Apologies for the delay with this chapter. The thing with Dot eavesdropping on the other bugs was a very last-minute addition - like I added it in the story editor on the site and had to work this chapter around that little plot device. I hate when I get ideas at the last minute like that sometimes, but what can ya do? Hopefully it flows together smoothly. This chapter got really long too - about 2000 words. But I couldn't find a good place for a chapter break, so it's just kinda here in one big block of text. :)
When It Rains
Chapter 11: Saying Goodbye
When the sun rose a few hours later, everyone gathered around the mighty island tree to put Flik to rest. A grave had been dug right at the base of the tree during the night after burial preparations had been finished.
Atta was troubled by her sister's behavior that day. The night before, Dot wanted nothing more than for Atta to hold her and comfort her, but the day of the burial, Dot wanted nothing to do with her older sibling whatsoever. Any time Atta tried to hold Dot's hand or hold her in general, Dot would yank her own hand away and storm off. The elder princess chalked the little bug's demeanor up to mourning; being so young, Atta figured, perhaps Dot didn't know how to cope with Flik's death once it had really sunk in and she was responding with anger.
In any case, it wasn't making the day any easier to endure. As strange as it might sound, the tragedy that struck the colony sort of brought the two royal siblings together. Dot and Atta never really hit it off and never had much in common beyond their bloodlines, but they comforted one another in the wake of Flik's passing and sort of bonded through that comfort and their mutual grief. They had a shared interest in the loss of their companion, for lack of a better description. So why was Dot being so hostile all of a sudden? Atta wanted to find out what was wrong, or if anything else was adding to Dot's pain. She found Dot sitting alone atop a clover outside the anthill, the same spot where she'd sit for hours waiting for Flik to return from the city. Atta flew up to where Dot was perched to summon her little sister to the funeral, but not before trying to get an answer out of her. Dot was holding the telescope Flik had given her. Not looking through it - just holding it.
"Dot? It's almost time for the funeral. Can I talk to you for a second before we go?" Atta put her hand on Dot's shoulder. The tiny ant flinched away and turned her back to Atta. The older princess persisted. "Please, Dot? What's wrong? I mean... I know you're upset about Flik. I am too. But why are you so angry today?" She tried to console Dot yet again and was met with aloofness and silence. Atta got up and hovered in front of Dot, trying to at least look in her sister's eyes. "Did something else happen? I'm worried about you. Can you talk to me? Please?"
Dot never once looked up at Atta. "Why? So you can 'help' me like you 'helped' Flik?" Atta was confused. "I don't understand. What do you mean?" Dot got up and glared at her sister, her tiny fists clenched at her sides and rage burning in her eyes. The clover leaves shook beneath Dot's feet, threatening to fall out from under her. "I heard you guys last night! I heard what you said! You killed Flik! You're why we're having a funeral for him!" Dot was screaming at Atta at this point. Tears streamed down the little princess' cheeks before she flew off into the grass. In spite of her wings only just barely developing enough to support flight, the little ant bolted off before Atta could even catch up to her.
Atta's heart sank. She didn't know Dot had been eavesdropping on the conversation the night before. Atta fell from the air, collapsing to her knees on the ground. This was a secret she never wanted Dot to find out, but if she had to know, then Atta never would have wanted her to hear about it in the way she did. She couldn't imagine how much her younger sibling had to be hurting on top of her existing grief. "Dot! Dot, come back! Please, let me explain!" It was no use. Dot could be absolutely anywhere on the island, including any of the hiding spots she and the Blueberries had scattered about the terrain. Atta stared off into the fog, hoping that her sibling would come back. She was startled out of her daze by Mr. Soil. "Your Highness, the funeral is about to start. I assumed you wouldn't want to miss it. Are you alright?" She nodded. "Yes, just... composing myself, I guess. Thank you for letting me know about the time. We should get back."
The entire colony had collected around the open grave when Atta and Mr. Soil joined them. Not long after the elder princess arrived, the crowd began parting to make way for Slim, Francis and Manny; the circus bugs served as pallbearers, carrying Flik to his final resting place. The royal council had kept their word and prepared the body respectfully. Flik was wrapped in strips of autumn leaves and laid out on a larger leaf, each corner being held up by one of the circus bugs. Once they reached the grave, they set the funereal leaf down so Rosie could take over. She spun three strands of web, attached one to each side of the leaf and slowly, tearfully, lowered it into the ground. Once the spider felt the web strands go slack, she gave her end a tug to break the main strand and, from there, she tied it into a bow. The strand of web was so light that, when Rosie dropped it into the grave, it merely wafted down into the earth until it came to rest atop the deceased ant.
