Pizza For Cid

“You owe me a pizza.”

“Ugh. Fine. Where from? You want Dom…”

“None of that cheap stuff! This was a big bet and you lost.”

I look down at Cid, small, eminently squash-able. Chitinous. “Are you serious? It’s already way more food than you could eat.” As I’m finishing the sentence, realization dawns on me.

“Are you being serious? I thought you were one of the smart ones. Even studied some etymology at one point?”

“Entomology. And no; I studied film and video. But I do know my way around a biology class.” I can tell by the way his antennae are vibrating that he’s waiting for me to finish my own thought. “You’re correct Cid, I should know better. If there’s one of you…” he joins in to finish the sentence with me, “there are thousands of you.” Satisfied, he crosses his forelegs and goes back to enjoying the view from my window sill.

Cid comes up to my apartment every night to see the sunset over Governor’s Island and the Statue of Liberty. I have no idea what his experience is like, but if he’s anything like me, perhaps he just enjoys getting lost in the gorgeous colors of the sky.

“How many colors can you see anyway?”

“It’s not like that.”

Whatever he sees, he doesn’t like to be interrupted while experiencing it. I simply watch with him for a while. Sometimes I wonder why I can speak with him. Or why he introduced himself as Cid once I released him from under the glass. It’s been a while since I’ve asked him about it. He usually just shuts me down, but the weather’s been nice, he just won a bet, and it’s lovely out on the river.

“Why Cid?”

“Why Solomon?”

“My parents named me Solomon because, well, probably because they wanted me to be wise or powerful or something. Jokes on them.”

“The last human who could speak to me called me Cid.”

I was shocked. Unprepared for this sudden candor. “The person in this apartment before me?”

“No. Back in your 1870s or something? Found me despite my stealth. Despite my speed. He was fast. Had me in a moment. Like you. And like you he did not kill me. Curious eyes. Gentle. I told him my real name.”

“Which was unpronounceable.”

“Which was unpronounceable.” Cid pauses. I assume it should have been a sigh. “We shared so many secrets.”

His wistfulness is almost palpable, but my mind finally grasped the number the year he had mentioned. 1870 something. “Wait, you’re that old?”

“Older. Much older. I’ve… forgotten a lot. And sometimes it’s nice to remember. Thank you Solomon, for reminding me of a good friend.”

“I don’t want to break the sentimentality of the moment, so… You’re welcome? But what are you? I thought cockroaches only lived a little over a year?” Though Cid has no expression the like of which I can read, I am overcome with the feeling that he is looking at me with tenderness.

“I’m one of the first. Primordial. Prototypical. The others are so… simple. They’re grateful but I don’t think they understand my nature. Come to think of it, I’m pretty sure your type don’t understand my nature.”

“This is an apology and a confession, despite our many conversations some part of me is always uncomfortable. Not with you as a person, but your form is… You seem to be a cockroach. And something deep in my limbic system rebels.”

“It’s not like we truly enjoy the majority of you loud things, you know. It’s very strange. You inspire terror, but we’re almost addicted to you. You leave so much trash around. It’ll be sad when you’re gone.”

“It has been said you will outlast us. Well, at least you’ll have our bones to gnaw on for a time.” I’m not sure how to feel. The sky is turning an amazing shade of purple. There is so much life in this city. Of so many different sizes. It is almost impossible to grasp how much of it simply won’t survive if…

“Enough of all that. Trying to distract me. You owe me a pizza! 2F said no to the big beau.”

“I was so sure she would say ‘yes’.”

“Why?”

“I thought that, as a human, I could properly interpret her behavior. Her facial expressions. Whenever I saw them together she seemed genuinely happy. When I see her alone she’s so small and frightened. I really thought 2F was going to accept. How did you know she wasn’t?”

“You see them when they are together outside. You see her when she is alone outside. I can see her any time I want. Asleep, eating, reading, daydreaming. Humans are fascinating. You’ll go to great lengths to avoid harming a person if you have to deal with the repercussions. But as soon as you can hurt without consequence… It gets ugly. Whatever she liked about that guy, it did not outweigh the dislikes.”

“I’m going to have to stop betting with you about this type of thing.”

“Fine, but we’re still going to make bets. I can’t afford those luxury pizzas you order.”

“I order!? You’re the one refusing the cheap stuff!”

We both laugh out into the night, watching the last sliver of light disappear over the bustling horizon. The giants of glass, metal, and rock, electrified and on life support, are already lighting up. Natural beauty is extinguished by the mad beauty and bright lights of man’s architects.

“Alright. How about I order you two pizzas? I’m guessing a building this large…”

“Thank you Solomon, it’ll be a raucous party!”

“Be careful: attract too much attention and I can’t guarantee your safety. I’m just a tenant, not the landlord.”

“I know. I keep the others organized. We never really move into any one apartment.”

“Never mine, right?”

“Come on Sol, never yours.”

“I appreciate that.”

“I appreciate you. And the pizzas.”