“What’s that sound?”
The swarm of tiny bugs hummed overhead, tiny beasts newly hatched and testing their wings. They were destined to be lunch for birds, frogs and assorted other beasts, or suddenly flattened against a wheeled machine barreling along at 30 to 75 mph, but all they knew in this moment was being alive and the joy of flying.
They flew with their hatch mates all in a cloud. Eventually the wind might scatter them or they’d otherwise drift apart, but now they were one big mass of bugdom, individually minuscule but together disconcerting, perhaps even ominous.
“It’s just a bunch of bugs,” one human said to the other.
“I know, but that sound is kind of creepy,” said the other.
“I’ll show you creepy,” the first one said, making a playful move that ended with the two of them entwined and laughing.
“What are they doing?” asked one bug, looking down.
“Would you like me to demonstrate?” said another, making a playful move.
They all lived happily ever after, which proved to be a longer time for the humans than for the bugs, but in any case, ever after, they were happy.
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If you enjoyed this little bit of fluff, you might enjoy 96 more tiny tales in The Man Who Crossed Whimsy Avenue, a collection of flash fiction by your humble host.
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Here is episode 9 of the “See the World! Podcast,” daily readings from my forthcoming book See the World! It’s scheduled for release June 10 and available for pre-order by clicking the book’s title.
