Essay: The Insect by John Mark G. Parlingayan

John Mark G Parlingayan’s personal essay with its thrilling narrative is a captivating read of a time when a tiny insect managed to disrupt a human’s life for a short while.

A tingling sensation in my right ear jolted me awake. Of course, it had to be small in order to get into my ear. I heard flapping noises within and it appeared to have wings. I sensed the little creature was unsettled and felt its desire to escape this cave of mine. An entrance, which lured it to its forthcoming death. My sleep was disrupted by an insect. I wasn’t sure what kind it was. Perhaps a bug or a mosquito. Probably an “amigas,” or ants, specifically those who were blessed with the ability to fly, the angel ones, black, unlike the red soldiers, the devils, that bite painfully. I sat on my bed and felt the thing for seconds while looking at my room’s ceiling.

There was a cobweb; a sign that my man cave needed some cleaning. The insect then stopped moving. That was when I tried to slowly pick my ear with a cotton bud. At first, everything was at peace as dama de noche at night, until this lot-legged creature came to its senses. After was so much pain; an abomination of how this creature hysterically forces itself, deeper. It was trying to survive as if it would live inside of me. As if there was still a chance to escape.