Snug as a bug in a bank
Short Story Sunday #5
Welcome to Short Story Sunday! This is an extension of The Ryry Rundown and you can expect one thing: a short story and an explainer as to what inspired it. I write on a variety of themes and ideas, so I don’t think you’ll ever get bored. I always love getting your thoughts and feedback on my work, so please do comment; I read everything people send me. It’s great to have you here and I hope your upcoming week is a great one!
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Now let’s get into it…
Today’s Story: Buggin’ out
Stan noticed the box elder bug on the desk, slowly walking behind the computer monitor, just out of sight of the person across from him setting up his new bank account. He didn’t bother to say anything, thinking instead of how there are 1.4 billion bugs for every one human.
The bug approached the nameplate of Sarah, his banker today, and she finally noticed it. She remarked how gross it was but said she wasn’t going to do anything. She said he was welcome to do something, though.
He told her it was fine; he didn’t want to add anymore work to this appointment that was already taking forever. He looked at Sarah’s desk and noticed some pictures. One was her with a man and dog. Another of her in a wedding gown, holding the hands of the same man in the other photo. Last was her wearing goofy glasses to celebrate the new year. All were images that told a very vanilla life, but Stan’s life was vanilla so who was he to judge?
1.4 billion bugs for every human. That’s an unfathomable number, and none of them had dogs or spouses or anything. How many bugs total would that be? If you put all of them in a room, it would suffocate any humans inside. So, really we were invading their space, not the other way around.
Looking out the window across the street, Stan couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the protesters surrounding the Planned Parenthood. They wore signs saying things like “PRAY TO END ABORTION” and “LIFE BEGINS AT CONCEPTION” as they walked along the sidewalk. The grocery store was only a couple feet away from the Planned Parenthood, so if you squinted, you could pretend they were shopping instead of protesting.
The protesters were elderly 99% of the time and middle-aged the other 1% – an age where having any more kids was the last thing on someone’s mind. Granted, he didn’t have kids either so what did he know of the joys – or woes – of caring for a child?
The 1.4 billion bugs per human didn’t think of any politics. No thoughts about abortion, immigration, or race. Nothing. They lived and died every day, their thoughts only on food, mating, sleep, and – if they were unlucky – pain. Some lived for decades, others for mere minutes. But none built nuclear weapons or committed war crimes.
One of the protesters was crossing the street, darting right for the bank entrance. As the door opened and the bell chimed, Sarah excused herself for a moment, grumbling an “oh shit” or some other curse that Stan couldn’t quite catch.
He heard her arguing with the protester, telling them they can’t be in here with the signs on, even if it’s just to go to the restroom or get a drink of water. They were starting to raise their voices when Sarah said, “Barb, I’m not messing around today. Please leave.”
“Oh, alright,” They grumbled. Before leaving, they yelled, "I'll see you at Church, Sarah!”
Back at her seat, Sarah apologized, saying “They’ve been told several times they’re not allowed in with the signs on and STILL they try to come in to use the bathroom.”
She awkwardly pecked at her keyboard as silence settled over them.
1.4 billion bugs per human made for a jungle underneath your feet. An invisible world where bugs killed and ate other bugs not out of hate but merely to live. Maybe that was bad. Maybe that was good. Stan wasn’t quite sure how humans got to the hatred that filled this world.
There was the sound of a car passing by and, after looking around, Sarah sighed and said, “Not that it matters, but I don’t agree with their signs. But what am I supposed to do? Switch Churches? There will just be more people there and – anyway, that’s neither here nor there. We’re almost done getting your account ready, but I have a few questions…”
As the two babbled about banking, the box elder bug wandered off to the edge of the desk and flew away, becoming invisible again with the other 1.4 billion bugs per human.
Today’s Inspiration: A bank visit
I feel like lately my inspiration has been coming from really mundane things, and this story is no different! I recently had to go to the bank and actually did see a bug and protesters while there. I was stuck there for an hour, but it resulted in a story that’s been kicking around in my head for a couple months. I only recently was able to sit down, sort out a rough outline of events, and get it to your eyes.
What did you like about today’s story? Let me know in the comments!
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