At home, we are preparing to paint the living room walls pale yellow. Its summer. The heat is oppressive. There are cobwebs in every corner of the walls. The spiders have weaved their webby homes in our spacious one. They are in clusters, like spools of grey cotton thread dangling from the walls. I see the spiders suspended in the air, unfazed by the height, and drop to the floor. I am scared of heights. Of falling from the rooftops of restaurants we often visit. I am even terrified about diving from the diving pool in our club swimming pool. I am trying to understand why. I usually dream about falling and wake up screaming loudly. Why does it happen only to me? My husband thinks it’s irrational. My kids laugh at me. I am afraid for these eight-legged creatures. The mere thought of them falling and dying gives me shivers. Why can’t they build their homes in the shrubs or trees outside? The ferocious summer heat drives them indoors. Perhaps the pungent paint smell will drive them out. Seasons will change. In the meantime, I see the spiders continuing to spin, suspended in mid-air. The sight is scary as I watch them with bated breaths, their delicate movements adding to my unease.
Swetha Amit
Swetha is the author of two chapbooks, Cotton Candy from the Sky and Mango Pickle in Summer. An MFA graduate from the University of San Francisco, her works appear in Had, Flash Fiction Magazine, Oyez Review, etc. Her stories have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net.