Of how the Cockroaches got rid of the Centipede (a blackout fable with original illustrations)
Greetings, dear Steemians
The recent blackout has also provided funny and not-so-funny anecdotes. Some of them made me think of issues that go beyond the mundane and I decided to put my mind to work and shape them in as many art forms as possible. I hope you enjoy this one.
Of How the Cockroaches got rid of the Centipede
The centipede is coming! Signaled the scout desperately.
It’s a big one. It’s going to kill us all!
The night was unusually quiet after the human machines had gone dark and silent for the 3rd day in a raw. The human family who housed the colony had been sleeping with their door opened to get some fresh air, but they had been increasingly restless paying attention to the voices of the night, the voices they had kept silenced with their mechanical noises.
The colony had thrived now that the humans had stopped attacking them with their lethal showers. They had less food to scavenger from, but everything around seemed to be rotting, which was the closest the colony had been to a perfect world.
Should we evacuate, Ma’am? Asked one of the leaders to the Colony Mistress.
No. We cannot run forever. We have not multiplied so that its kind can eat better. We’ll put an end to its threat.
In seconds the idea was transmitted across the colony. No need for explanations or discussions. Using enemies as allies might have sounded farfetched to inferior species, but to them it made perfect sense.
A commission was sent to lure the centipede to climb all the way to the ceiling. On the ground it was silent as death. Up there, the Styrofoam surface and the dark silence would make it hard for the humans to ignore.
The centipede approached fast and determined. Its march produced the expected clickety-click sound that would alert the humans, but they did not move. It had been three days of dark silence and the humans were probably too tired to keep their vigil. A plan B was needed.
Another bait volunteered to wake the humans up. It knew what to do; roaming over their breathing holes would make the trick. The centipede had already started the chase. The colony had split in dozens of groups trying to distract it to the point of disorientation. But it takes a complex brain to coordinate dozens of legs, claws, and forked stings. It knew it only needed to stick to a group and kill one at the time. Its kin would come later and eat them at will.
The bait flew over the male human and gently but quickly danced over its breathing holes. The reaction was instantaneous. It sprung from the nest as if propelled by a cursed spirit. It reached out and produced a burning stick and a light bar. The female human woke up too. They searched around. The male human was sure the intruder was somewhere on or around their resting nest. The female was more clever and started to direct the light up.
Now!
Yelled the CM. One of the groups gathered on the corner of one of the ceiling panels and with their weight forced the panel to lean and leave a crack out of which the mortal enemy slipped revealing itself to the female human. Her screams were music to the colony’s antennas. Humans’ violence is usually proportional to their fears and they were really scared now. The idea of being stung by a centipede that crawls in the crevices of the doors, as it happened to the female some moons ago, was scary enough. The idea of having them come even from the ceiling was terrifying.
The male took one of its feet plastic covers and hit the centipede hard enough to shoot it against the open door. In seconds, it was darting under the door and getting outside of the room. The female continued screaming giving pointers at the disoriented male who kept banging the floor right and left just in case.
It finally hit on the right spot. The centipede gave a fight, like they all do. They seem to never die. No matter where you smash them, some part of it will keep moving. Even after they are on fire their screeching writhing seem to never stop.
It was done. The female human was sobbing. The male consoled it. The colony was saved and ecstatic!
They could sense some thankful energy coming from the humans. Maybe cockroaches were not that bad. Maybe there were worse enemies. For the colony their human enemies never looked so friendly. But they knew better. It was merely a temporary truce, a natural thing among natural enemies.
Thanks for your visit. Hope you enjoyed the story.
Art process
You are one talented person, sir! It's really amazing how the mind works and how artistic it can become. You painted a nice picture of how things happen. It makes one think beyond. Such skill you have. Cheers!
Thank you very much for your kind words. Very encouraging.
I like that you used more than one talent - and that you have a good sense of humour.
An enjoyable post - thank you.
Thank you very much for stopping by. Glad you enjoyed it.
I am trying to "rescue" some of my drawing skills. It's hard to focus with so much going on, but I've found it therapeutic.
Humor is about the only thing we still have plenty of.
Hi hlezama,
Visit curiesteem.com or join the Curie Discord community to learn more.
Thank you very much, @curie.
I trully appreciate your support.
Very encouraging.
This post has been selected for curation by @sunravelme. It has been upvoted and will be featured in this week's Working Title post. It will also be considered for the official @minnowsupport curation post and if selected will be resteemed from the main account. Feel free to join us on Discord!
Thank you very much, @msp-curation. I appreciate your support.
Vaya @hlezama, el ciempiés está vivito.
¡Saludos!
Jajaja. Gracias, @antolinamartell
Very nice, @hlezama! This was a truly engaging story. I love the cockroach perspective, and there are so many clever moments throughout the story. I didn’t know you were also an artist. Very impressive. Congrats on your Curie upvote!
I’m sorry to hear about the blackout. That must be traumatic! But your country is getting much attention in the news. Maybe that means things will get better.
Hi, @jayna.
Thanks. Always a pleasure to have you here.
I am trying to regain some confidence to produce some art. It was a forgotten, almost burried skill.
The blackout has brought good things, somehow. I want to see this as a good omen of better ones still for my whole country.
I do hope it’s a good omen! Keep the faith.
Posted using Partiko iOS
I am creeped out and delighted at the same time. Great story and illustrations!
Posted using Partiko Android
Thanks. I appreciate your comment. Can't blame you for the mixed feelings. We share spaces with these pests and still freak out every time one shows up.
Enjoyed the story and your illustrations. No power bringing on the creativity because what else is there to do?
When we were children we went to church meetings on Sunday, but then weren't allowed to leave the house/yard or watch TV, listen to the radio, visit with friends and so my brother's and I would come up with marvelous games together in order to pass the time :) I didn't like the situation, but I know we all look back fondly on these memories now.
Thanks for stopping by.
I can relate to that kind of upbringing. Creativity finds its way when corralled by censorship or hardships.
I also have fond memories of rainy days (like the ones described by Garcia Marquez in One hundred years of solitude) that put patience to the test. Those memories appear to be fun in retrospect.
Like my wife's memories of the darn centipede that stung her some years ago. I never thought we'd be able to joke about it, and yet, we do now.
Hopefully, we'll joke about our current national disgrace soon.
Art is really life. See how those artworks in there tell a great story. I really enjoyed reading your blog and i love your artworks too. The flow of your story was great .
Keep it up
Thanks, @ferrate. Greatly appreciated
You are humbly welcome
Posted using Partiko Android
Hi there @hlezama!
Ohh my! This is quite a story. Its kinday another bug story only its the meaniest cockroaches who are being held as the main characters this time.
Thank you for shedding some ligjt over cockroaches. You are confident enough to use them over anong many insects to choose from.
Congrats! I love the story..
Keeop on steeming!
Posted using Partiko Android
Thanks for commenting. I'm glad you liked it.
I know that the protagonists are not precisely among the liked animals on earth. I actually hate them for how invasive they can be and how bad they smell, but the incident was real (their fight with the centipede and our eventual killing of it) and it made me think about what might have happened behind curtains.
I found it a good creative excercise to try to get into their disgusting heads :)
Hahahaha sorry about that.. but yeah you have a point. In this world and their world combine, it is but about survival to the fittest. There are things that needs to be dealt with.
And i do find your creativeness awesome! We shouldnt really look down on small things even cockroaches. I believe they too have an important role to play in our ecosystem.
Posted using Partiko Android
I agree. I also think, like many have suggested, that they will outlast us all
Oh yes!! Just imagine that they have been here even before us.. they are truly the genuine survivors! Hehe
Posted using Partiko Android