The Spider & The Doctor

By Deepa Chandramohan

Hello, I am Peter Arachnos, a friendly neighbourhood spider...You can call me 'Peet'... I live in my DIY hanging-home named "the Hammock". My home is just outside the bedroom window of my Landlord...mmm...I have heard him say on the phone that he is a doctor and works in an intensive care unit. His name is Edward. I like to call him Eddie. He is a sweet and kind fella, has never bothered to toss me away, or sweep away my home and belongings, despite me not paying the rent. I believe that this is on one condition that I eat those tiny flying monsters who come to bug him in the night, while he reads his books. Eddie says he has seen about forty seasons of spring, forty seasons of summer, forty of autumn and forty of winter. My landlady, Eddie's beautiful wife,...she is scared of me.... I have heard her tell him, "Kill that spider", but all he said was "Sweet heart... Live and let live...He too has the right to live."

I am an orphan, my mom was murdered by a lady when my 432 siblings and myself were just born. The murder weapon was a broom. My Mamma has still not received justice....the judge at the Nature Court told me that 'somebody' by name "Karma" will 'take care' of it and I need to just sit back and relax, and move on....

I have to confess that I have sneaked into Eddie's room many times and wandered around his stuff. Oh boy!!!....He has an endless number of books with him…..And I love hopping on them when he isn't around. It is a nice place to hide while I wait for my flying meal…. He loves music, listens to this one song in particular most of the time... "Country Rooooads..... Take me hooome.... To the place.... I belooooong..... West Virginiaaaaa... Mountain Mamaaaa...." I believe his calm and lit-up face and soul must be helping a lot of people... Saving lots of lives.

But lately, things are not the same anymore. He doesn't listen to music anymore. He comes back home once a while only, and that too quite late in the night… He has a long gloomy face while at home. I see that he is lost in thoughts….I see him frantically going through his silver coloured laptop that has an illuminated bitten apple shape on its lid. I see him listening to certain talks on his laptop ( by some other doctors, I guess). I think he is in some sort of trouble.. Something is bothering my Eddie. He talks about someone by the name Corona. I think it is his enemy and that bugger is bothering him and his buddies… Now who the hell is this Corona?!!! I wish I could help Eddie... :-(

Meanwhile, I see that Nature looks pretty awesome these days...There is hardly any rumbling noise of those machines on wheels which rush on the roads. The trees are greener...The flowers have bloomed and are swaying in the breeze…The birds are chirping happily... The skies look bluer... Oh! That reminds me of the song from his bedroom...

"I see trees of green, red roses too

I see them bloom for me and you

And I think to myself what a wonderful world…….

I see skies of blue and clouds of white

The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night

And I think to myself what a wonderful world….. "

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Days passed by……………………………….I have not seen Eddie home..........................................

It has been 3 weeks since Eddie hasn't been home. I see his wife sobbing alone in the bedroom. One day I heard her talking to God.. She was asking him.. "Why have you taken my Eddie away from me…? Did he not save many lives from the Corona? Many more are still dying out there… Why are you not helping us find a weapon against Corona?"

Oh dear... My dear Eddie has been murdered by this Corona guy......and my friends, the humans have not found a weapon against him yet…. How I wish I could tell them that if Nature gives us a problem, then the solution lies in Nature itself... How I wish I could tell them how and where to look for it?... Or is this Corona in fact 'that somebody' named "Karma"?........

By Deepa Chandramohan