CHAPTER XXIX: DON'T MOURN THE LOST
We heard the ant's blow horns going off all over the island, for it was now time for us to take our departure. I slowly edged my way through the crowd of ants around the open wagon, where P.T. was saying some stuff to Flik, standing on the upturned wastepaper basket. Several of the other circus bugs were receiving thanks from some ants.
'Oh, you're too kind,' smiled Gypsy, accepting a pretty flower, while Slim said various stuff to the crowd.
'All in a day's good time,' remarked Manny to the many thanks they were still getting. I was just walking past Rosie now, quite hopeful that it would work.
'Dim...' said Rosie slowly to me with a suspicious grin.
'Aw...' I moaned, opening my shell. The six kid ants that had being hiding there also moaned, as they got down and slowly walked off. I had been enthusiastic to them wanting to tag along, as most of them were a lot like some my kids. Strange, that it wasn't painful to even think about them anymore...
'Oh, I'm so sorry kids,' said Rosie thoughtfully too, as the kids moaned, 'I wish you could come along too...' But they were barley upset compared to Blueberry Scouts, who were hugging Francis from all sides, and then were almost crying, including Dot. He too had undergone change, as they had touched his feminine side, which had been hidden deep within his shell, hard wings and exoskeleton.
'I'm not gonna cry, I'm not gonna cry,' he said to himself, hugging the scouts, while nearly crying himself. And meanwhile...
'U-ee sukia wa!' announced Tuck gesturing to Roll, who was facing away. Roll turned around and spoke more gibberish, while twitching with Hopper's antenna – all that was left of him. They were entertaining several ants be the wagon's side.
Roll then poked Tuck repeatedly with the antenna, and they broke into hysterics, laughing as several ants gave claps they were drowned out by their voices.
'Hey, let's go!' interrupted P.T., 'we got a schedule to keep! Come on –' the five rolling ants rolled as one up the wagon's flap into the back compartment, saying "hey" all the time. They were coming along too – not that any of us minded, but P.T. saw potential in them as acrobatics partners to Tuck and Roll.
'Hey Tiny,' yelled out P.T., 'let's get this show packed up; we got paying customers hatching!'
'Yes, Mr. Flea!' said the pudgy grasshopper, climbing up into the wagon's back with several pieces of stationary. 'Yes sir, of course sir, right away sir!
'And, um, I just want to thank you for giving me a chance, because it's an honour to work with creative giants –' P.T. wordlessly gestured to the fireflies, who started to close the flap '– such as yourself!' The fireflies slammed it shut with a slight bump.
'Shutting up,' came the orthopteran's voice from inside the wagon. P.T. then leapt on top of the wagon with his standard "plink."
'You're sure you can't come on tour with us?' said P.T. to Flik, facing him.
'Sorry,' shrugged Flik, blissfully aware of Atta coming up behind him. 'My place is here.'
'Good answer,' said Atta to him, squeezing his hand, while he grinned at her.
'Eh well, your loss,' said P.T. in an uncaring manner. 'One minute, insects!' he yelled to the crowd at large, before leaping to the wagon's front, and hitching up the centipedes to their reins. I walked up beside Rosie, Tuck and Roll on the wagon's side that was facing the colony, with Francis, Slim, Manny and Gypsy beside Rosie. Flik and Atta came up in front of us, as the colony watched one last time.
'I want to thank ALL of you,' began Atta slowly, as Dot jogged in beside Flik, and the Queen, along with the council ants, waited behind Atta on her other side, 'for giving us back out hope, our dignity... and our lives.'
'And to you, Princess Atta,' said Slim kindly, stepping back a bit, you have given us so much.
'Please accept this gift,' he said, while Gypsy passed Manny a leaf, and he stepped forward with it, 'from us bugs to you ants.' Manny approached Atta, and created dramatic suspense with gestures, making Atta look surprised, before...
'For you,' he said, bringing out a rock from behind the leaf, and handing it to Atta, while Slim, Gypsy and Francis assumed poses of suspenseful surprise.
'Oh,' chuckled Atta nervously, taking the rock and holding it briefly, while Flik and Atta grinned at each other, 'it's a rock...'
Francis, Slim and Manny clasped each others hands and chuckled. I wasn't sure, but I had a feeling that thing of Dot and Flik's wasn't unlike mine and Rosie's "dim to bright" concept...
'What's with the rock?' croaked Cornelius to Thorny.
'Must be a circus thing,' shrugged Thorny. They both seemed to take it in their stride. I noticed Dot giggle to Flik before he stood up and faced us.
'Well Flik,' said Rosie, stepping forwards, 'you really goofed up.' She then broke into a tearful smile. 'Thanks...'
'Yeah,' said Flik nervously, almost lost for words. 'You too...'
There was a brief pause before Rosie clapped for Flik. As I smiled cheerfully too, the other circus bugs did the same. Startled, Flik turned around to face the colony.
