lit up inside.
They slid slowly on the ground. Cushioned by more of their brethren. Their bonds fitting together with other water molecules like the embrace between loved ones.
Bonded in unique crystalline forms, Frank and his family interlinked together, covering a peace of the world.
Comments