April 17, 2008

As it so happens, mosquitoes bother me. I am not one of them who can absently swat at one of them irritating buggers and flip the page in the same motion. I start up when I hear the whine in my ear, wildly slap at it, and nurse my coffee waiting to hear it approach again. I cannot concentrate when there are mosquitoes around me, I cannot sleep if I see a mosquito in the vicinity.

People are scared of snakes. I fear mosquitoes.

The other day, I was at a coffee shop, drinking coffee and silently waiting for ideas to catch me. It was good coffee, and the sun was lazy, so I was willing to indulge their absence. Besides, I had money, for a change.

How long can a good morning last? Before soon, I heard an electric crack. The fly catcher had caught a mosquito. My scalp prickled. Where there is one, there are bound to be others. A crazed brood, out for psychological blood.

I think they know their power. I am convinced they know the potency of their whine, otherwise, why do they fly around your ear? If it was food they were after, a quick swoop and a suck ought to have satiated them. I would never grudge them their nutrition; it’s the whine I object to.

I want to reach for my hair and tear them out, when I hear it…

I shifted to another table, but it was futile. The mosquitoes entered like a swarm and smothered the tiny place. I pushed back my chair, struggled with my wallet, and ran for the door. Beads of sweat dotted my middle-aged brow.

Out on the pavement, the sun was suddenly scorching hot, and there were suddenly too many people. Nobody seemed to mind the mosquitoes except for me.

They were blackening the horizon, like the locust clouds I had seen on teevee. My skin was suddenly tight against my throat, and I couldn’t breathe. I gasped and gagged, and staggered past people carrying umbrellas and children.

Shield the children! I wanted to squeak. The mosquitoes are coming!

The mosquitoes are coming…

The mosquitoes are coming…