My Flooded Anthill

    It came out of nowhere, and caught us all off guard with its strength. We didn’t stand a chance, none whatsoever in a million years. I hung on as hard as I could, and for as long as I could. The only thing that kept me alive this long was strictly my willpower. The mere thought running through my mind at the time was simply just to stay alive. The force of the wind was so incredibly strong, and the worst part about the whole scenario, was that I had to go through the pain of watching my friends and family get taken away by the turbulence. I didn’t know whether I should tear myself free from that miserable state, or keep hanging on and watch my beloved companions and all remnants of my life drift away. I decided to stay up there as long as I could.

    What felt like minutes… hours… days… went by. It seemed as though time was running in slow motion, with only one motive: to make me suffer even more. I honestly didn’t know how much more of this I was going to be able to take. After pondering on how long I had truly been stuck up in this terrible windstorm, I realized that I was, indeed, the only one of my kind left. I could have just easily torn free of my post, and joined the others in the downfall. But, nonetheless, something in me made it just so much more difficult to do so. No matter how much I longed to be with the others, I just could not leave willingly. This was my home; I had been there since the beginning of spring, and it would take a whole lot more than a little breeze to take me down… or so that is what I initially thought.

    The winds picked up enormously and this time a liquid began to fall from up above, as well. The rain started out as tiny droplets, no bigger than a fly, but as time dragged on, it seemed as though each molecule grew in size, such as an evolutionary phase! Each one hurt more than the last as they pummeled down from the clouds and staggered onto my body. Some of them were so heavy that they tore holes in my outer layers; but I still stuck to my vow and hung in there… literally!! Unfortunately, however, I was only able to stay attached for a few more hours.

    As I tossed and turned, shifted in all plausible directions, and swayed with the almighty wind, I knew that I didn’t have nearly enough strength to last me as long as I’d have liked. I didn’t think it to be possible, but the wind picked up even more, and became a thousand times more deadly to a helpless creature like me. There was still absolutely no way that I was about to liberate myself willingly, and so that is when nature decided to take its course…

    I had been grappling on for dear life for what seemed like weeks now, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I loosened my grip just long enough to get a little feeling back where it had gone tingly, when a random gust of wind caught me off guard. Only, this didn’t feel like a gust of wind, it felt as powerful as a gigantesque sneeze emerging from a five-hundred-metre tall creature! I was so scared, but at the same time just as equally exhausted. I didn’t even have an ounce of strength left to hold on. That is when I suddenly got torn off of my post, and was sent flying up into the air. I got so dizzy, whirling and twirling in the wind. Getting thrown up, and then
tossed back down, like an unruly amusement park thrill ride that didn’t pass its inspection. I flipped and flopped, here and there, whilst bashing into things and attempting to see straight.

    I must have blacked out for awhile, for the next time I opened my eyes, it was a wonderful sight. A clear blue sky, not a cloud in sight, a bright yellow sunshine way up there, and not even the slightest bit of a breeze; a real beauty… at least that was my initial reaction. After lowering my gaze to meet the ground, I witnessed a most astounding sight. There, all around me, lay my friends and family… anyone whom I had ever known; and each and everyone one of them were dead. I would have rathered to be tied up and fed to herbivorous creatures, or thrown into a fresh garden salad, than to have had to see that. At that very moment, the only thing I could think of doing, was gouging out my eyeballs, then strangling myself with my stem. The only problem I encountered then, however, was when I lowered my gaze even more; just until my bottom half was in view. What was I to do? Well, as I attempted to hoist myself off of my deceased relative I had been lying on, I realized that it was certainly now that I had absolutely no chance of survival. Not only did I lose more than half of my body, but I had lost an incredible amount of fluid, and became rather incredulous as to how much longer I’d live.

    And so, that is when I decided to spend the last few moments of my life looking around and reminiscing upon the good, bad, and memorable times with those around me. I was very grateful to have lived those last few moments surrounded by those I loved most.

    … As I finish writing this memoir, I attempt to quicken my pace, for now I have truly loved as long as I possibly can, and shall collapse for good. So as you may now understand, a little storm to a small maple leaf is rather similar to a bottle of water being poured over an anthill: everyone underestimates its consequences, and it is actually quite deadly and awful to those affected.