The Tale About Billy the Hedgehog who is constantly moving

The mother looked into Billy the Hedgehog's room and saw that he was lying on the bed.

“Why aren't your things packed yet?”
“I don't want to pack them!”
“Billy, we are leaving tomorrow morning, and you still haven't packed your bags! I asked to do it a hundred times already! I'll be here in an hour and everything should be packed!” - mother said angrily after slamming the door.

Billy did not move. He was extremely sad. He lived in this room for three months and did not want to leave it, and together with the room he did not want to leave this apartment, this forest and new friends. At the begining, Billy did not like the new room and everything connected with it. He was attached to the forest in which he used to live before. If you squint your eyes and look in front of you for a long time, you can see thin, thin threads that lead from your heart to people, animals, things or places that you love. Billy had a lot of such threads that tied him to everything around him. To mom and dad, to other hedgehogs who attended school with him, played on the playground, to teachers and neighbors, to toys and clothes, to food, to the room, to the table, to the bed and even to the wallpaper. The more time Billy spent with something or someone, the stronger and thicker the threads became.

Mom and Dad could not see this, because they were constantly busy. Billy’s heart was attached to the room, so he couldn't start packing and he decided to do nothing, just lie on the bed. He turned off the light and looked out the window from his bed. There was just a full Moon, which shone so clearly that it illuminated even the room. Suddenly, the Moon began to speak to the Hedgehog:

“Why don't you obey your mother? I have known her for so many years, she was an obedient daughter.”
“Do you remember my mother? - the Hedgehog was surprised. – OMG. Do you remember all the people on the planet?”
“What else can I do here in the sky? - said the Moon, yawning. - I rarely see the sun, the other planets are very far away, you can't talk to them. But I constantly look and observe people, unlike Netflix, it's free and much more interesting.”
“Then you should know how tired I am of moving! I was used to my life in my native forest, but predatory dragons came there. We had to run away from there. We lived in one place, then went to another, and now we are leaving here. There is no end to this. My mother didn't have to constantly pack her bags and run away. And then look for new friends.” - Billy the Hedgehog almost cried and the Moon felt very sorry for the little one, who was hiding so much pain behind his needles.
“But your mother was not attacked by predatory dragons.” - answered the Moon in confusion.
“That's why! She will never understand me! First, my forest was attacked by ravenous mad dragons, even though we weren't doing anything wrong. Then I was forced to move from one place to another, having nothing of my own. My mother was more fortunate.”
“But she is moving with your dad only because she wants to protect you and find a better place for you.”
“Not true! If she wanted better for me, I would stay in the forest with the dragons. Just like many other hedgehogs stayed there. They continue to live the same life as before.”

The Moon turned her head and looked at the forest where Billy used to live. She saw his friends and said:
“Believe me, no one there lives the same life as before.”
“Why is that?” - the Hedgehog was surprised, although he had already heard about it from others.
“I can clearly see from above that your friends can no longer go out by themselves as they did before. They often have to hide from the dragons, because they are far away, but they launch layers of fire and no one knows where that layer will fall. They have to live in parallel with their fears. They didn't have to cut as many threads as you, but their lives didn't change for the better either. And your mom and dad just want you not to be as scared as your friends. She wants you to be safe and not a single layer of dragon will get to you.”
“Because of this, I need to constantly come to animals that have been friends for a long time, and I am a stranger to them. Now, once again, I have to pack my bags and go somewhere where everyone has been friends for a long time, but I am a stranger to them.” - Billy could not calm down and stop being angry at his parents and another move.
“But you know how to find friends and get used to new places. If I didn't, there wouldn't be so many new threads every time, right? Your heart creates new threads just because there is love in it. Because even these threads themselves contain love. That's why you will love the new place, right?”
“Not true. I will never love anyone in a new place. There will be no more strings. I will be alone. A lone wolf.”
Suddenly Billy saw a celestial body behind the Moon and looked closely, recognizing a comet.
“I will travel in the same way as this comet. - said Billy - With a cold heart.”
“Do you know how many comets I met that flew past me? Many of them were once planets and lived a stable life, and then everything changed, they fly into the unknown. Many other celestial bodies are seen on their way. They don't get attached to anyone, they don't let go of strings, they are very cold travelers. And believe me, your life is much more interesting. Because these threads make your life meaningful. Therefore, I would not advise you to envy comets. Having no strings attached and not loving anything, not being attached is not a life I would envy. Nobody cares about this comet.”

Billy the Hedgehog looked at the trail of the comet, and then at the Moon, and saw that this celestial body, like him, had so many threads connecting it to the Earth. This is probably why the Moon did not fly away from the Earth, like a comet, and revolves around it. They love each other. But in addition, it seemed to Hedgehog that the Moon loves animals and nature, people and their creations - houses, parks, ships and other things. So, the Hedgehog understood, he is talking to someone who can understand him.

There was another knock on the door. An hour passed and my mother returned to Billy.
“Haven't you packed your things? - mother was very angry. But Hedgehog suddenly saw not anger, but the threads that were coming from her heart. There were a lot of them too, and tomorrow they will break up just like his, and it will also hurt her to leave this place, to look for new friends and a new job, a new apartment and new coffee shops. But besides that, Billy saw another thread that ran from her heart to his. This thread was one of the biggest. Despite the fact that the mother was angry, Billy came up and hugged her.
“I'm sorry, mom. I'll pack my bags now and then I'll help you and dad pack, okay? I promise!”
“Deal”. - mother said already in a very kind voice.

The Hedgehog immediately felt warmer in the soul from the fact that the mother became kinder. She left, and Bull looked out the window and thanked the moon. They talked a little more and Bull began to pack his bags. You can't always fit all the things you love so much in a suitcase. Though you can try to preserve the threads of love for your relatives and those who try to protect you from danger.

There are diving boards in the pool where you can jump in water and there are diving boards where you can jump into the world of creativity. I found mine here in the library. I love it so much to cycle here and write. I can be very productive here. I wrote a lot of articles, presentations and lessons in this library. It’s a magic place for me, the fasters and effective diving boards into my favorite parallel world.

Margaryta Surzhenko