Try as she might, the strong facade Atta was trying to uphold was betrayed by the tears flooding her eyes. Never would Atta have thought that putting a fellow ant back into his natural habitat would be such a heartrending thing to bear witness to. Thinking about Dot and knowing that she caused her sister's deepened heartbreak was making everything feel so much worse. Atta looked up at the rest of the ants and noticed that most of them looked, at best, disappointed. Some even looked bored. The princess started to silently fume; she wanted to give these indifferent bugs a piece of her mind for implying that her loss – their loss – was an inconvenience or a waste of time, but she thought better of it and restrained herself. It wasn't the time or the place to make a scene.
The queen stood beside the grave and spoke up first. "Would anyone like to say a few words?"
Manny stepped up to say something. "We only had a short time to get to know Flik, but even before we knew that our presence here had been the result of a terrible misunderstanding, I could tell he was a courageous insect. He left the security of his colony to find help in an attempt to free his people from tyranny. He stood by his plan to achieve freedom for his people to the point of being exiled. He saved his queen from assassination. He stood up to a dangerous enemy and later paid for it with his life. He also gave us all the mettle to fight back – not only the ants, but us as well. We have never in our lives been warriors, but seeing his acts of selflessness and bravery inspired a fighting spirit in all of us."
Rosie was next. "I know things didn't turn out exactly as planned, and we were all pretty doubtful about pretending to be warriors when we finally found out what was going on. But I'm so glad Flik misunderstood who we were and brought us here. Not only to help defend the colony, but because we got to meet all of you and help you."
The Blueberries stood up. "Flik was... he was really cool. He made a lot of really cool things for everyone and we're sorry we weren't nicer to him, and, umm..." the young ant's respects were interrupted by Dot. The tiny princess had returned from her hiding place to pay respects of her own; it was obvious she'd been crying. She looked down into the grave and tried her best to speak between sobs. "He was... the best and... and bravest bug I ever m-met, and he was m-my best friend...and...and... " Dot cut herself off mid-sentence and ran to her mother, wailing. The queen picked her younger daughter up and held her, doing her best to console the grieving young princess. Dot's tearful tribute even tugged the heart strings of some of the more nonchalant ants in attendance.
Everyone was silent for a while. Almost no one in the whole colony really liked Flik, so what could they possibly say about him that would be true? Atta finally got up to say something on the blue ant's behalf while she had the chance. "Flik saved us all – not just this year, but every year from now on. And he lost his life because of it. I know he was never regarded as anything more than an irritation by most of us... including me..." she paused for a moment and looked down at the ground; she hated the fact that she never gave Flik the time of day, "...but I never really appreciated the lengths to which he was willing to go for a colony that hated him. His dedication to his people was unlike any I'd ever seen before, and I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it." Some of the ants looked at one another and a few began to grasp just how much they had undervalued Flik was when he was alive.
Atta continued. "I know some of you feel this entire funeral is a waste of time because, at best, Flik meant nothing to you... or, at worst, he bothered you, inconvenienced you or got in your way at least once or twice. But I'm going to say right now that, regardless of how you feel about Flik or any of his past faults, I expect you to be respectful of the ant who died for your freedom. Had he not stepped up to fight when the rest of us were being cowards, we'd still be living in fear under Hopper, feeding him and his ungrateful gang for the rest of our lives." Atta delivered a powerful speech, no longer caring enough to hold back her tears. But in spite of the tears soaking her face, she remained strong and never lost her poise once. She wasn't about to let her fellow ants get away with dishonoring the insect she loved.
No one else contributed any further thoughts. Whether it was because there was nothing more to say or because no one could top Atta's eulogy is uncertain. She took one final look into the open grave and could still make out Flik's features even beneath the protective cover of the leaves. It was time to say goodbye, and the circus insects began filling in the grave with soil. Atta helped them, and Dot followed soon after – even most of the other ants helped, each one adding just a handful of soil, proving their very nature by working together to accomplish their goal. Perhaps they hadn't shown Flik much appreciation when he was alive, but they wanted to try and make up for it a little after he'd died, especially after their future sovereign's inspiring address.
The last handful of soil was placed on the grave by Princess Atta. Her fellow insects had reserved it for her so she could symbolically have the final farewell. At no point was any of this ordeal easy, but it was all finally over. The colony's valiant savior was at peace.
Author's notes: Geez, I feel silly writing a bug funeral scene - that's not something I can say I'll be writing about too often, that's for sure. Stay tuned for the epilogue (apologies, the epilogue is very short, but it'll still hopefully bring the story to a close)! :)