Stories for 100 Days of Writing

The New Baby

This movement shows that the baby is about to hatch, not witnessed by many, the only time it’s seen is on camera when someone has patiently waited to catch it. Even then, how many people are interested in the birth of a caterpillar? Yes, you’ll see videos of the emergence of a butterfly, but where does it start, well here. ‘George, what are you doing’, a middle-aged woman stood with a look of amazement that went beyond stunned. She was used to the aquariums with creepy crawlies in but now he was talking to himself! ‘I was commentating on the hatching of a caterpillar’
‘Well, that’s a relief because I thought you were talking to yourself, and you know what they say about that. It’s hard enough that the neighbours all think you’re a little odd as it is, don’t want them thinking you’re losing it altogether do we!’
‘I just wanted to document the hatching of a caterpillar, so many people see, and film, the emergence of a butterfly, I wanted to film and commentate on the birth of the baby, the original. Most people don’t think about the caterpillar and the struggle it has to survive. One’s about to hatch and I have the camera set up Grace, would you like to watch?’
‘I’m not sure I like that kind of thing’,
‘Think of it as the birth of a baby rather than as a “creepy crawly” as you put it’
So, Grace gave in and decided to watch with her husband. She prepared herself for something gross, as she had often described his obsession. However, what she saw was very different from what she expected, a tiny round egg shook, but eventually, a black head broke through. ‘Its head is so big George, how did it manage to stay in there?’
‘I assume it’s no different than human babies, they don’t exactly have an easy time of it, getting a rather large head through a small space’
‘I suppose, I never thought of it like that’
Once its head was out, it gradually pushed, in waves as it forced out its body. Grace was amazed at the size of the caterpillar that emerged. ‘What kind of butterfly will it be eventually’ she decided to ask, by now, genuinely interested.
‘A Monarch’, a very beautiful butterfly, strange to think that this tiny white caterpillar will develop into one of the prettiest and well-known butterflies we have.’ Grace found a new admiration that day for the hobby that her husband spent many hours engrossed in, she didn’t take part, she still wasn’t fond of creepy crawlies, but one tiny baby had given her a different perspective.