Thoughts From a Muse

One day, Shaggy met an owl on his afternoon walk by the river. The owl called himself Muse—an interesting name for an owl, yet Shaggy inquired no further. The owl flew alongside Shaggy on his usual solitary journey. Shaggy asked the owl his occupation, to which he replied, “I flutter over the shoulders of others, giving them tidbits for their life stories as I’m able. And in return, they give me perspective, as they allow me to see through the eyes of another.”

Shaggy enjoyed his chat with the Muse. Although probably inaccurate, the latter’s knowledge of the future was of particular interest. The owl predicted a world with various restrictions placed on people, yet at the same time a type of utopian society. He then stopped his narrative to ask Shaggy his opinion. Shaggy replied that the notion seemed but a crumbling dictatorship, cracking at the seams. The owl then told of a young boy who had managed to keep a treasure in that society, where such secrets, knowledge, and treasure are forbidden. Shaggy wondered what treasure the boy might have had, but the Muse declined to answer. The owl remarked how he enjoyed the conversation, complaining that most humans had little time for such things anymore. Promising to return next week to the owl’s tree-top dwelling, Shaggy bid the Muse farewell and walked himself down to the meadow.

His paws tired, Shaggy flopped on the grass and idly observed some ducks trawling lazily across the pond as he contemplated the ideas the Muse had discussed. One idea flitted through his unkempt head but dissipated before he could fully identify it. Scattered thoughts drifted on the wind: people of the past who refused to back down, the boy with the forbidden treasure. Shaggy rolled over, reveling in the feel of the tender clover, content to let such weighty thoughts pass him by.