The little brown Ant moved on the green lawn at the tip of my cool towel, facing me with its large head. Looking me in an astonished way, the little brown Ant just stood there. Laying on my wet stomach, I was swimming far away in my thoughts from all the noises surrounding me, especially the meaningless conversations I was forced to endure. However I noticed the little brown Ant. I slowly reached to her with my finger and she gave me five. The little brown Ant could read my thoughts...
I woke up sweating once the AC had switched off, turning it on again and falling asleep. An hour later, I woke up... peaceful and satisfied. Another hour later, I was tanning... peaceful and satisfied. An additional hour later, the crowd reached its expected number and I was accompanied with everything but peace and satisfaction. Amidst half-naked ladies analyzing the positive effects of extensive phone calls to their beloved ones and the fruitful consequences of nagging, and amidst married men who were too busy checking out feminine wet tushies and winking at any living pair of boobies, my imagination was on fire and my smile was too obvious. The little brown Ant noticed the previous that it decided to abadon its highly organized colony of wingless female workers and keep me company. I decided to name it Nelly... Nelly el Namlé.
On my way down from the chalet in the elevator, I noticed the emergency button one presses when trapped. I remembered the time I got stuck there at the age of six years at 8 pm. My mom was expecting me sooner. I failed her, she was worried. I never failed her before and I never knew I might get stuck. However what I knew is that if I pushed that button, something unusual might happen... Superman might be able to hear me and come to the rescue. So I pushed it. To my surprise, Superman mastered his arabic language. "Where are you stuck?" "7th floor sir". "How old are you little kid?" "Seven years old soon, sir". I remember how the man panicked about dealing with a situation of a seven-year-old trapped alone in that dark elevator. "Do not worry, little boy. We will send our workman to save you." "Ok, Sir. But please, tell the workman to tell my mom that I''m coming back to the chalet. Oh and sir?" "Yes, little boy?" "I am a little girl". The workman accompanied me to our door step that day and told my mom how I reached for Superman... She was simply... proud. Nelly was confused. She didn''t understand why that Superman guy was positive about me being a boy just because I pushed that button... She didn''t understand why us Lebanese tend to have a slight preference for men when it comes to anything. In Nelly''s world, men are noted for engaging in warfare, slavemaking, or the cultivation of food sources, while the colony is ruled by women.
Nelly''s winged queen is a bitch. All she cares about is Ant fashion, Ant soap operas and her own weight. Nelly & I suddenly stopped meditating, taking some time out to contemplate the very charming lady who had just burped some of the Diet Coke she was holding. Just like Nelly''s winged queen, Burping Lady worried about her own weight. Despite being earth-rounded, eating oily french fries with a colossal greasy Cheese Burger and washing them all with a bar of Snickers, Burping Lady was drinking Diet Coke... Nelly suggested that Burping Lady might prefere the taste of Diet Coke to Regular Coke.. However I disagreed. Seeing her nibble from one pack of Lays then nibble from one pack Fantasia, Burping Lady obviously had no clue about taste. She just wanted to feel less guilty about her light snack. Nelly pondered... "Dieting on Monday and that''s a vow!"... Nelly smiled.
Nelly and I just stared at the beach, no specific thought rushing ahead of the other. It was just relaxing, with so many possibilities and so many dreams to persue. The beach is a nice place for me. I feel free and light. So I kept smiling, especially that my radio was ptake it easy" by Mika. I switched my cell radio on much earlier during the process... It helped me forget about external interruptions. Then a helicopter just passed above us... People looked up. I imagined myself in that helicopter. I would have peed on people who were tanning... If they can''t perceive the difference between a Lays chip and a Fantasia one, let us see if they can pick up on the difference between regular rain and the extra salted one.
Nelly laughed and then she suddenly shut up... I looked up a bit to see what went wrong, why Nelly the little brown Ant stopped laughing... What I saw is a big brown toe in front of me and another towel set right next to mine... My little brown Ant died, crushed to death. I turned my head and looked the other way. I must admit... I didn''t mourn much. Good thing my swimming suit was black.