I pressed the button to start the car. I needed to get groceries. A task I have done a thousand times and will do thousands more before I expire. The car pulled and I corrected the course through the quiet Sunday morning. The Bluetooth burped into life a few moments after I turned onto a street. A few blocks of serene greenery pass before a speck comes to life within my view.

An ant, large and black with dangling antennae, had taken purchase on the hood of the car. It was peculiar how it mucked around the large white surface. It had stolen my full attention, a danger I was cognizant of as I nearly blew through a large glaringly red STOP. Forcing myself to return to the present, I tumbled my thoughts on the ant as I drove through the overcast day. At first, I was annoyed. How dare she violate my space. I reflected momentarily; it was not mine. The car was outside as was she. Every natural right granted to me permitted her presence just as well. That reflection brought fear. What if there were more? What if I had parked upon a hill and her amongst thousands more sauntered through the mechanisms I sat, clambering for an entry to invade my peace? I dismissed this thought too. She was simply an explorer. A risky adventurer in search of something greater than herself. A noble pursuit. Lastly, a somber thought struck me.

This six legged drone would be taken from her explorations and many sisters. It should not sadden me; it was an ant. I hate ants. Naught more than a biological automaton following a signal from here to there. But here I was thinking upon it. On its daily struggle to survive in a world that did not care for its very existence. It would be lost in the stores concrete jungle and none would acknowledge the disappearance. Desperately she will drag her feelers against the ground looking for a familiar trace, anything to guide her home to be left with unfamiliarity. No known food or water sources, she will wander until she is preyed upon or freeze in the cold night. Not even her fellow ants will grant her solace, for if another colony is to find her, she will be torn limb from limb as an intruder.

These musings muddied my mind as my eyes drifted between the ant and the paved yellow lines. We for the most part are removed from the struggles of nature. Ours are artificial, not divine. The ant had begun to walk to the edge of the car. Soon she would be out of view. I craned my neck to watch as she flittered from view until all at once it was as if he never appeared to start. I turned my attention back to the road and drove in silence. My vision at attention, but my mind wandering. Wandering on the fate of the little black ant. I began to slow as the unfortunate glow of amber signaled my need to stop before the oncoming intersection of my sleepy side street and the major road. As I reached a crawl, my eyes had registered an already too familiar sight, a man leaning upon a cane on the side. A cardboard placard with a plea gingerly held on his unencumbered side. I allowed the car to pilot itself until the rearview mirror obstructed him. I did not wish to meet his eyes which I knew would ask for a dollar I could not provide.

The amber faded to green and I took my left. I walked through the store selecting goods and thinking on the ant. If she had already left the safety of my car and begun to panic at the unfamiliarity. I purchased my groceries and asked for a small amount of cash back. Quietly I packed the trunk and with wallet ready, drove back the way I came. When I returned to the spot where I had dismissed my fellow man’s plea, it was too late, the man had departed. Dismayed, I returned home. As I stepped out and locked my door, I noticed a leaf trapped beneath my wiper crinkle. A familiar antenna emerged.