New Life

Can life really be as complicated as we think? Isn't there a time when we think to ourselves, 'maybe there is a simple life?'

Life isn’t simple, everyone knows that. We all know it isn’t a straight line connecting the beginning to the inevitable end; it has its twists and turns, its ups and downs. Even little children know it, though they might not realise. Now imagine, just for a second, that life really was that simple, that there really was a straight line connecting one side to the other, what would that life be like? You’d imagine it to be easy, wouldn’t you? You’d imagine it to be straight forward with no dangers and no surprises, but is that really how it would be? How can we really say for sure that a straight line is really as simple as it looks? Well that’s why I’m here to tell you that what appears to be an easy life may not always be so.

My life starts as any normal one would, I was borne into a world that was so much bigger then me, a world full of possibilities and endless wonder, a world I knew nothing about. It was scary, I’d admit, but at the same time it was fascinating, all the different smells, all the different things to be eaten and touched and probed, it was overwhelming. However, as overwhelming as it was I knew what it took to survive, to live in this world; food and shelter from both the terrain and predators. On the basis of it, I’d admit, it was pretty simple, I knew that if I was lacking in even one of those elements there was a high chance I would die, but I wasn’t scared about that. On the contrary, I was actually relieved, it made me realise that even if I lost everything else those two things would be all I needed. Of course obtaining those two things was easier said than done. It took what felt like an agonising amount of time to be able to find something to eat, and even then I had to guard myself as I ate, watching out for predators that may be lurking in the shadows. That was how most of the rest of my life was, simple right? It was only until later that I realised I had slowly been changing, growing and maturing, and it was then that I realised where I lived was no longer suitable. I needed to be able to move freely, I needed to be able to spread my newly formed wings and fly, but doing so wasn’t an easy task. The changing of my surroundings was new to me, most of my life I had been enclosed, sheltered, but now I had to leave the safety of my home and venture out into the wilderness, a place that held many new dangers. My wings couldn’t always support me and I found myself becoming pray to the very predators I was trying to escape from, their large bodies terrified me. However, I wasn’t alone; many of the other grown children were also leaving, they too knew that they could no longer stay in the place they once called home. So in the end, though I was scared, it was easier knowing that I wasn’t alone, that I wasn’t to head into the jungle with no-one I knew and no-one to rely upon, and it was there, in that new jungle environment, that I found a new aspect to my life. A partner, someone I could spend the rest of my life with. She found me among the gathering of many bodies, all dancing with one another, our wings holding us up high above our old home. It was then we started our new family, leaving the children in the safety of our old home, from then I spent the rest of my time with my new partner, and although it wasn’t long, it felt like eternity.

That is my life, a straight set out life that isn’t as simple as it seems to a common observer.The life of a mayfly.

Author's Note

Hello, Shaendra here.
I wrote this in a new way, trying to brake out of my old writing style. Here are somethings to mention;
1. Do be truthful with your views on the difference in writing style (if you have read any of my previous work).
2. If you find anything wrong with my punctuation, grammar and spelling please do tell me since I will be more then happy to correct myself.
3. Don't be afraid to hurt my feelings, because it wont happen, I can take criticism.