ARR 1988 - Flipbook - Page 125
The Beautiful Fly
One afternoon I sat alone beside the river, picnicking on a soft purple
cloth covered with a spread ofapples, bread, and cheese. A fly, as ifby chance,
alighted upon the far corner of the towel. I say as ifby chance, but I know
better. The fly was lonely, and he sought me out for a companion. He sat very
still a this corner, staring at me through those huge, silky red and green eyes.
What instinct, what emotion moved the insect to settle by me, when
rocks and trees and fallen limbs and a thousand perches less conspicuous
surrounded us? Azen perfection, a slightness that a less subtle man might
have perceived as random.
Slowly I reached for my newspaper, not wishing to disturb the fly in his
bliss. Then it occured to me that my new companion was sitting in judgment,
that he looked down with stern eyes upon my actions. He laughed with his
rear legs, which jerked and fiddled like broken worms. It was as ifhe said,
"Ha! See, I am not afraid to call a female to mount! I am no coward! And
when she comes, I will fertilize her ova in no uncertain way; no condoms for
me!"
How did the fly know my thoughts? His scorn was obvious. He turned
to the side, saying, "I fly; I buzz and roam at will, without regard for consequence, for I am fly! I am instinct, and passion, and God!"
I slammed my fist upon the towel in anger. "No, I will not be judged by
a fly!" I shouted in my thought. The fly, indignant, took to his wings and
fluttered cautiously about, warning that any more such outbursts would
bring only the most serious of penalties, which is loneliness.
Soon he settled again, and now I could clearly see the silver circlet he
wore around his head, a crown of royal significance. "I am not afraid of you,"
he said. "Just as I am not afraid offemale flies." Did he mock me because
I had not dared to speak to the blonde girl whose beauty lit the fuse of my
heart?
The majestic purple cloak adorning his back fluttered in the warm
breeze. Here was King Fly, cousin to bee and ant, whose perfectly ordered
societies make humanity seem a gross and inept parody. Perhaps Adam had
intended as much?
The fly flung back his head. I saw reflected in his hundred eyes the
golden sunset. Did he now also condemn me for the herds of grazing fleas I
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