Pastime

Today I decided that I am going to write.

Not because I think I am so important that future generations would want to know, but because I discovered how to make these thin sheets of paper that fold easily and can be stored conveniently, and it would be a shame not to use them.

Well, I will write a little about myself. I come from an island in a completely different world. I remember seeing a tiny creature fluttering in front of me, its luminous wings moving under the sunlight, when suddenly everything turned white… and, in an instant, I found myself in this place. I arrived as a child, barely able to walk, and it was then that an elderly woman found me.

By the way, my name is Anna. This name is curious. She was the one who invented it… or, rather, cut it in two. She used to say that she liked the sound of Miss Inanna’s name very much, but that it was too long and solemn for a little girl who always climbed onto roofs just to watch the horizon.

It makes me happy to think that she was the first to separate a name as if it were bread. I don’t know if the goddess would have been pleased with that, but I am. Anna is a short name, easy to write on these sheets.

Lately, I’ve noticed that everyone in the village uses wheels. I admit it: I was the one who thought of them first, among other things.

But I didn’t want the attention to fall on me, so I kept it a secret and let others take credit for the achievements.

Today, as I was returning to my distant home, I stayed watching the birds fluttering over the rooftops as the sun set. I wondered how it is possible for them to interact with the sky.

At that very moment, a feather drifted down slowly in front of me. So I didn’t waste any time and caught it quickly in midair. It’s curious to see how the wind holds it.

I thought it must be because of its weight: a rock falls because it is heavy, wood too. But this feather seemed to weigh nothing. Perhaps, I thought, that is why birds can fly and we cannot.

As I continued walking, I saw how the wind played with the dry leaves of the trees. Some spun in the air before touching the ground, as if hesitating whether to land or keep floating a little longer.

Then I looked at mine, these on which I write. They are not as light as a feather, nor as fragile as those the wind carries… but what if they could also fly?

To test it, I took one and threw it along with a stone. As expected, the stone won. The unfortunate sheet barely twirled before surrendering to the ground.

But I was not satisfied. I took a small twig and the same stone, and this time climbed to the roof of my house to throw them from the highest point. I wanted to be sure.

When I released them at the same time, they fell together! Neither the stone surged ahead nor the twig lagged behind. Both touched the ground simultaneously, as if they had agreed.

I stayed for a long while staring at the place where they had fallen, wondering if everything that falls, no matter how different it seems, obeys the same rule that I still do not understand.

The idea did not leave me in peace. If a sheet could float a little and a feather much more, what would happen if I tried to build a little bird with my own sheets? Perhaps, if I could shape it correctly, I could trick the air into holding it.

I sat on the ground, folding and creasing in every way I could imagine. First, I tried with large wings and a small body: it fell immediately. Then I made one with shorter, straight wings: also a failure. With each attempt, the supposed bird crumbled in the air, falling as if mocking me.

The sky darkened, and I had still achieved nothing.

After a while, I decided to try a simpler design. I took another sheet and folded it into an elongated triangle, spreading the wings as best I could. Deep down I knew it wouldn’t fly, that it would fall like all the others, but I wanted to try anyway.

I climbed to the roof again and threw it into the air. For a moment, I held my breath. The sheet descended… and then something incredible happened: it stayed in line, floating a little longer than I expected.

“Ha! I knew it would work!”

Well, I really didn’t think I would succeed today.

From afar, I watched as it calmly moved toward the horizon, which at that moment burned with golden and orange colors. I stayed watching it, as if the entire sky had welcomed it to accompany its little flight.

Then something strange happened.

High in the night, numerous lights began to shine, like new stars awakening after a long rest. Among them appeared a figure walking from that glowing horizon.

I rubbed my eyes, thinking it was a dream. But no, it was there: a being dressed in clothing of a solid appearance. On its head, it wore something strange, a polished material reflecting the last rays as if it were a drop of water.

I watched, unable to move. And then the most astonishing thing happened: the being took my paper sheet, still floating in the air, held it carefully, and with steady hands, unfolded it. In an instant, it gave it a completely new shape, unlike anything I had tried.

I approached without thinking, my heart pounding. I could not believe what I was seeing: someone, coming from the lights of the sky, improving what I had spent the whole day trying to create.

The being lifted its gaze toward me.

“Do not be afraid,” it said in a calm voice, so clear it seemed to resonate more in my head than in the air. “Here, I am better known as an Anunnaki.”

The word shook me. I had heard that name in whispers, in stories told by the elders. Powerful beings from the sky… but I never imagined one would be in front of me, holding my fragile sheet as if it were worthy of attention.

“You’re not like they say…” I said.

It looked at me intently and then spoke.

“I understand you,” it replied. “After all, we have been described… extravagantly.”

What a surprise…