Getting all Experimental

A Day in the Life

Afternoon - Exploration and Wonder
As I moved away from the mating swarm the bank of the river began to reveal itself as the frontier between two different worlds. What had seemed to be a simple boundary revealed itself as wetland, grasses, stones, and strange vertical structures. Trees, though I had no name for them. Before me was an alien world, a landscape for which no ancestor had prepared me with an ability to comprehend. My eyes were picking up movement everywhere. Creatures of all shapes and sizes were going about their business below me. Six legged creatures analogous to my own nymphal form, but adapted for land. Eight legged beings weaving webs between the grasses. Crawling, jumping, flying creatures whose purposes I couldn’t even guess at. I dipped lower, my curiosity taking precedence over caution. A flash of iridescent blue caught my attention. A dragonfly, ancient enemy of my kind, its movements purposeful, precise and predatory. I used a manoeuvrability that the larger insect lacked and banked sharply. Though my wings were growing tired fear provided a surge of energy to avoid the predator.

Another vibration ‘They usually stay near the mating swarms.’ Another male who had left the mating swarm, ‘Easier hunting where we’re concentrated.’ Surprised ‘You’ve encountered one before?’ I asked. ‘Pure luck’, he responded, ‘a fish jumped for it as it was about to take me. The world is full of such chance events. Salvation and doom separated by mere instants.’. Onward we flew seeing nodding flowers whose colours extended in to the ultraviolet range with patterns invisible to most creatures. These colours and patterns design conveying information of the availability of nectar and pollen. Useless to us with our non-functional mouthparts. Even so I appreciated their beauty. We rose a little higher and gained a broader view. We could see angular structures in the distance, unlike anything natural. Human dwellings. I somehow knew this without any concept of them. Thin grey lines connected them, and shiny objects moved on them at speeds that defied my comprehension.

I vibrated ‘What are those?’ to my companion. ‘The architects of change.’ he responded ‘They alter the river, the air, the land. Their time is long, and their perception short. They see us as we see seconds. They barely register our existence before we are gone.’ I thought on this ‘Yet they also must die’ I observed. He responded with ‘Yes, but they know it’s coming. Imagine living with death as a concept rather than an event. Would that make existence more precious, or more terrible?’. Our philosophical discussion was brought to an end by a gust of wind. It caught us unprepared. Wings straining against the invisible force I tumbled through the air. When I regained control my companion had disappeared, swept away to an unknown fate.

Alone again I continued my exploration. I flew over a pool in the river where the mouths of fish broke the surface to claim unwary insects. I observed their hunger from a safe height. I thought the food chain, of which I had so recently been a part, was fascinating. As a nymph I had been part of that. Predator to the smaller organisms. Prey to the larger ones. As an adult I now existed outside of that. No longer predator. But still prey. I was no threat to any, except perhaps the peace of mind of creatures disturbed by our mating swarms. The afternoon light was softening, casting longer shadows on the landscape. It was noticeable that my flight was becoming slightly more laboured. My wingbeats less efficient. A subtle tremor in my right forewing. This was the infinitesimal degradation of my body, designed for only a single day of flight, that would only increase with time. I did not fear this decline. Rather I had an appreciation of the perfect economy of my design. No waste.  Nothing excessive. Just enough strength for what needed to be accomplished. I thought upon the beauty the precision of a lifespan calibrated exactly to its purpose.

I turned back along the river, drawn to the place of my emergence. The slanting late afternoon light seemed to transform the water into molten gold. From my height I could clearly see the many details, the ripples, the insects, the fish, all along with the grand pattern of the river’s course through the landscape. It was only now that I saw a context allowing me to put my brief life into a perspective that few other creatures would ever know.To witness birth and aging, purpose and decline, and all this within the span of very few conscious hours. Was this not a form of wisdom? Beings with long lives might need decades to discover that which had been shown to me in less than a day. I notice the sun making its rapid descent towards the horizon, and found myself at peace with my ephemerality. There was one final act left to witness, one more experience for me to embrace before my wings would carry me no more.


Authors Note
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