Morbid mosquito mishmash

The buzz of insects disturbs my reverie. I run a hand through my sweaty hair and swipe angrily at my ear. My mosquito-killing technique perfected through years of practice, I find two of the attackers trapped in my palm.

Trapped, I said. Not dead.

I'm not cruel. I love cats, dogs and other animals. Heck, I'm even nice to ants.

Mosquitoes, though - that's a completely different story. It's the tale of a lifelong war. Since the time I, a pre-teen, contracted malaria, I've been pretty nasty to them. Suspend judgement. They haven't been nice to me either.

The trick to catch them, and any exponent of hand-to-hand mosquito combat will tell you the same, is to maintain a certain moistness in the palms and fingers. They don't get out as easily. It's easier to wash the blood off, also.

To return to the present - they're trapped, not dead.

My cruelty gets the better of me. Hmm... I wonder how smart these things are. I free one, and leave the other flailing desperately in my palm. I think its bulbous sack (whatever it is they store blood in) is broken and it can't fly, for some reason. Hey, I don't claim to know biology. Its front legs twitch for a few moments and then it stop, as though waiting for an opportune moment. The instant I free its comrade though, the twitching re-starts with doubled intensity, doubled desperation.

A smile crosses my face for a fraction of a second. I lift my palm to eye-level, and, through the good eye, observe the little thing's pathetic attempts at escape. It looks different from the rest of them, with an alternating pattern of dark and light bands on the (??) tail. No doubt it held some position of importance. Or so I'll choose to believe.

Gently, with thumb and forefinger, I pick at one wing. The left one. Using my long nails as pincers, I pluck it off. The incessant beating stops for one solitary instant and continues with greater force.

I don't do anything more. Just watch it carefully beat it's good wing until... the end. Do they feel pain? I guess so.

Enjoyable watch. Next time I'll lobotomise one and film a video.