Hagio’s Bugs

The sun peeped through the slits of my grandma’s weathered curtains. “Ata Yari, kiije insa!” (Sister Yari, let’s go!). Cousin Hagio’s voice exuded with excitement. He was up and ready for our bug hunt. As I clambered down the cramped wooden stairs, I saw him looking up at me with his doe eyes, hair combed to the side, and a wide grin that almost matched the shine of his tiny blue gumboots. He was holding a bottle to keep the bugs in. I washed my face and put on a sweatshirt – I’m a lousy dresser.  

Hagio trotted along the mud paths of the rice fields, unfazed by the sun’s heat. As we approached the grassy patches, grasshoppers began leaping like springs. Hagio crawled on all fours in pursuit to catch them with his tiny bare hands. Eventually, we captured an elegant green beetle, two ladybugs, a grasshopper, and a small spring beetle. Spring beetles are fun to watch! When agitated, they bounce like springs. Hagio added a leaf to the bottle to create ambiance. We observed the vibrant bugs. Like strangers, they stayed in their corners aloof from each other.

After a while, we decided to let them go. One by one, they returned to their places in the wild. Hagio and I lay down on the green reeds, bending them to make a soft bed. The sound of the cicadas serenaded us while we marveled at the pristine blue sky, where puffy cotton clouds added to its beauty.

“Looks like a dinosaur”, said Hagio.

“Hm”, I replied.

“Look! There’s a spaceship!”, Hagio said excitedly. Soon, he was seeing more creatures in the sky than in the wild. As I have grown older, my imagination seemed to fade away. It isn’t as vivid or magical as Hagio’s.

It was a day well spent with Hagio and his bugs. It fueled my inner child and made me feel like a kid again, if only for a little while.