Day 19 of the 5-minute freewrite: A Purple Squirrel

A Purple Squirrel--5 min. Freewrite

I don’t know why it had to be a purple squirrel. Couldn’t it have been a black one? Or an orange one? If any at all? I’d much rather write about an orange squirrel, that hopped from branch to branch, tree to tree, gathering nuts for the winter.

And the nuts were green and blue, of course. And the sky was purple. That’s where the purple would be, with pink puff clouds, and a jazzmine sun.

If I could have a jazzmine sun, I would catch it in a jar, snug a lid on top, and dangle it from my ceiling. And if it got too bright, I’d cover it with a cloth. And if it shone through the cloth, I’d hide it in my closet and throw it under my clothes.

And I could take it out whenever I wanted, really. If I wanted to. And most of the time I’d want to. But sometimes I wouldn’t. I’d just want to leave it there underneath my mess in the closet. Or I’d maybe let it dangle, muted under a cloth, hanging from the ceiling.

But most of the time...MOST of the time, I’d let it shine.

It’s only been 3 minutes. What am I supposed to write about next? I’m doing complete free association here. It reminds me of the Roarschak ink blots test. Rorschack? Rorschach. I don’t know how to spell his name.

All I know is, if I were to look at one of those inkblots this very second, I would probably see a little black squirrel, hopping from branch to branch, tree to tree, gathering nuts for the winter. And the nuts would be purple, and the sky orange, with blue puffy marshmallow and cotton candy clouds, and a silver, shimmering sun.

And if I could catch that sun, I’d put it in a jar, slam the lid shut, and stuff it under my bed so no one could find it. And I wouldn’t have to share. I’d keep it all for me me me. I'd have so many jars, of so many things, I'd have to build a shelf just to fit them all. And I would never open them or let them out, because I might run out of pretty things. And that would be terrible. So I would just display them for people to see, and long for, and envy. I would be the talk of the town. And I would have all the admiration in the world. An endless supply of jars with things in them, and an endless supply of souls to befriend.

All they needed was opening...and sharing.

And I didn't know it. I thought they were meant to sit up there forever. Untouched.

I was wrong.