Atta, Dot, the Queen and the council ants clapped for him also. Flik looked like he was going to explode with happiness, when the rest of the colony started too. He smiled in happy surprise as he received many cheers and hoots.
As we kept clapping, the crowd moved closer, so the happiness radiated between us all. Flik fidgeted nervously with his fingers, until they were softly taken by Atta.
She leaned in to his face and gave him a soft cheek kiss. It may have lasted for ever, but it really only lasted half a second. The crowd got even feistier at this.
Then, the Queen pulled off Atta's leaf tiara from behind. She gasped, turning around. The Queen placed Atta's tiara in her hands. Atta smiled as she knelt down. The Queen plucked up her own flower crown and put it on Atta's head, as the crowd cheered even more loudly.
Atta got up, feeling the crown, and her new position, as Flik clapped too. She glanced at the tiara she was still holding, before tossing it into the air.
Dot buzzed up from the ground and caught it spot-on on her head. She giggled to herself as the crowd cheered even more enthusiastically. P.T. was sniffing to himself, watching the scene from atop the wagon.
'All right,' he said, failing to regain himself, 'now it's getting mushy. We're outta here!' Grunting, he whipped the centipedes, and they started to bring the wagon out of the clearing. Rosie, Slim Tuck and Roll were already on top of the wagon. As the crowd waved, Francis, Gypsy and Manny flew alongside the wagon, while I buzzed to the front of it.
I clasped my legs around the front handle and lifted it up into the air, the centipedes hanging below by their reins.
'Wow...' said one kid as we flew over the tree root.
'See you next season,' called Rosie to the crowd.
'See ya, Flik!' cried out Francis.
'Bye,' said Rosie again, 'we miss you already!'
'You're fired!' cried Roll, waving.
'You're fired!' cried Tuck, also waving.
Slim then gasped. 'We forgot Heimlich!' It was true; Heimlich had vanished after a while. But there he was inside a wobbling cocoon attached to the tree root. It wobbled as the crowd kept waving.
It suddenly opened, and Heimlich's face was peeking out of it.
'I'm finished!' he said happily. 'Finally, I'm a beautiful butterfly!' He groaned, trying to squeeze himself out, and then he was half-out, and then he fell to the ground. He looked exactly the same, except he was a slightly darker shade of turquoise instead of the usual light green.
He looked at a colourful orange/white spot on his back. He concentrated in tension, and then it split open into a tiny pair of wings.
'Mein wings!' he exclaimed. 'Oh, they're beautiful!' He flapped them, but didn't move off the ground.
'Heimlich!' cried Flik, as he and three other ants grabbed Heimlich by a corner each. 'The wagon's taking off, you'd better start flying!'
'But I am flying,' he wailed, as Manny and Francis buzzed down. They both grabbed his front and back respectively. 'And from way up here, you all look like little ants!' Francis and Manny lifted him off the ants into the air.
'Auf wiedersehen!' said Heimlich, as they came level with the wagon I was flying.
'Here we go,' said Manny, waving as they flew behind the wagon as I started to cross the shallow river..
'Bye,' cried Flik, waving. Queen Atta and Princess Dot buzzed beside him, and lifted him into the air by an arm each. They buzzed up to the tree root, and the three of them landed down there. They all waved enthusiastically, looking very cheery.
Directly below them, 16 ants in groups of four were clad in Flik's stalk cutter machines. Thorny was at the front, also wearing one.
'Present stalks!' he cried, stopping and facing forwards. All the ants behind him, turned around, so the grass stalks in their machines were facing the other way.
'Harvester salute!' he cried. Four of the harvester ants let loose the catapult function of their stalks cutter machines. The stalks flew into the air above the tree root and hit each other in pairs, exploding into confetti-style remnants, just as I got halfway across the riverbed.
The rest of them got shot, and exploded as Flik looked around awed, until his eyes fell on Atta. They smiled at each other, and then held hands.
The two of them, Dot, and the whole colony waved harder than ever as the last catapulted grass stalks collided. We finished crossing the riverbed. Smiling to myself, I raised the wagon higher still, as I finished crossing the riverbed, and started to traverse the grass plains.
Now we all knew. It wasn't just the fact that, together, we could do anything. This had all given us so much more then that – even more then making me realize that you can't stop change. It gave us belief in ourselves, but most importantly – it gave us a new beginning.
I knew now to not mourn the lost any more. They didn't want it, I'm sure. Insects are born and die, after all. It's the way of life, and, much like change, it can't be stopped.
We would meet again one day, but I wouldn't try to make that day come sooner. I'd enjoy what I have.
Rosie climbed on top of me, and held the two web-bound pebbles again. I'd keep them too. They would remind me to keep believing – they would remind me of everything I'd learned so far.
It wasn't the end, though. For the end is the beginning... of a new adventure.
Approximate Movie Running Time: 80:49-84:52
