Millions and millions of ants were attracted to the rotting stench from the Siberian crane’s stomach. They clamoured at the dying crane, waiting hopefully for it to take its last breath. Ignoring the ants, the crane sunk into memories of its home. Lucid waters and lush hills, the light reflecting off the ripples, its loving wife and children cooling themselves off by the lake… They were smiling at it…
‘I wanna go home.’
After saying so, the crane felt relieved and took its last breath peacefully. The ants rushed towards its body, divided it among themselves, and carried it back to their nest. They saved its finest part for their queen. It was only after the queen had feasted on her meal the worker ants were given a little second-rated food. They merely took a few bites without even having their stomachs filled, before receiving new missions to transport food to a faraway place.
It was a long journey. Many of them passed out because they couldn’t stand it anymore. Eventually, they became food for their own kind.
Eyes were widened with every scene, and hearts throbbed with fear that they would be the next sacrifice.
‘I wanna go home.’ A young worker ant cried out.
A wave of shock arose among the crowd. Our work isn’t done yet. How could you give up like that? We should give priority to our queen. She’s our life force.
Plop—The crying stopped abruptly, followed by the sound of a head falling onto the ground. The head didn’t even reach far before it was gnawed by their leader, as if it were simply food.
Left speechless, the horde speechlessly stole glimpses at their leader who had just executed the youngling, before returning to their positions and continued their way.
Was it fear? Did they fear death?
Was it approval? Did they willingly devote themselves for the queen?
Was it a force of habit? They had become used to feeling fear. They had become used to gaining approval. They had become used to being used to something, and eventually they became used to everything.
Alright. Let’s move on.
More companions bit the dust as the group walked along. They were devoured and replaced. The rest of the crew were supposed to feel more energised for work. But that wasn’t the case at all. At the same time, a voice happened to emerge from their minds unexpectedly.
‘I wanna go home.’
Whose voice was it? Was it the crane who died in a foreign land? Was it the young worker ant who kept on whining about wanting to go home? Were they the companions who had already sacrificed themselves?
The leader forced himself to calm down, shy away his fears, and persuaded the vengeful spirit to leave them alone.
‘’Tis time. ’Tis destiny. ’Tis fate. Since it is decided that you’ll die here, then you should accept your fate.’
The spirit didn’t care about the leader and went on muttering the same words over and over again to itself.
I wanna go home… I wanna go home… I wanna go home…
The voice in their heads grew louder and clearer, stirring up the mass.
‘I wanna go home!’
It wasn’t clear who was the first one that couldn’t hold back any longer and cried out.
Four simple words broke their façade of silence, and thoughts which were suppressed for a long time were aroused.
‘I wanna go home!’
Hundreds gave their response.
Disregarding the leader’s obstruction, the crowd left their baggage and went home, following their own heart.
Plop— Plop— Plop— The leader carried out his execution once more, thinking that he would scare away the others by doing so. Unexpectedly, the crowd rushed forwards without thinking and knocked him down.
He thought that he would die from this, and screeched out from the bottom of his heart.
‘I wanna go home!’
At this moment, the voice in its head vanished immediately, and the crowd stopped.
‘We’re all the same. We all just wanna go home.’
After saying so, the leader joined the crowd as they all returned home.659Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFv9Y1B7kr
