I can still remember the time I held a grasshopper in my hand. I was 9 years old. It was in the school grounds. My friends and I were running around in the grass that were a long as my ankles. I noticed that everytime we ran, these little green things would hop away from wherever we were. Curious, I approached one where it landed. I cupped my hand and cautiously crept from behind. In an instant, I caught it. I could feel it kicking in my hand, trying to get away. I gently removed some of the grass strands that I grabbed along with the insect. Eventually, I was holding it with only my thumb and forefinger. I looked at it closely. Its feelers were all over my fingers and I could tell it was as fearful of me as I was curious of it. I could see its yellow green body, the tiny hairs on its legs, the weird alien eyes and the length of its legs which seemed even longer that its body. It was not a big grasshopper but neither was it too small that I could not see everything about it. I loosened my hold and in a flash, it hopped away. I went back to playing with my friends but a few times after that, I still caught some grasshoppers for my brother who loved looking at them and setting them free. Sometimes, when I think about it, I could still see that little insect on my hand so clearly now, just as if I were 9 again. Lately, I have been thinking about this because I honestly cannot recall the last time I saw one. My mom has a garden here but I haven't seen any grasshoppers. Millipedes, yes. A lot in fact, even ants, but no grasshoppers. Our home in Manila does not have a garden but in the playground close to home, I also did not notice any grasshoppers there.
Dragonflies, I think I saw a few in some ponds both here and in Manila. I was able to catch some in my childhood as well but I always set them free after looking at them so closely. Fireflies I haven't seen for soooo long. I cannot even remember the last time I saw one. It seems like I was very young then because I feel like it's been forever.
Why have I started thinking about these things? Because I want Nikki and Ethan to marvel at nature. I want them to be fascinated about the world, to learn about it, not just through books, but by touching and seeing and feeling. Just the way I did when I was small. I think it would be a shame to deprive them of these things just because the world is changing and because these insects are slowly disappearing from our concrete world. That would really be tragic in my opinion.
Sometimes, when I wonder about where all these insects have gone, I would like to think that they have gone off to fairyland. I would like to imagine then flying around, going about their business in a colorful garden, protected by fairies. I don't think that's too farfetched, do you?
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