Had the Wind Not Blown – July 11, 2005

There are these two bugs – a caterpillar and an ant. Despite these differences, the two are best friends. They do everything together. They hardly ever exchange a word (perhaps this is because they are bugs) but that is not necessary in their friendship.

One day the two bugs were walking along the forest floor. The ant was slightly ahead of the caterpillar because, let’s face it, ants are faster than caterpillars. The ant was making his way over a leaf when a great gust of wind blew. The leaf flew away, taking the poor unsuspecting ant with it.

Of course, the slower caterpillar had not reached the leaf when the wind blew. He was left on the forest floor as his friend flew off into the distance. Neither ever really understood what happened; they just understood that their friend was gone.

The two never saw each other again. They both went on to make new friends and successfully move on with their lives. In spite of their short bug memories, the two never forgot each other. Sometimes they would reminisce about what could have been, had the wind not blown.

By Eileen Brazil, age 18. Edited by Akshay Govind. Eileen passed away from complications of cancer therapy a year and a half after writing this story. I like to think of her as the caterpillar.