The River That Refused Advice

Liora followed a river that bent sharply around a mountain. The villagers told her the river was foolish, inefficient, poorly planned.

They had written proposals for straighter paths and cleaner lines. They shouted these plans into the water.

The river continued to flow as it always had.

Higher up, where no one stood to advise it, the river split around a fallen tree and created a fertile plain. Fish gathered there. Birds followed. The village prospered downstream without noticing why.

The river had not listened. It had not resisted. It had simply flowed where it could.