Once upon a time there was a cactus and he dreamed of becoming a coconut, standing like a spreading palm tree, blown by the warm sea breeze. I imagined what a useful palm tree it would be, how people tired of the sun could rest in its shade, how tasty and healthy the milk would be in its nuts. And maybe one day he will even save someone’s life, for example, some traveler dying of thirst will stop next to him, and he will throw a ripe coconut at his feet, and the wanderer will be able to quench his thirst. Or not... Maybe even he will save not just one life, but thousands. Maybe one day his coconut milk will become a cure for cancer. Or maybe... A cactus dreamed about this in the middle of the desert, blown by an unbearably hot wind. His mom and dad once also dreamed of becoming a coconut, but they didn’t succeed. “We had a different time,” they said and sighed bitterly. “You understand what opportunities you have, if you are a coconut,” they convinced, “people will come to you, you will bring so much benefit, your children will travel all over the world, and your father will be proud of you.” Caravans passing by brought stories about coconuts and coconut milk, they even talked about some kind of “bounty”, and once the wind brought a piece of its wrapper. The cactus carefully preserved it. And tried with all its might to become a coconut, stretched its spines far, far away so that they looked like palm branches, tried to sway in the wind, tried to grow tall to give more shade, looked for ways to grow coconuts on itself. But everything is useless. Not a single traveler wanted to lie down under the meager shade of a cactus. Or lean your head against its thorny trunk; from constant pulling, the thorns became long and very sharp, the coconuts did not grow back, and the cactus plunged into despair. “Useless, mediocrity, lazy, you should try better, useless plant, look at the coconut, this is a man (oh, no, this is a plant), and you, who needs you?” - these are the most harmless words that he said to himself . Self-flagellation did not help either. The parents looked with pity. Friends with sympathy. Every year he became more and more lonely and irritable, or rather prickly. Constant disappointment in himself led to the fact that he wanted only one thing - to lie (or rather stand) and do nothing. This is what he did all day long. I stood, looked around, noticed how the outlines of the dunes change, how the sun heats the sand and they become unbearably shiny, how lizards scurry across the surface, risking burning their paws, how icy the night can be, and how amazing, bright and shimmering the night sky is. And there was so much inexplicable pleasure in this. Stand and contemplate. It seems that he doesn’t save lives and doesn’t invent a cure for cancer, and doesn’t even give shade to travelers, but it’s good for him. The strength came from somewhere. Along with the powers, a flower appeared. Suddenly it began to bloom on his head. And so huge and bright. First, the inhabitants of the nearest oasis learned about this, then the caravan workers spread this news further, then even the Bedouins from the neighboring desert came to see this miracle. A flower in the middle of the desert. Then strange people arrived in a winged car, they had black vests with the inscription “National Geographic”, they gasped for a long time, clicked flashes, shook their heads in amazement, and constantly said a strange phrase about “a rare phenomenon” and “once in 50 years”. Then the flower faded, and people came for a long time to admire “that very rare cactus” and took small shoots for themselves to plant next to their home. And one person said that he would no longer plant coconut trees, but would only plant such beautiful cacti. And the cactus stood and smiled, not because there was so much hype around it and not even because it turned out to be more attractive to someone than a coconut. No, he was just himself now. “How did you do it?” the other cacti asked him. “It’s enough just to be!” he answered..