Lovely, simple little moment, not at all what I expected. Nicely done, as I wasn’t disappointed at all.

You have a gift for inserting a simple pathos into your characters and scenes that really works. I envy you that skill!

I especially liked the line, “The shallow flow had risen up with the recent rain and combed the tall grass on the banks in the direction of the current.”

That said, I felt that the line about him only smelling mud and asphalt was incongruous with the rest of the story, when he decides that life is beautiful. That said, I think this is a well-done story.