Ants

They all sat, greeting each other, old friends and new alike exchanging hand shakes and warm greetings. It had been a while since they all had met each other, the ambience was very positive . but they were all here for a serious matter to be discussed and talked over. Some late comers were  having a difficulty finding there seats, hustling and rushing to their seats creating unwanted attention.
Within the doom like room all of them were seated, it was huge, for they were a huge community. All of them mumbling to each other creating a low rumble like noise put together. As the hammers went down for the silence by the head council who was right at the centre of the hall along with appointed council members. All looking alike in a way yet ever one of them were very different from each other, like all men being the same but ever one looks so different.

Now with the silence brought to attention and every one mum. The chief spoke with a grunt like voice, in melancholic charm with stops in the middle to catch his breath and low sighs. Firstly he addressed his fellow council members thanking them for coming out, for attending the summit and then to the audience. The chief said ‘’my fellow earth ants we gather around here for the decisions to be made for the misconducts of the humans which is very unfortunate. But what has happened has happened, we are here to discuss it over and every ones view would regarded as important as mine ‘’. The chief stopped for his breath while every one gave a noise of approval. The chief was liked by all. He was one of the senior most in the community, he had fought in all the famous battle. In his prime he was one the most feared souls to walked the earth, every one trembled at his stories, when infants cried they were told that the chief was around so they would stop crying. Several books were written about him, on his conquest and controversial life. For some said that he had got his power form the sky for his power was unprecedented. Yet stories are stories and here he stood old and almost life less he seemed. His skin soaked with old age and scars from battles he had won, he had lost and his voice was like a rumble of pain that he went through in his life. The loved one he had lost in his life, the one’s who were to go after him and the loved ones that had betrayed him. Just for few moments of fame, glory and wealth, it pained him throughly. The kind of pain that eats you up slowly from the inside, the pain that was not meant for any one. Not for the devil himself. Was he sad? No he wasn’t , saddens comes and ago but this pain was constant for him. Yet he stood talking to his fellow followers, who trusted him, who had faith in him, who looked up to him and more importantly who believed in him. He addressed his congregation to listen, ‘’it is a terrible time and it is unfortunate that we have to go through it, but whats done is done, we as living souls have to live on, move on to another fresh day. Though its difficult to do what ask you to do, i know but what i’m telling you is that it is temporary. This  anguish will fade away, there is no point in starting a war for a war has no ends.’’ He stopped to catch breath and wet his throat, there was pin drop silence. It was so quiet that the shadows of the candle light spoke louder than the congregation with their dancing figures. After his gulp, the chief continued, for give my old soul, i’m no more the one that i was years ago. If we start a war, it will never end, it will grow like a disease. If we start it, it will be war for generations to come, the dislike against each other’s race  will live in every one of us. It will be there in every generation of our race that will abominate each other. there is nothing evil and lower than hate, that feeling just grows like a virus.

If i have to fight, it will be for a reason that i support in my terms. I’m not the one who will kill a soul who stole from me, it is against my integrity to carry on such a conduct. Had i been young, more aggressive, more arrogant i would have gone to war slitting throats like a mad man, until the miscreant is punished. For i fear no man who walks this earth. But time tells you, makes you learn, it is always there whispering but the young fails to notice it, it has its on course and with time you become wiser. You relearn what you learnt and it makes you better person. But this is just an old soul’s opinion. You are the future, the chief said with a hand gesture to all of them. It’s for you decide what to be done and how it has to be done. If you want war, you will get war and then it will be war for ever. If it is peace then its peace for ever. So what do you think is right? Not only for you but for us, for the young and old alike, the brothers and the sisters, the fathers and mothers. The chief stopped get his breath back, heaving heavily for there was power in his voice. While the rest sat with a daze like gaze listening to what the chief was saying. Then he continued, so what do think is right? Is it blood shed? Or is it peace? I would like to hear what you all think.
With this the chief took his seat among his fellow council members. All gave the chief a look of approval except for the army general who had bland expression. The leader of the ant army, who now stood up to have his say. He was an old one the army general, with bravery that no one could match, some said he was crazy, some said he was insane. But only his army knew him for the what he really was. The army general was not some thing to look at twice for he was very generic in sight. But he shrewd as a wolf mother was for her cubs. Among the solider general was the master of stratagem, when it came to planing out warfare he was the main mind behind every war for this kingdom he stood before. The shrewdness just came naturally in him, the chief and the general had planed out many battles together and many were of them were fortunate. The chief had a deep fondness for the general for with out him, it would have been a different story.

The general stood up, clear his throat, which sounded more like growl and spoke to the point. ‘’I cant disagree with the chief, what he say is right, no doubt he speaks for the betterment for us all because he is the chief ‘’ with this the congregation thought the general’s speech was over and so the applause began. But the general continued with his elephantine booming voice ‘’Regardless of how divine it may seem the awareness of the chief. But i how could i react in a docile way the ones who stole our way of life from us.

I understand work and i work very hard to get me were i need to be. We ants understand equality, we have a work culture and every ant is equal regardless of what creed or class you belong to if you belong to our kingdom. We thrive on these rules, we dwell on it because its me, it is us. We ants understand equality than more than any one else who walks the earth. We have survived on these rules for generations and as long as i live i tend to protect it. Because the principle of communism belongs to us, it was given to us by forefathers, who mastered it. Who knew it was right for us, in order survey in this precarious world, in this world of treacherous beings. Now these humans come and steal it from us, our way of life, our beliefs, from me. Yet you ask how to deal with larceny? I say war. There will always be war as long as you and me live, thats how we settle disputes. If you ask me i would say lets fight fist with fist, just like we did in our younger days.

You could see the anger radiated in the generals face and he made it very clear that the ants should wage war against  the humans. After a gulp of water he continued, ‘’there is no disgraceful race than that of these humans, they steal from each other, they steal from us, they kill each other, they kill others, they are senseless and they behave no worse than a worm. I see no good in them, they have killed millions of us and they will continue to do. They are the lowest forms of life, so i give you this war cry. Lets finish it for once in for all and be done with it. War, war, war he shouted, few in the crowd responded in chants of war, war, war, it was mainly the youngsters, with this the general finished his talk.

The whole was council was quite, no one spoke for a while. All the ants were busy comprehending what had been just said, two very strong suggestions, equally opposed and both from the two of most resected ants in the ant society. It was very clear that the humans had stolen communism from the ants and it was now unto to the ants wage war against the humans or go on in peace. It was all up to them and the direction was very clearly shown to them, it was either peace or it was going to be war.

Then the chief stood up and then spoke in his same melancholic voice, ‘’my dear friends as the general has spoken he spoke as a true warrior, like a captain to his comrades in war, he has a point, i do not disagree. But my fellow ants as i had made it very clear that war is something that i don’t want. The wrath on us as well as on the humans will be to much for bear. If we fight this war, how long are we to go on fighting? The war is as uncertain as our future, no one knows how it will end. It is not good for what the humans did, to steal communism form us, i don’t dent that. But my friends them is a race that thrive on fighting amongst each other and other as well. They tend to destroy what ever they trend on. So what i suggest as a leader, as friend and as a father is that to divert this war. We don’t need it any more, let the humans be in there own chaos and we will be in own sphere of life. We differ form them in many way, we have different values, different needs.

So my fellow ants i tell you we go on in peace’’. All the ants cheered in approval and since then ants minded their business and the humans theirs. Life was good for the ants as for the humans, you know it.

29-Apr-2012 / 03:47 AM / Victor Lakpam / 1 Comments