I met someone on my planet today.

The sun had began to rise, and I stepped out of my door and laid my bare feet on the straw laying on the stone steps on the path to the ocean. I started to walk very slowly because I was in no hurry. The navy clouds foamed across the skies, and I took notice of the slight breeze that blew across my legs. It was all very calming, and not very loud. Only the slightest vibration tore through my atmosphere. I had made my way to see the sandy shores of the ocean. It isn't very big... in fact, you could see the other side of the ocean just by sitting on the tree branches overlooking the sand. It is more of a lake than an ocean, but I love it all the same.

I sat into the brush of the grass and laid the palms of my hands to the moist, cool grass, and I could feel the dirt already between my fingers as I dug my fingers into the terrain, but it's not actually of a filthy nature.

I laid my head down into the grass and glimpsed a very small creature, no bigger than the length of the dirty finger stuck in the ground. He didn't have much shape to him, but he carried around with him a very hard blanket. This beast was a snail.

I asked him, "doesn't it get uncomfortable at night with such a rigid blanket?" He assured me, he "would be fine, but it does seem rather cold as the winds sweep by."

"Maybe you could come live in my home with me," I said, full of hope. "It is warm and always very cozy. It gets a little lonely for me. Maybe you could come, and be my friend so it won't feel so quiet at night."

"That sounds wonderful, but it is a long way to travel."

I insisted it's not very far... A few steps around the planet and you'd be back on the other side.

"You are a person, you have long legs and feet to carry you wherever you'd like. I can't move very far as fast as you can."

"But I could carry you," I murmured.

"It is my reward for a heavy journey, your shelter. If I don't complete the journey, then what is the point of having anything in return? That would be a gift. I have no need for gifts. I can't carry them around, and they will be forgotten whenever the time permits... But a journey... an adventure! That is what really matters. Now, go back to your home and I will meet you when I get there. Just don't forget about me."

"I never will," I said, and began to walk my bare feet back to my home.

"He is wrong," I said to myself. "I may have legs, but they won't carry me where I need to go..."