“We are going to India this vacation,” said Dad, and the 5-year-old me couldn’t contain the excitement! Back then, traveling from the Middle East to India was a huge deal. From the moment we arrived, my family treated me like royalty. The greenery, the smell of the soil, the rain and the flowers brought so much joy and nostalgia, things we missed in the Middle East. But what I dreaded were the bugs, spiders, moths, millipedes, centipedes, dragonflies, grasshoppers, and every other creepy-crawly creature that seemed to be everywhere!
The big, scary spiders and their webs, especially in the bathrooms of Kerala, terrified me. I would think, “Oh no!” and admit that I’m still afraid of them. There were times I even avoided the toilet because of my fear of spiders.
When someone asked if I liked Kerala, I would say, “Yes, but not the creatures there!” The adults would laugh at my silly answer. Some of my cousins would ask curiously, “Are there no creatures in Dubai?”
I would respond, “No. There are just big cockroaches in some apartments, but not in our house. My mom has killed them all with a magical sugary ball she makes.”
They would stare at me, as if I were an alien from another planet.
These creatures were my worst nightmare.
I never liked going to the zoo or having pets. When asked if I wanted a pet, my answer was always a firm “No,” and I would say, “I would rather have a soft, fluffy teddy bear!”
As the years passed, my fear only grew stronger.
No comments:
Post a Comment