I was born in a bountiful forest to my mother named Someone special. My brother, Very Special, died shortly after my birth. I was named extra special. My mother showed me around the forest we would call home and we agreed it was a good place. Once I had grown enough to forage for myself I immediately set to work on building a snare. Sadly, as I was foraging I came across my mother’s corpse. It was just me, a young boy, out here on his own.
Refusing to just give up, I continued my work and once my snare was finished I set off to find rabbits which were very close by. Only hunting the families, partly for sustainability and also because I held resentment in my heart seeing their happy families, I spent my life as a lone trapper.
As I had grown old and adorned a full set of fur clothes, I realized that no one was coming. It was at that moment I finally realized the futility of my life’s work. It seemed I had 2 options. Live here for the remainder of my life with a full belly and a warm fire or set out on one last quest in the hopes that I could find a family to pass my belongings to.
I chose the latter. Filling a basket full of berries, I set off into the great unknown knowing that I would never see this campsite again. I ran through a great desert into another fertile forest, through a Savannah, then through a small swamp, another forest, another Savannah, and another desert, not seeing even a trace of human life.
As I stopped to refill my basket, I knew the end was nigh. I considered just lying down next to the berry bush and going into the unending dark, but decided against it. If death would come for me, he was going to have to chase me. I grabbed my basket and continued. That’s when I saw it.
A great monolith stood on the smallest patch of forest you’d ever see, surrounded by desert and swamp. A beacon to all who would journey here. Ancient and majestic. I knew this was what I was meant to do. I walked up to the base of it, dropped my basket, and rested my old weary bones for the last time. As I lied on it and closed my eyes I realized that this was my mother’s plan all along. This is why I received my name. She knew I would find this monolith and by dying at the base of it I would become a part of it. This building was the most special thing I had seen in my entire life and by making it my final resting place it had become
Extra special.