WARNING:
if you have a light stomach please consider not reading this story.
The
Possum’s Last Stand
by
Chris Calderon
While
I was walking to 7-eleven more then a few weeks ago, I came upon a
possum in the road. Something was wrong though, it stood a few feet
from the railroad tracks hissing. A stream of blood ran from its
mouth and a small red pool of blood underneath it. To save you the
detail, it might’ve not been only blood but something else from
within it.
I
could tell the poor fella was on its last legs. It stayed in place
not knowing what to do or where to go. Although, I meant to keep
walking I couldn’t help but sympathize with it while being a safe
distance away. Cars slowly stopped and drove around it.
“Poor
guy, I’m so sorry.” I said.
I
walked away but I felt that there might be something I could do, but
what?
Eventually
some young girls came up and asked if I called animal control. I did,
and I told them the location of where the possum was but my phone
died because due to the low battery.
A
line of cars were stopped because of the possum holding up traffic.
The possum still looked confused as to what to do and how to die
right.
A
bearded man in blue truck asked why everyone was stopped. “You
gotta be kidding me, it’s not a fuckin’ dog!” He said.
Then,
a train could be heard from half-a-mile away. Almost instinctively
the possum slowly walked towards the train tracks.
The
lady in the second car got her phone out, “Gonna post this on
YouTube and get me a million views!”
The
train roared louder. The possum walked towards the train tracks as if
to shrug its shoulders and say ‘awe well, it’s been a good life’.
The
train roared louder. Without hesitation it walked towards the
over-sized metal bullet. I turned my head, I couldn’t watch what
was about to happen and didn’t want to watch the blood splatter
against the train walls. I turned away, then I turned back.
It
was still alive! The possum had somehow timed itself just right to go
under the tracks and make it to the other side.
I’m
sure the lady recording for YouTube was disappointed.
The
two girls ran over to him in an attempt to get it off the street. A
women from one of the cars ran over with a towel, “oh for peetz
sakes!” She said. She nudged with her foot behind the blanket as
the possum slowly made its way to the side of the road.
Not
sure if the possum died soon after, but at least it was in a safer
place, maybe on the grass? Maybe ifit kept going after that, somehow
living and remembering the human attention finally given to it.
Caring beings willing to see it through. I like to think that anyway.
Not
sure if pest control ever showed. It was a little mortality reminder
that no matter where you are and how safe you may think you are,
death can find you on a beautiful, sunny, day in your own
neighborhood.
Commentary:
In take-away I ask the human race to not purposely record deaths of
living beings for monetization, please have more class then that.
Also,
every being has a right to go about its final hours any way it
chooses. If it holds you up from getting to your crappy rinky-dink
job a few minutes late, too damn bad!
