Mayfly

The night has fallen over the northern plains. A warm breeze creeps over the grass, making a soft rustle. In the faint light you can still see the contours of cattle grazing in the meadows. If you listen closely, you can hear the sound of their jaws and the small steps they take as they work their way through the grass. As we watch them, the break of dawn creeps closer. The horizon starts to shift in colour, so slowly that we don’t notice at first. Lighter blue is followed by shades of yellow and oranges, until the first rays from the sun breaks through.
As the new light creeps over the grounds our eyes begins to grasp more than the hordes of cows, still occupied with eating. Out attention is drawn toward a stream of water, following the outlines of the fence. As we come closer to it, we notice that something is about to happen. The waters surface it crawling with tiny, tiny caterpillars. Some is swimming around slowly; others are just fleeting with the slow stream. We close in on one of them, who is somewhat twitching and moving about eagerly. As the sun rises we se him clearer and clearer.
Suddenly something happens. The back of his little body is almost swelling, and suddenly there’s a crack. As it widens it spreads into several tiny rips in the thick skin of the little insect. Something is emerging. What is it? We can’t yet tell. And then, in the soft morning light, a small new body emerges. Six tiny legs take their first steps as they shake of the rests of the former skin. Holding up the new body, shimmering in tones of light green, they take rest upon its former self. Slowly, the small wings are erected, almost transparent save for the small veins running through them. A small shake with the new joint, to get them kicking, and then, in a blink of en eye, we’re off!

What a new beautiful world this is! So much to discover, and so little time. Hovering in the air, carried by the winds, and under us other caterpillars are transforming into new forms and joining us in our flight. Flying together feels so great, gliding past each other. Observing the others carefully, searching for something. What we don’t know, but we’ll know it when we found it. We’re sure.
The shadows are still a bit tall, but the sun is now fully visible, covering everything is its warm glow. The cows on the meadow next to our home waters take the opportunity to rest themselves. Everywhere, nature is waking up and coming alive. Birds are singing and various other insects are flying off to catch a meal. A normal day it seems, but this day is special. This is our day. The day we’ve lived all our life towards. This one day of freedom and joyfulness!
Continuing our search, we fly about this little river. In the hordes of flies gathering on the same small area, it’s hard to see anything at all with our small eyes. So much entices our attention. Look at the grass! So green! And how tall the straws are, like a wood compared to our size. And the real woods! Taller than anything we could ever grasp, filled with darkness and dangers. Birds, circling about, we somehow know we must look out for them. Oh, so much to examine, to keep track off, to remember and to just look at.

Following the water downstream we’re surprised by the rich colours of nature. The summer is in full bloom, great hoops of dazzling flowers can be seen everywhere along the bank. Cruising right over the water surface, we’re enjoying the cooler air and small, refreshing drops of water. Suddenly we become wary of something moving under us. Quick our wings flap to gain height for us, before we have a clear outline of what that was. And then, something dark and huge breaks through the water. A mouth big enough to serve as housing for tens of us when we where still larvae, eyes with pupils that omits not a single glimpse of light. Its smooth streamlined body glitters in green and black. And there, someone who wasn’t as lucky as we were is dragged into the darkness, never to be seen again. Although we don’t really understand what happen, something about it makes us shudder and we gain some altitude again.

A little fly swishes past our eyes, and something about it hits off in our head and we just Know. It’s her. Have we ever encountered such beauty? She’s so delicate. Her little body, almost transparent, her wings invisible as she flutters them seemingly without effort. We follow her, must catch up with her, must call out to her. And as we call, she responds.
Such happiness! Have we ever felt anything like it! Suddenly our sight feels narrowed down to the few centimetres that are her. The world, which seemed so irresistible a second ago, fades away as we glide up beside her. A shared glance into each others eyes and we’re off. Together tumbling through the air in a dance that seeks in all ways to express what we feel. Looping, spiralling, doing everything we can to attract attention and show off our inherited abilities. This day that belonged to one of us is now shared completely.
The sun already hangs low and the time has now come. Gently we grasp our tiny arms around her and begin the real dance. Unified we are thrown through the air by the winds. So much to express in this little moment, when our Love seems like the most beautiful moment ever behold in the history of time. The only wish we’ve ever had, and it’s reaching it fulfilment second by second. Oh, dread the moment when this is over! Too short-lived it will surely be, this love that should live on for eternity.

As we reach completion we know we must depart form each other. Letting go, we watch after her as she lower herself towards the water. Sadness creeps over us, because we somehow feel we won’t ever see her again. The sun is about to set, and we already feel tired. Hovering about in the reed we feel how exhausted we are. A whole day of just flying, no wonder the wings feel stiff and aches. Coming to rest on a little straw, the darkness slowly falls again. A few sunrays fall through our transparent wings as they rest upright. The songs of crickets are heard throughout the plains, and it slowly becomes our lullaby. To finally get some sleep, feels like the only thing to wish for this late at night.

The tiny little creature slowly falls asleep on its little straw. We stay to observe only for a few minutes more. All life is coming to rest, as the sun descends behind the horizon again. The small breathing movements are coming slower and slower to this little body, and with the last rays of the sun, the mayfly goes to his rest as its remains slowly loses its grip on the straw and floats down to the water surface again.
The night has fallen over the northern plains. A warm breeze creeps over the grass, making a soft rustle. In the faint light you can still see the contours of cattle grazing in the meadows. If you listen closely, you can hear the sound of their jaws and the small steps they take as they work their way through the grass.

bara en liten pryl jag skrev till skolan. vill jättegärna ha kritik, så utnyttja kommentarsfunktionen för allt vad ni är värda! ^^