April 28, 2009
I got up at 4 in the morning to the sound of something whirring. What could it be? Is it some insect outside the glass window? What time is it? Is it 4.30 yet, because that's the time I set the alarm; I have a 7.45 Singapore flight to catch... What is it? Oh, it's a moth, it's a moth flying and hitting the glass. Why is it hitting the glass? Wake up! Wake up proper; rub your eyes!
Oh. It's a moth and it's as fat as a bee and it's inside the room! How the hell did it come inside, this room doesn't even have a window. And it's on the 21st floor!
I have a fear of flying insects, so I immediately ran out of the room. And then started cajoling the moth to come out, come to the living room and go out to the balcony.
The moth listened to me - it came out of the room and went straight to the bathroom. It disappeared behind the door as I stood there, wondering what to do next. I wanted to go to the bathroom and take a pee. And brush. And shower. That's out of the question now, it's bigger than my eyeball and it flies!
So I stood there and stared. I had only one option to get it out of the bathroom and send it out through the balcony - to spray it out. Spray some insect killer. Which made me heavy, the mere thought of starting my day by killing a beautiful, innocent creation, because of MY stupid fear.
So I decided that I'll not spray at it, but around so that the smell drives it out.
I sprayed a few times and then peeped in, the moth wasn't flying. Is it dead? No, it was just hanging on to the shower cabinet glass, scared. I bet more scared than I was. For some reason it has left its natural habitat, flew up to the 21st floor and came to my bed room. And then because the wall is glass, got trapped. From the moth's point of view, there was the outside world where it could fly freely, right in front of its eyes, but it can't get there. Moths don't know that we have invented glass. It must have been so freaky for him!
The glass, the human, the poison, Mr. Moth was hanging on to dear life.
I garnered up some courage, went close to the glass cabinet and took a closer look. It was still and I could see what I was afraid of. It was big and fat and could sting. And now I was also getting late for my flight.
At this point, I remembered Charlie Kaufman's 'Adaptation'. The relationship a moth has with the flower. And how a moth makes the world such a beautiful place. I can't spray this moth to death! I can, I can, I can... hey I can trap it and send it out!
So I ran out and came back equipped with a saucer and a lid and I pushed the shower cabinet door.
The moth got nervous and headed straight at me; I ran out and the moth landed on the floor. And it was still. Is it dead? Or is it just the natural reaction of creatures of nature - when you sense danger you lie still?
I think the second one, and this is my opportunity. So while talking to and re-assuring it over and over again about my intention I somehow placed the sauce pan on the moth. It was trapped now. And then got a magazine and slid it under the sauce pan so that the gap doesn't let it fly out (and kill me!), but the sauce pan gets a cover.
I slid it slowly, very, very slowly so that the scared insect trapped in the darkness doesn't get crushed or hurt. And every time I would inch the magazine in, it would whirr and panic. But it was over soon - the magazine was under the pan and I carefully picked it up from the base, got it to the balcony, put it on the floor and quickly removed the pan and closed the door. That was the last time I saw the moth from behind the glass - for the thirty seconds I was watching it, it didn't move.
But after twenty minutes when I came back, it was gone. It was free again.
If you have the imagination of looking at this me-being-a-total-wuss story from the moth's point of view, you'll realise that sometimes in life, we are this moth - stuck somewhere, chasing god knows what, seeing the free skies outside but not knowing what the glass wall is all about, waking up some giant creature who's coming with a can of spray that makes it choke, and then when it is hanging on to dear life the giant creature comes with a big thing and traps it inside, while it helplessly whirrs and purrs in darkness, only to panic more as the magazine inches forward from underneath.
And then suddenly, in the next ten seconds, it is free. It takes 30 seconds or more to realise that somehow, magically, the worst is over.
It's time to fly :)
I got up at 4 in the morning to the sound of something whirring. What could it be? Is it some insect outside the glass window? What time is it? Is it 4.30 yet, because that's the time I set the alarm; I have a 7.45 Singapore flight to catch... What is it? Oh, it's a moth, it's a moth flying and hitting the glass. Why is it hitting the glass? Wake up! Wake up proper; rub your eyes!
Oh. It's a moth and it's as fat as a bee and it's inside the room! How the hell did it come inside, this room doesn't even have a window. And it's on the 21st floor!
I have a fear of flying insects, so I immediately ran out of the room. And then started cajoling the moth to come out, come to the living room and go out to the balcony.
The moth listened to me - it came out of the room and went straight to the bathroom. It disappeared behind the door as I stood there, wondering what to do next. I wanted to go to the bathroom and take a pee. And brush. And shower. That's out of the question now, it's bigger than my eyeball and it flies!
So I stood there and stared. I had only one option to get it out of the bathroom and send it out through the balcony - to spray it out. Spray some insect killer. Which made me heavy, the mere thought of starting my day by killing a beautiful, innocent creation, because of MY stupid fear.
So I decided that I'll not spray at it, but around so that the smell drives it out.
I sprayed a few times and then peeped in, the moth wasn't flying. Is it dead? No, it was just hanging on to the shower cabinet glass, scared. I bet more scared than I was. For some reason it has left its natural habitat, flew up to the 21st floor and came to my bed room. And then because the wall is glass, got trapped. From the moth's point of view, there was the outside world where it could fly freely, right in front of its eyes, but it can't get there. Moths don't know that we have invented glass. It must have been so freaky for him!
The glass, the human, the poison, Mr. Moth was hanging on to dear life.
I garnered up some courage, went close to the glass cabinet and took a closer look. It was still and I could see what I was afraid of. It was big and fat and could sting. And now I was also getting late for my flight.
At this point, I remembered Charlie Kaufman's 'Adaptation'. The relationship a moth has with the flower. And how a moth makes the world such a beautiful place. I can't spray this moth to death! I can, I can, I can... hey I can trap it and send it out!
So I ran out and came back equipped with a saucer and a lid and I pushed the shower cabinet door.
The moth got nervous and headed straight at me; I ran out and the moth landed on the floor. And it was still. Is it dead? Or is it just the natural reaction of creatures of nature - when you sense danger you lie still?
I think the second one, and this is my opportunity. So while talking to and re-assuring it over and over again about my intention I somehow placed the sauce pan on the moth. It was trapped now. And then got a magazine and slid it under the sauce pan so that the gap doesn't let it fly out (and kill me!), but the sauce pan gets a cover.
I slid it slowly, very, very slowly so that the scared insect trapped in the darkness doesn't get crushed or hurt. And every time I would inch the magazine in, it would whirr and panic. But it was over soon - the magazine was under the pan and I carefully picked it up from the base, got it to the balcony, put it on the floor and quickly removed the pan and closed the door. That was the last time I saw the moth from behind the glass - for the thirty seconds I was watching it, it didn't move.
But after twenty minutes when I came back, it was gone. It was free again.
If you have the imagination of looking at this me-being-a-total-wuss story from the moth's point of view, you'll realise that sometimes in life, we are this moth - stuck somewhere, chasing god knows what, seeing the free skies outside but not knowing what the glass wall is all about, waking up some giant creature who's coming with a can of spray that makes it choke, and then when it is hanging on to dear life the giant creature comes with a big thing and traps it inside, while it helplessly whirrs and purrs in darkness, only to panic more as the magazine inches forward from underneath.
And then suddenly, in the next ten seconds, it is free. It takes 30 seconds or more to realise that somehow, magically, the worst is over.
It's time to fly :)
posted by saintcopywriter at 9:34 PM
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