You all matter

"All humans are selfish" I mumbled scratching on my notepad gritting my teeth.
"Oi,  I'm a human too!" My friend gave me a disbelieving look.
"Yes, you, me, we all are selfish " I said, zipping up my bag. 
"We don't have a choice dear" she said, rolling her eyes.
"Yes we do. To let live" I said barging out of the class.  
My fellow classmate suggesting to dump all the waste in high seas in our environmental law class had got me on my nerves. I absentmindedly made my way to the ferry station. I, the insignificant helpless human took a seat on the ferry by the window, when the lady sitting next to me just threw the plastic bottle in the water. I stared at her for a second and shifted my eyes to the poster pasted in front of the driver's cabin "Save our home" was written in bold blue letters. A happy dolphin smiled back at me and my heart sank. How do I save you dear?
The next day on my way home on the ferry, a man sitting  across from me was munching on some chips. And when he finished his business with the plastic packet he extended his hand to throw it out the window. 
"Sir, please don't throw it in the water"
 "But  I don't see a dustbin here" he scanned the surroundings.
"So did you assume that this lake is a dustbin? Sir please, There are lives under there. Can't we open our minds this little bit and realize that we have a duty to let them live a peaceful and harmless life?  We all know how this plastic has been destroying this planet. If we can't control its production, we should at the least dispose it properly, don't you think?"
"But where will I throw this now?" he looking down at the crumbled piece of plastic in his hand
"You know what? Give it to me"
 As our conversation ended I realized how all the heads had turned towards us. "What?" I shrugged.  "Now don't you all look at me like I am some kind of crazy anti-plastic lady. Would you be happy if I throw the waste in your house? The same goes with those creatures living under water. Why don't you all look at that poster right in front of you instead of staring at me?"
My eyes were heating up. As  I started to tuck the plastic inside my bag someone extended a cardboard carton in front of me. "You can put it here" the crew member said. 
"Thank you " I mumbled
"No dear, Thank you" he said "For reminding us of our duty" 
An elderly man on the front seat gave me a thumbs up and I couldn't stop smiling.
Sometimes all you need to do is speak up
My little pet fish nibbled on my fingertips as I was feeding him that evening
"You all matter" I told him happily. There is still hope. 

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