A bug in paradise

"Do you know what a bug is? It's a nuisance, an uninvited guest," Peter continued. "It's a disrupter of harmony." Dan squeezed his eyes shut, trying hard to pause his chain of thoughts.

He wished for an escape from the unending loop of words piercing him. "Jane, Emma and Me, how perfect 'we' would have been. But God doesn't allow replicas of his paradise, so he sends bugs everywhere. Do you follow, Dan?"

Words flowed smoothly in his mind, as if they were his dialogues to be memorized.

"Of course, Dad. And I'm your bug," Dan whispered to himself as he shut the door behind him.

As the mindless wandering ceased, his eyes fell on a notice board, "Beware of Bears!" Those bold letters and devilish eyes caught his attention. It was then that he remembered, he had just gotten out of his class.

That door he shut was of his class. He could now hear the loud chatter of his friends. "Alright, no more Dad-thoughts buddy," Dan told himself as he laughed at a silly joke he heard around.

His face flushed with happiness as he paced outside his school. It was that time of the day again, time to go home but there was a catch, it was through their favorite place - the woods.

The chirping of the birds, the cacophony, the rustling leaves served as the magical melody cheering them up.

"Help!" A shrill cry broke the calmness.

"Is that Emma?" Dan, not wanting to believe his eyes, searched for his answer. He didn't know how his happiness melted into melancholy. He was seeking resort; the big "No" that he wanted to hear, in his imaginary friend's voice.

"Yes, that's Emma!" It echoed like a thunderbolt, waking him up from the illusion he didn't want to give up on.

Dan ran impatiently to her, driven not by him, but by the sheer sight of his baby sister in distress. All he wanted to see was her sparkling eyes and all he wanted to hear was her laughter.

"Emma, Emma, Emma!" He pulled her violently to a side, as if shielding her from all externalities that he knew would engulf her. He didn't know how to rescue her. But, the pulse he felt on her tiny hands felt like a melody, cheering him up.

Dan was interrupted, for there was an intruder there. He felt a strong force on his body inviting his attention. He hesitantly shifted his gaze behind to find a huge creature with black, shaggy fur and a long snout, that he had failed to notice.

Right behind him stood a bear, so enormous that he almost felt like a kid compared to it. He had seen those devilish eyes before, those same eyes that had a lot of stories concealed in them. Yet, he knew he had a mission to accomplish, a seemingly impossible one - saving Emma!

"Run, Dan, please run!"

He didn't know what to do, overpowered by indecisiveness he could feel his mind afloat.

It's not late yet, I can run, and save my life, thought Dan, but what about Emma?

Dan tried attacking the bear as strong as he could. Kicking and throwing whatever he got at him. He ran further into the woods grabbing every opportunity he got to provoke him even further. "Save Emma," he cried out as he paced further into the forest with the bear furiously running behind him. "I'll be back," the voice fainted as they disappeared into the woods.

Emma was rushed to the hospital, they could save her life. What surprised everyone was the fact that Dan had kept his word, he was back in an hour.

"How did you come back, Dan?"

"Well that's a mystery," said Dan with a smirk.

"Are they going to laugh at me when I say that the bear tumbled into that huge well I could have fallen into?" Dan couldn't help but smile.

His wandering eyes found solace at the sight of his sister in safe hands. He was relieved to find his mom Jane and a 'new' Peter who had love for him in his eyes.

Peter approached Dan. Tears were rolling down his cheeks, "You are not a bug, my son, you are my guardian angel, tailor-made by Him for us!" said Peter, hugging him and sobbing like a baby.