Bed bugs. Nice creatures. Lift the pillow, they will be there. Lift the bed, and you can see them. Strange bedfellows. The very knowledge that they are snugly resting in the bed can turn you into an insomniac. Tossing, scratching, turning, and walking through the day half asleep. That is what they will make you do.

I stayed in a boarding cum lodging house in Mumbai during one of my training sessions. Tasty South Indian food was available there, and many from South India frequented the place for lunch or dinner. Some bachelor's even took rooms on a monthly basis. Everything was cozy except the bed. One of my colleagues used to joke that when he sat to eat, a lemon pickle moved from the left side to the right side on the banana leaf. After inquisitive inquiry, he found out that there were bugs under the pickle. Just a joke, though. That was the number of bugs that infested this place. Everyone gets used to everything in this world. I told you some take the rooms on a monthly basis and stay for months together. Even I managed to stay there for around three months.

We like honey. Lick it and smack our lips. But a glance at the beehive will make you wary. One sting by a stray bee is enough. All the strength and immunity you got from the honey will crumble. So tiny, maybe you cannot see the attack coming. How is it that such poisonous stingers can produce such sweet, healthy nectar?

In the rainy season, sit under a light on the verandah, and the ecosystem will be bubbling with insects, many falling on you, dashing and making you dance. Better switch off the lights and get away.

These millipedes and centipedes all plan to impede the peaceful existence of your life.

But all these have a role to play in the world, like we play ours. Live together. Exist together.

Continued in 230 - Lost Kaleidoscope - Part 1