The Bug Collector
The Bug Collector
Pandora is having regrets. It’s midnight and she is out in Forbidden Forest alone. Why is a 15 year old alone in the forest at night? You might ask. Well it’s not just any night tonight is a new moon in the middle of April. Pandora has been waiting for the perfect conditions to go searching for the Katharos beetle. During the day the small beetles appear grayish brown and unassuming, it’s impossible to differentiate them from the Death Watch beetle until completely dark. In the dark they glow a beautiful shade of blue. They have been Pandora’s favorite insect for years, but she has never seen one before. Tonight she plans to change that.
To reiterate, Pandora does not regret coming to the forest. She regrets not bringing a jacket. It's quite chilly, and her warming charms keep wearing off. She is shivering all over, and needs to take a moment to calm her chattering teeth. She will not risk scaring the beetle because she is cold.
As she walks further into the forest the trees become dense, blocking light from the stars. Pandora stops to listen. It’s quiet. She smells the air. It’s damp. This is her chance to find a Kartharos beetle. She’s been planning this endeavor since August, and decided to wait until today, because the temperature would be just right, not too cold the beetle will be hiding, but any warmer and they dig deep burros to stay away from the sun. These are perfect conditions. However Pandora does not search for the beetles. She sits on a cold twig covered ground and waits. It seems counter intuitive, but there’s very limited research on the Kathros beetle, and Pandora has a gut feeling turning over logs, and stones will get her nowhere. So she sits. The ground is cold and rather uncomfortable, but Pandora is a patient. She waits in silence.
An hour passes and she finds nothing, or perhaps nothing finds her.
She has always been okay alone. It’s a skill no one ever talks about, but she finds it handy. Pandora's brain is immune to loneliness. Everytime she is alone her thoughts start talking to themselves. It’s strange, but she doesn’t mind the feeling. It’s like a constant hum in her head, it never quiets which might bother some, but to Pandora it’s like white noise.
It’s been another hour, and there is still nothing. Pandora is becoming sleepy. It’s past two now. But she is not going to leave the forest. Not yet.
Pandora didn’t tell anyone she was coming to the forest.
Hopefully no one worries.
After three hours she falls asleep, leaning against a large tree.
Her mind doesn’t turn off during her slumber. It never has. She dreams. This one is about honey, somehow she is honey in the dream. She is a golden liquid, sweet and gooey. She is inside a beehive, before she gets collected, and put into a clear jar. It feels nice to be honey. Pandora thinks as she feels a gentle touch on her cheek.
It wakes her. She is in the forest. She is not honey.
As Pandora comes back to consciousness her eyes pick up a faint blue glow from her cheek. A Katharos beetle. Its little legs tickle her skin. Pandora stills letting the insect roam her body. It slowly makes its way down her neck, and finds a nice resting place on her shoulder. She studies the beetle. Technically this excursion is for educational purposes. Pandora has been conducting a study on the rare bug since second year. She first learned about the glowing creatures while reading a book in the library. Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them, by Newt Scamander. Most people like it because of the dangerous obscure animals, but Pandora liked it because of the little unassuming ones. There was very little written about the Katharos beetle.
‘The Katharos Beetle, easily mistaken for the Death Watch beetle, possesses a unique blue glow, under proper circumstances. Though there is little information regarding the species, it can be concluded, that the beetle contains magical properties.’
And that’s it. That was all Pandora got. She’s spent an unreasonable amount of time, searching the library, and picking the brains of each professor to learn more about the creature. She’s never known why. It feels like there is something pulling at her, leading her to the bug. Maybe it’s just her own curiosity, but it led her here tonight.
She notices the eyes of the bug, she thought they might glow, but they don’t. The eyes are black. No. They are blue? Brown? The color is indecipherable, until it’s not. Pandora stares at the bug. It’s eyes have settled on a shade of green. It looks like the forest in summer, or the smell of the mountains, or the feeling of grass under your feet. It’s the most beautiful thing Pandora has ever seen. It’s like an out of body experience, she no longer feels cold, she no longer feels anything. It’s like her mind is a separate entity from her body. She is floating through space, her only direction, the shade of green. Nothing exists but green.
And then it stops. There is a faint hum as the beetle flies away.
Pandora is now very aware of her consciousness. She looks down and feels an overwhelming feeling of coldness? exhaustion? Existence.
Suddenly Pandora is alive. She has been alive, she is 15. But she can feel it now. She is living in her body. How is she living in her body? It feels so weird. She can feel her breath go in and out, her muscles tense when rises. Her eyes are trying to see despite the darkness. It’s strange to be alive.
The walk back to the castle is one of much thought. After her interaction with the beetle Pandora’s mind races. It’s like she can’t stop zooming out, and looking at the bigger picture. She is so small, so insignificant. There is so much beyond her. She is only one person. And she exists right now, but 16 years ago she didn’t. And 100 years from now she won’t. She is in her body. But one day, it will betray her, and stop working. Why does she exist?
She has so many thoughts, but one is louder than the rest. Green.
This is important somehow. Pandora doesn’t know why, but something about that beetle, that shade of green is significant. She must know why.