The Meeting of Spiders

I want to describe a place that changes over time, plains surrounded by dark red mountains from which fury spiders migrate annually to convene during the stormiest time of year when sand pounding against a metal grate cleans it. In groups of three or more, clumps of spiders roll like seaweed across flat, hard ground furrowed by wind, not rain, in lines that branch, then disappear.

A woman who is not large at all but uncommonly sturdy moves slowly along a path to a well. Underfoot a pale yellow scaly seed pod makes a popping sound. People who live nearby are amazed at the ability of this woman to stay on her path in the face of winds that can toss most people about or stall horses in their tracks.

On her way back home from getting water, bucket in hand, the small but well anchored woman is met and surrounded by grumbly spiders who in chorus demand to know why she is able to remain so steady against the onslaught of forceful winds while they with their eight legs are blown through the air as if they were cottony fibers. Without thinking, the woman scoops up a spider in a seed pod, which when placed in a bucket, floats like a boat at sea. She blows it around a bit and in so doing communicates the secret of her groundedness.

When she tries to remove the spider she finds that it is not ready to leave the water. Others come one by one to try the tiny boat, leaving the woman wondering if she will ever get her water bucket back. She leans against a gray wooden shel ter and closes her eyes.

In a dream she is a child again, rolling across a black water bar into an open expanse of ocean on a fishing boat, slapping through morning fog. The dream child moves from bow to stern, walking with care to shift her weight against a quickly changing deck, bow rising and falling unpredictably. Salty spray drips from her face and cold hands dip into rubbery pockets for warmth, finding gritty sand.

In an instant, the woman opens her eyes, bends to gather her bucket and imagines the spiders calmly returning to the mountains where their lightness serves them well.