The Ant and the Lady

"Stop!" she shouted.

"What? What is it?"

"Look down, closer," she whispered back.

Below them on the trail was an ant. A tiny, black ant, looking back up at the women. Laura reached down and put the tip of her finger to the ant's face.

"It's okay, I won't hurt you," she said. The ant hesitated and climbed on her finger. Laura brought her finger up to her face, and looked in the ant's eyes.

"I'm sorry we almost stepped on you," she explained. "You need to be more careful where you are going."

"What if I stayed there on purpose? What if I wanted to be flattened?" replied the ant.

Laura thought for a moment, forehead ruffled. Certainly this ant wasn't saying what she thought it was saying.

"Why would you say that?" she asked. "What could be so bad that under someone's shoe is the only answer?" Her eyes filled with tears.

The ant looked into her sad eyes and realized that this woman had just met him, but cared about whether he lived or died. He could see love, compassion, and empathy deep inside her. He started thinking about his situation. "Maybe she's right, it can't be that bad," he thought.

Laura saw the small creature was trying to produce a reason that could possibly make her believe that dying was his only option. She waited patiently as the ant crawled back and forth, down her finger and up again. After a couple minutes, he had an answer.

"You made me think about my whole life with just a couple simple questions. You have taught me to contemplate life's lessons and to learn the answers. I thank you for seeing me, little old me, before something was done that could not be undone."

Laura smiled and asked the ant what he would like to do now.

"I think if you put me down, off the trail, I will be safe. And I will go back to my colony with a mission to help other ants by talking to them and listening to their stories. You didn't even have to listen to mine to know that I needed your help. I will be forever grateful," he said.

With that, Laura walked to the edge of the trail and put her finger to the ground. The ant crawled down as fast as he could and went off into the brush. As Laura stood up, she looked at her friend. She had tears quietly streaming down her face. They embraced for a few seconds and then began walking silently, hand in hand. Nothing needs to be said in moments like these, they just needed to feel.