plague of locusts, pt. 1

I was visiting my girlfriend's hometown the other day and it was attacked by locusts. They were huge. The swarm was huge. I couldn't see an end to it.

They ate everything. It was just a little farming village with a population of maybe a few hundred. Everyone was out trying to help, trying to seal off their houses and their silos and trying to make sure that something survived, that this wouldn't ruin their town forever. The noise of the insects was terrible, but the worst was the sound of the farmers. This was what human despair sounds like.

I stayed in my girlfriend's second story bedroom, trying to read. I couldn't shut out the noise. She asked me to come help, and I said "What can I do?" and she didn't even respond. Just ran out the door and said "Then stay there."

She came back in some hours later, looking like she'd just fought the world and the world won. She collapsed on the bed next to me and stared up at the ceiling. I don't think she even looked at me. I walked over to the window. "Still no end in sight," I said.

"Yep."

"Want to go home when they're gone?"

"What if my family needs me?"

We didn't say anything until it was all gone--faster than we'd expected--and she turned on her TV to the news. The attack got a mention in the little ticker bar at the bottom, but nothing else. She turned it off after a while. "They don't even care. My home just got destroyed and they don't even care."

"You know how the news gets."

"I honestly don't know if I even care."

"Do you want to go home?"

"I need some time to think about it, I guess."

I shrugged and picked my book up again. Now the noise had died down I could finally get some peace and finish reading.