(flash story)

Maryna loved her daily walks in Holosiivskyi park. The air was fresh, the birds sang cheerfully, and she could forget about her worries for a while. One morning, as she strolled past the duck pond, she saw Vasyl Petrovych, her elderly neighbor, feeding the ducks.

“Good morning, Vasyl Petrovych!” she called out.

“Good morning, Maryna! Lovely day, isn’t it? I see the ducks are particularly fond of my bread today. Makes you wonder if they ever get tired of the same old crumbs.”

Maryna smiled. “I think they just appreciate the gesture. Speaking of which, do you know why the scarecrow won an award?”

Her neighbor looked puzzled. “No, why?”

“Because he was outstanding in his field!” Maryna laughed at her own joke, but Vasyl Petrovych just shook his head with a grin.

As she continued her walk, Maryna thought about her upcoming vacation. “I can’t wait to visit Paris and see the Eiffel Tower,” she mused aloud. “And I really hope they have incredible ice cream there.”

A jogger passing by overheard her. “Paris is great! Just make sure you don’t go to bed angry. My sister did that once, and now she only eats vegetables.”

Maryna blinked in confusion, but the jogger was already gone. She chuckled to herself. “People are strange,” she thought. “But that’s what makes life interesting. Like my grandfather always said, ‘You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it scuba dive.’”

As she sat on a bench to rest, Maryna looked around and noticed a squirrel trying to open a plastic bag. “I wonder if squirrels ever get tired of nuts,” she pondered. Then she laughed, remembering another saying: “If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you.”

The day went on with more amusing encounters and random thoughts, leaving Maryna grateful for the unpredictability of life. After all, sometimes the best moments are the ones that make no sense at all.