If you’re a regular reader of this column, then you know most of the stories are from a life lived long ago. It was a simpler time when my three brothers, The Sister and I spent seven magical years growing up on that old familiar street not so far away called Flamingo. Other stories come from my general observations of life around us.
But what of the rest?
I’ve found some of the most interesting stories come from children. They have a unique way of looking at things, and when something doesn’t make sense to them, they make up an explanation that does. Children’s unique and naive look on life is often quite humorous. This is such a story: a collaboration between our two granddaughters, Little One and Sweet Caroline, and me. It’s not the first and, knowing them, won’t be the last.
Saturday morning, we were going to drive over to our local park for a hike, but I couldn’t find my car keys. The Girly Girls waited patiently as, once again, I conducted a prolonged search. After about ten minutes, Sweet Caroline announced, “I know why you don’t know where the keys are.” This pronouncement caught my curiosity. Stopping my search, I asked her why. Her answer was quite interesting to say the least. “Your Brain Bug ate the memory.”
Everyone has one
The bug sleeps during the day and wakes at night when you are asleep. He’s harmless to his host, and some would say quite helpful. He feeds mostly on the bad dreams and memories we wish we could forget. Proving his existence is easy.
Nightmares
For example, have you ever awakened from a nightmare wishing you could forget the horrific details? Ever wonder why, in the morning, you’ve somehow forgotten almost all of it? The answer is quite simple. Memories of that nightmare that terrorized you just a few hours earlier were eaten by your Brain Bug. Now, only scant and disjointed fragments of it are left for you to remember.
Bad memories
Soldiers returning from the battlefield call it “The Fog of War.” It’s the unique almost automatic ability that enables them to forget the horrors of battle and only remember the good that happened. It’s the same with the loss of a loved one. With time, the pain somewhat dims, and the good memories rise to the surface. All thanks to the Brain Bug feeding upon them.
Nightmares and bad memories aren’t the only thing eaten
It’s true Brain Bugs feed mostly on nightmares, but they also feed on the best memories you have of family, friends, and especially, loved ones. But unlike nightmares, which they devour almost entirely, they are careful to only nibble on your most precious memories. They do this just to have a snippet of them for later use.
The most important role
A Brain Bug never dies, even when its host does. When all the family and loved ones are gathered at the funeral, he fulfills his lifelong mission. The snippets of good memories he consumed and stored over the years are now divided – as is he. He now carries those key memories to each of the people they belong to so they will always remember the person that passed. By completing this last task, a Brain Bug never really dies, and the memories of the loved one go on.
It has been said that a person dies not once, but twice. The first time when our physical body stops working, and the second time is many years later — when the last person alive speaks our name for the last time.
For me, I hope both are many, many years from now.
[Rick Ryckeley has been writing stories weekly in The Citizen since 2001.]
