There was a little boy. The little boy was digging. The shovel in his hand seemed a little too big for him, and the weather was cold, and there was a little sore right where the little boy’s little hand met the handle. The boy was digging.
A man passed him by, a slightly older man. This man believed the boy’s digging was hard work. He started clapping as he saw the boy dig further.
A couple of students were returning from their classes. They saw the old man clapping so they rushed to see what it was all about. They peeked and saw that there was a boy digging below, and so they started cheering for him.
The boy heard them and stopped for a second but then, he continued toiling. He dug further, and deeper. It wasn’t long before there was a crowd but the boy was so deep down below that he could only hear a faint echo of applause. That, and his constant striking of the Earth. He kept going deeper.
Until the boy got tired. He was exhausted. He dropped the shovel, and he sat on the soil below him. The ditch was dark, and it was only now he started to realise how the time had passed.
The boy looked up. “”Hey!”” He shouted. No one could hear him, and he still couldn’t remember why he was digging. He started climbing up. As he climbed, the crowd started to feel an err. The constant clinking of the shovel had stopped.
The little boy kept climbing out, and for a while, his world-view became that of the vertical tunnel. He could only see the circular top, and through it, he saw the urge to get out. After a long climb, he came out.
He huffed and puffed and looked around. Those who waited gave the boy some food, and water, and wrapped him in a blanket. A while later, they asked him why he was digging. “”I do not remember. I think I started on a whim, but that was years ago. Now, I am tired, and I want to sleep,”” the boy said.
The little boy went to his house, and climbed into his bed, and slept throughout the month. As he slept, the only thing he saw in his dreams was him in the ditch, digging.
One day, when he felt rested enough, he woke up. Then, on a whim, he picked the shovel up. He walked out of the door, and without a word to anyone, he started digging.