THE RED ANT
All things bright and beautiful
All creatures great and small
All things wise and wonderful.
The Lord God made them all...
Is it true that all creatures were made wise and
wonderful by god? I have my strongest doubts about it. If they were really
that' wise' why wouldn’t that creature try and find a way out of its trap?! Be
it a rat or an ant!
It was 10.30 pm and these were the thoughts
harrowing my mind. It was all because I could feel 'something' inside my ear.
That something was making small movements in regular intervals with mild
sounds. I convinced myself that it was the water logging after my head bath. A
little while later I was forced not to ignore the signals sent by the
'something' inside my ear. I was being brave by not telling my son and husband
who were not yet asleep. But, this little menace started moving inside and I
could not resist anymore. So, I announced, "There is something in my ear". My husband did not react
much. He just nodded and turned to the other side probably thinking that there
is a lot more drama yet to be unveiled.
My dear one, my boy was worried and he
decided to have a look into my ears. He examined with a torch and said in a
deep melancholic tone..."Mom, you have got something like a cobweb inside
your ear". I visualized an itsy bitsy spider climbing up the walls of my
ear. Every now and then it made an attempt to crawl out but failed miserably.
We decided to lubricate the ear so that the spider will make its way out. Now,
I had to disturb my husband for the ear drops and he obliged because he did not
have an option.
Meanwhile my son made a quick research and took help from google. The google came handy suggesting we can pour some baby oil and then let it be..It said, "Do nothing...get the help of a doc as soon as possible". He told me about the other results which made our fears grow multifold. He said Amma,( whenever he has some real stuff to announce he calls me in Mother tongue) “ I have to tell this! I know its scary but we need to look at the possibilities of how bad this could end up. Google says, sometimes the insects get stuck to the ear drum causing a permanent damage, or it might even enter the brain!” I felt something drop inside my stomach. I started visualizing myself in a green hospital gown bidding goodbye to my dear ones. Thanks to the spider inside my ears I snapped out of my frightening thoughts. Looking at my "All is lost" expression, he convinced me saying, “Don’t worry , It’s probably not going to be that bad!”
Thanks to my husband who found the ear drops and put a full stop to my son’s new role of being Dr Google . The drops were poured in my ear. After that, I tried to get some sleep. I tilted my right ear to one side and lay still, observing the spider's movements. I was determined to stay calm in shavasana yoga posture practicing mindfulness when I suddenly felt the spider walking out of my ears. Excited, I motioned my son to check. He frantically searched for the torch, shone the light inside my ear and shouted.. "Yes!!...Amma, the menace is walking out of your ears and...its an ant!"- A tiny Red ant.
Beautiful write-up ! Well done 👌
ReplyDeleteThus, the wise family set the ant free...and the ant lived happily ever after.....
ReplyDeleteWonderful portrayal of a traumatic experience. Thank god
ReplyDeleteNicely written looks freightening at times
ReplyDeleteLike a true Gandhian, you let the ant to go scot free. You followed the path of ahimsa. But the story is different to your son. He is so scared of the little beast and looked the other way.
ReplyDeleteLoved it.. Very nicely written👌
ReplyDeleteDexterity is revealed through the narration.. Magnificent.
ReplyDelete