A Wormy Day

Working really hard in the tunnel, Marv the worm was getting really excited for the next work day. He’s going to be bringing is son to work with him, down in the maze of tunnels that he himself has burrowed out. His sons name was Jeffery, and why a couple of worms have human names doesn't make much sense. That’s just the way it is. In fact when he thinks about it, Marv doesn't even know who named him or his son. He works from sun up to sun down, digging deeper into the dirt every day of his life. There is no tools for him to use, he just bites into the dirt and removes it. He doesn't get paid at all for doing it, in fact he isn't even working for a company, and whether or not worms have major corporations is unknown at this time. Marv does most of his digging for himself; all of his life he’s had an overwhelming compulsion to do it. He could never understand why but he just assumes it’s for survival. Today was an extremely hard day because Marv had to dig around a few rocks. Worms don’t have dynamite so, unfortunately, he couldn't blast through them. It took him most of the day to dig around the first rock as it was estimated to be around 4 feet in diameter! So as you could imagine he was sweating like a….Well, like a worm. Anyway, finishing up for the day he made his way back to his worm lair. The lair was just a dug out hole that had dirt on all sides. There were many different tunnels leading to and from the lair. Jeffery was already there, he was very excited for the next day as well. He always wanted to go to work with his dad and now he would finally get the chance. Settling in for the night they both went to sleep anticipating the next day. Jeffery had trouble falling asleep; he laid there thinking about the dig that awaited him the following day.

Laying there on the ground of the lair, (worms don’t have comfy beds you know!) Jeffery decides he’s going to go topside to look around. Wiggling his way up through the dirt, he pokes his head out of the ground and looks around. A nice cool breeze comes by with the smell of the ocean. He really enjoys the breeze; it always made him feel alive. The lair was very close to a beach. It wasn't a popular beach though; it was rare a human would ever walk by. It was early morning and the Sun was starting to come up. Jeffery just sat there, half sticking out of the ground, watching the beautiful sunrise. “I can’t wait to start digging today” he thought to himself. On the beach a dog was running by, he jumped up and caught a Frisbee in his mouth. Jeffery enjoyed watching this and every morning the dog would be there playing with his master. “Sometimes I wish I could catch a Frisbee” “Those animals with legs have it made.” Over to the right not to far from where he was, there was an apple. As soon as he saw the fruit he jumped out of his hole and crawled his way over to it. Apples were Jeffery’s favorite meal; he could eat them every day. The only problem was actually finding a good one on the ground. Usually he would only find rotten apples or an apple core on the ground. Some worms loved rotten apples but not Jeffery; they had to be ripe and sweet. There was hardly any apple trees where he was at so whenever he was lucky enough to find one he made sure to dive right in! He did just that, plunging head first into the fruit. Just as he thought the apple was very sweet and juicy. He devoured all that he could until he was stuffed. There was nothing wrong with a worm indulging every once in a while, right? Stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey, Jeffery made his way back to his lair. He would soon begin his first work day with his dad!

Back at the lair his dad was waiting for him, he was a little upset because Jeffery was late.

“Jeffery, where in the world were you!?”

“Sorry, I was up above watching the sunrise”

“The Sun done rose up a long time ago! We’re late!”

“But I found an app…...”

“It doesn't matter what you found. Now let’s go we have a lot of work to do today.”

“Yes sir.”

Making their way over to the dig site, Jeffery was still stuffed from the apple he had just consumed. He didn't eat the whole thing but it still made him feel tired and ready for bed. He wasn't going to let that stop him though; he was still so excited to work with his father today. He swore that he was going to dig a chasm on his first day. When he told his father this he laughed and said “Just don’t overdo it, you wouldn't want to get hurt.” His dad had left off just beyond the humongous 4 foot rock. So they decided to start there. Jeffery was a digging machine! His Father stood behind him watching in disbelief at how hard he was working. Dirt was flying everywhere, some even landed on his dad wormy face. He didn't mind though because he was so proud of his boy. ”At this rate I think I can retire early!” Marv said as he just stood there. (Well more like laid there squiggling around, worms can’t stand after all) Working quick and tossing dirt everywhere, Jeffery was still going strong. The day was almost over and they had made a lot of progress.

