Photo by Mauro Lima on Unsplash
I turn on the national news and am surprised to see that the anchorperson, Lydia Gooseberry, has a beak where her mouth used to be and talons in place of her feet. I attempt to change the channel, to determine if her mutation is something universal or possibly even a joke, but the other stations have become mere static and snow, so I watch and listen as Lydia speaks—a slight squawk to her voice—about the international bucket of water (larger than an ocean or sea) and how it’s now more than three-quarters full, when yesterday—and for the last 250-plus years—there was barely any water in it, essentially drops, nothing to fuss about.
“This is very concerning,” Lydia says, then turns it over to the meteorologist who, before, was a man, but today is a human-sized centipede who appears to have a smudge of pie on his small prey-consuming mouth, and she asks him if this sudden influx of water in the international bucket has anything to do with climate change.
The centipede is ugly, but I don’t feel any sense of repulsion as one might expect; instead, I consider how delightfully sweet it must be to be so different yet so confident—to not worry about one’s appearance, even on national TV.
“This is very concerning,” the centipede says, echoing Lydia, “precisely because we don’t know what’s causing it,” adding that the unexpected inflow of water in the international bucket may not be about humans’ irresponsible activities or consumption, but could instead simply be about becoming, which to me sounds awfully philosophical—and maybe even negligent—for a news program reporting on rapid, late-breaking change in the world, especially when human lives are in imminent danger, because what will happen when the international bucket of water overflows?
As I set the useless remote down, I notice that my hands have become paws, which at first shocks me, but then a swell of calm engulfs me as I realize that there’s never been a better time to evolve into another species—to start over as something non-human—than right at this moment.
Jessica Klimesh is a writer, writing coach, and editor whose flash appears in a variety of literary journals. Learn more at jessicaklimesh.com.
