The Possum's Last Stand

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!