[This is a story that was straddling two languages: Korean and English. I’m still not sure which language suits it best, but the Korean translation is in progress. If you want to collaborate with me on it or have general feedback, please let me know.]
Little ant climbed to the top of the anthill. A grain of sand rolled down with her final footfall. Big ant sat waiting at the summit. Little ant panted, “You’re here.” Big ant smiled.
Big ant looked at little ant. He hadn’t seen her in a while. Just yesterday, he had been wondering how she was. Little ant dropped her satchel on the sand and plopped down next to him. He could hear her little breathing slow. Slow to a steady bloom. In, out. Puff, puff.
He stretched out his legs and let out a groan. “What took you so long? I got here an hour ago.”
“Sorry, I got distracted.”
“What was it this time?”
“There was a circle of pigeons.”
“And?”
“It was a circle. I was curious.”
“Well, was there something inside the circle? What were they looking at?”
“Nothing. They were just pecking at a scattering of crumbs.”
He looked at her. “Seriously? You know, you could’ve gotten hurt.”
“They looked friendly.”
“Of course. All right, so what have you got?”