“So where exactly are we digging to dad?”

“I don’t know, just keep digging boy, whatever you do, just keep digging!”

Marv was feeling tired so he decided to turn in early. He told Jeffery to keep working until dark, and then come back to the lair. Jeffery was ecstatic over this, his dad actually trusted him enough to let him continue on his own! So Marv left him by himself and went back home to sleep. A couple of hours later Jeffery had finished his shift. The sun was about to go down so he decided to go and watch the sunset. Popping up out of the ground again, he was hoping he would see the dog there. Unfortunately the dog’s owner never played Frisbee with him at night time. A little disappointed he figured he could still enjoy the sunset, so he sat there with his head held high taking in the nice breeze. Being cooped up in the dirt all day made the ocean breeze feel that much more incredible. He looked around for an apple, hoping to see one in the same spot as before. No luck though, he would just have to wait for another day.

About an hour or so later Jeffery went back underground and started heading back to his lair. He wiggled past the work site and thought about how proud he made his dad. “Wait until tomorrow, I’m really gonna impress him!” he thought to himself as he looked at the tunnels. ”I bet he’s hungry, I’m gonna go find us some dinner!” Heading back up above ground, Jeffery popped all the way out and began searching for an apple. There was none close by so he thought he would do some searching. He searched the beach, the ground around the lair, the roadway where the cars always passed by. There wasn't an apple to be found. “I give up” he said to himself in frustration. Heading back to his lair hole he heard someone on a bike riding past. They were moving fast so he sped up to get out of the way. The biker through a half-eaten apple onto the ground! He was in luck; the apple landed not too far away. So he quickly ran (slowly crawled, he’s a worm after all) over to the apple and began to gather what he could. He knew his dad loved them to so he was excited to take him some back. “I can’t wait until he see’s this!” Back into the lair hole with his arms filled with apple chunks (worms have arms?) Jeffery unloaded his stash onto the ground. His dad was sleeping over in the corner so Jeffery crawled over to him. ”Dad! I brought you some apple chunks!” There was no answer. “Dad! I said I brought you some apple chunks!” Still there was no answer. Crawling closer to his father, Jeffery nudged him with his wormy head. There was no movement, his dad had died. Crying Jeffery crawled as fast as he could out of the lair. He was so confused and didn't know what to do. The only thing that he could think of doing was to dig. He went back to the work site and started to dig on into the night. “I’ll make you proud, I’m gonna dig that chasm”

Digging throughout the night Jeffery was not getting tired. He was surprised at this. He hadn't had anything to eat since yesterday morning but he didn't care. He was on a mission to dig the biggest hole a worm has ever dug. He dug around rocks, through water, in all directions. He didn't want to stop and before he knew it he dug a hole the size of the Grand Canyon! Well it was actually the size of a watermelon, from his point of view it would have been the Grand Canyon. (Hey he’s a worm; the hole wasn't going to be that big!) He dug all of that day and the sun was going to set soon. He knew watching the sun go down would make him feel a little better so he slowly wiggled his way over to his favorite spot. He popped out and stayed there for a long time. Thinking about the past, trying to remember everything that his dad had told him. All of the advice he had given him. He remembered it all even all of the jokes they had shared. The cool breeze hit him in his wormy face which felt so good since he had been digging so much. He was wondering where he would go from here, does he keep digging? Whatever he decides there is one thing for sure. He’s very hungry and off to the right of him are two of the juiciest looking apples he has ever seen! He pops out of his hole and squirms his way over to them. Diving into the first one he enjoys every juicy bit!

“I’ll keep digging dad, I’ll make you proud!”