Reincarnated as a Spider (Draft/Writing practice)

The gift it had brought were memories of another world. From a world of humans. That showed it wonders it could never imagine it to be. Towering constructs of stone made with precision and skill, so tall that they hold the skies. Armored creatures of various sizes that glided upon roads of black carrying on it countless humans. Winged giants that flew without flapping. Gigantic worms of steel that raced within the tunnels beneath ground.

And of them all, recollections of one who lived in this world was invaluable to it. Through it, it understood so much of what it was, what it had done and what happened to it. It’s narrow view of the world had expanded greatly. Things that never made sense now did. These memories held galore of information, knowledge and wisdom. So overabundant they threatened snap its frail mind. However, Its ravenous hunger for understanding proved to proved to be resilient. So avaricious it was, with each addition of remembrance that was not of its own it grew more and more wanting of knowledge.

And within memories there were emotions tied to them. They taught it was it had once felt. Curiosity, Indifference, Fear, Grief, Despair, Regret. And more that it had never felt. Happiness, Love, Pride, Envy, Greed, Pity, Humility, Melancholy, Embarrassment. Though they enlightened it to what they were and what they meant. However they failed to convey their feelings. Only scant few snatches of semblance nothing more.

It absorbs all of it, everything, with the bitter and the sweet. Within them lies a story of man, a person who was once part of this world where the memories originated from…

At the start, he was the only child of the family. His father was a man of few words who worked as a mechanic for as long as he could remember. Stoic and stern, seemingly cold and distant but on the inside a caring, perhaps somewhat of an awkward man. His mother outgoing and upfront woman who worked as the head of marketing. Energetic, talkative and always doing something, be it menial or otherwise. Though they had little in common, somehow they had forged a strong relationship. At the age of 3 when he had just learned to walk on his own, he met his younger sister, though at the moment he didn’t know.

In youth he was curious of the world, why does day and night cycle, what does the sun orbit, why does water freeze, how do birds fly, why, what, how… such questions always swimming inside his mind. Although at first his parents only answered with a simple or silly reply that a child would accept,  move on and forget. Yet he wasn’t like that. Always trying and testing out what he had just been told and being confused as to why it didn’t go as he thought it would. Soon his questioning became too complex to gloss over thus his parents would have to research and give him the answer he needed. His relationship with his sister was that of a teacher and a pupil. Always caring of her. To her young mind he was an amazing brother who could do anything and knew everything.

On a certain day when he was out with her sister while playing outside, he broke his leg due to a careless misstep. It took his leg about 6 months before it he could stand on it. During this time he was mostly in bed at his grandmother’s place. Being told to not move, he would be easily bored since he was only 9 years old at the time. To remedy this, his parents bought him many media of entertainment, of them he was particularly engrossed with video games.

They had an appeal that captivated his mind. Portraying a world that was vastly different from the one he knew of. Various games each with new and distinct universe. It was the perfect gift for him who had unabating interest in the world around him. After all it’s something he was passionate about, and now he discovered that there’s more out there, in the realm of video games and fantasy. How could he be not excited? Before long he would be drawing, writing - creating - new worlds of his own, based on the games he played. Immature and naive interpretations

By the time his legs were fully healed his mind was set. He would learn more about video games and one day, he would make one of his own. Though, in future this was never meant to be…

The life story of the man enlightened it to new heights and through them it learned of what it meant to have a family. These memories were ones that meant the most to it. Thanks to them being in no small part the most endeared of his memories. For it too wished to have one of its own.

However these memories carried as much poison as it had carried gifts. Now reliving its own memories through a new lens… they told a story of hideous struggle guided only by instincts and an accursed existence that it was born in. Its siblings not only satisfying their hunger by consuming the cadaver of the one who brought them to this world, had also turned their fangs to each other. Slay the weak, feast on their flesh until none remains… Most importantly of all how it too was part of them. Gaining consciousness, awareness and an ego far more developed than it had before. It was introduced to the wonders of the world and also the savage underbelly of it as well. It was part of the latter, its thoughts plagued by guilt and regret…

“I wonder if it’s normal for me to start sleeping spontaneously… What was the condition for that again…? Necrolepsy? No necro means death… ummm. That’s it Narcolepsy. Is it possible for a Spider to suffer from that? Hm… Maybe spiders do sleep then, I don’t feel tired so maybe they perceive tiredness differently that I just don’t feel… oh well at least it’s somewhat predictable, usually when the sun sets. Now what should I do today… ”

Gentle rays of the morning sun was just peeking over the mountain tops.