Noise

Splash. A droplet of water fell from my paddle back into the river. It creates ripples of water reflecting off my kayak interleaving with itself and disappearing into nothingness.

Swhoooooooosh. A dragonfly charges at me and bolts at the last moment. Its sound echoes over the river. It lands on my backpack and seems to stare at me. I stare back.

Sploink. Something fell into the water behind me. I will never know if it was just a duck or Friedrich Merz plummeting into the water like his approval rates. I did not look back. I just heard a sploink.

Wrooooooooooom. An airplane far away in the sky. I ponder how many different people were involved in building this single airplane.

KRRKRTKR. As I shift my weight, the packaging of my cookies dents. The plastic lets off a surprisingly loud noise.

Chirp. A bird whistles from the far end of the river. Is it looking for a mate? Or is it just tweeting its good mood?

WROOOOOOOOOOOOOOM. Another plane. Louder this time. Its sound swallows the birds' singing.

Chatter. People on the nearby bridge talk about something. I don't know what. I don't care what.

Bark. A dog seems to be very excited about something.

Uuuumpf uuuumpf uuuuumpf. Music. The heavy bass and the rhythm lets me assume it's teenagers.

Beeep. Beeeep. Beeeeeep. Someone, somewhere, drives a big truck in reverse.

Krrkrtkr. My cookies again. Weren't they louder the last time?

Skreak. Cars driving, steering, braking.

Sploooosh. I start paddling. Towards... all of that. I don't know why. It's too noisy to think.