A Wall, A Stick, & A Handful of Bugs

I sat on the wall, embraced by the freedom of the wide blue sky. My legs dangled, covered in scrapes and bruises, and my lungs were full of springtime. Bored heels kicked a rhythm on the crumbling brick.

Sitting on the wall this way, you could see right out over Mr Edward's slopey garden, and down to the road, and further than that even. You can see quite a long way, actually. If you wanted.

If you sit that way, you can practise pony riding, and although you can't go very far, you can close your eyes and convince yourself you're going very fast indeed. It's just as nice to sit easy and nudge your mind-pony at a gentle stroll through the forest, weaving bars of sunshine and stitching memories.

You can stand on it, and practise your balance. You know. For sword-fighting. It's good for climbing, for jumping off, and sometimes the cat comes out here to sleep in the sun.

Sometimes, when I was tired of adventuring, and fencing, and pony trekking, and watching the world go by... When nothing interesting was happening out there and the cat had wandered off somewhere... I noticed the world under my feet. All the teensy red spider-bugs, bustling to and fro in their tiny bug cities.

I wasn't a fan of creepy-crawlies, and even less of spiders. But these were alright. Any time I cared to look, there'd be dozens of them, scurrying along the top of the wall, and in and out of the cracks. Whatever they were doing, it must be important. I invented entire societies for them in my head, and scowled when my brother squashed them with his thumb.

"They're only blood spiders," he said, shrugging.

Did the spiders disappear all at once, or decline over many years? I can't remember the last time I saw even one, and yet there used to be thousands of them on that wall alone.

I can't remember the last time I let boredom creep in. Crouched down in the muck to lever up a rock just to look underneath. Fought off pirates with a stick, or imagined myself three hills away with a chest full of inviting sunshine.

That wall is still there, I'll bet. Still crawling with those little buggers, despite that I've not seen one in so long.

They're still there, but I'm not.

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