The Strange Attractions of The Electric Moth

Of Moth and Woman
or
The Strange Attractions of The Electric Moth

A Mostly True Story of a Female Super heroine
Penned By Rakash TzgNash


Alana Fairweather had just resumed writing in her diary when that song came on the radio. Of course she had to turn it up and close her eyes to remember that fateful evening that changed her life forever.

Her mind faded back to a misty, raining night in the middle of October. She was listening to the same song while waiting at the bus stop for the night bus to Paragon City. She had just finished a horrible week of being with her family for the funeral of yet another cousin.

She had lost several family members, mostly young adults, to the ravages of the designer rave drug superadine. Alana had vowed to do what she could so that none of anyone’s families would suffer the same fate.

She had hoped her best friend would come to see her off at the bus station, but he hadn’t showed. “Ah well, he’s probably busy with something more important”, she thought to herself. “Probably for the best, I’d not want to leave if I saw him here.”

But she had to leave the farm in Kansas; her family knew it as did her friends. Alana was tough as nails and hard-headed in her determination to make a difference in some small corner of the world. She was driven by her personal set of ethics – and by her own personal demons.

Alana thought back to the day she asked the question to her parents and their cushioned response to her. She was only 13 when things already strange in her life began to get even more so. She’d started to notice electrical items going haywire when she was in the area. Little things at first like battery powered flashlights and stuffed toys. Then as she gradually grew older things began to escalate to cell phones and hand held devices. When she was a little older things were getting freaky with electric lamps and microwave ovens going haywire.

“It’s me isn’t it momma?” Alana asked. “Well, it could be or it could not be”, answered her mother. But they all silently knew the truth - it was Alana.

“Baby, come sit down. There’s something your daddy and I need to let you know”, her mother motioned for Alana to sit at the dining table with the family. She brought out a scrapbook she’d put together for Alana. “It’s time you know the truth of when you joined this family.”

That evening the whole story of Alana’s adoption into her family was revealed. There was an unnaturally loud explosion during one of the not so uncommon twisters of the Kansas plains. The search through the debris of its destructive wake resulted in the rescue of a little girl of toddler age from an out of this world escape pod. The entire story of her adoption into the human Kansas family was related to Alana through pictures, newspaper clippings, disaster relief paperwork and court documents.

“It’s funny the tricks on the mind a familiar song can have”, thought Alana remembering the teasing of her classmates contrasted with the compassion of her adopted family. Only one boy hadn’t teased her about her appearance. He’d been able to see the sweetness of her face and the gentleness of her demeanor to look past the pointed elf-like ears and insect antennae. She caught herself smiling and slightly blushing remembering how he’d given her their first kiss. He’d been her first and only love and now she was leaving.

Alana sang softly along with the song on the radio she was listening to – her eyes still closed, a tear or two moistening the corners, while she was thinking of how they’d danced in the rain on prom night to the same song. She hadn’t noticed she was dancing with an imaginary partner in her arms as she swayed to the sweet sentiments of the song playing in her ears.

The rain fell gently and cold as bus headlights dimly came to realization in the distance.

The Paragon City night bus stopped just short of the designated stop. The driver had been through this situation before on numerous occasions.

“Miss?” he said opening the folding doors of his coach. “Miss, are you alright?”

Alana was standing in the middle of the driving lane transfixed by the headlights of the bus. Her arms were stretched out in a common gesture as if to ask for a hug from the lights of the bus.

“Ah great, we’ve got another one – somebody have some sunglasses?” asked the bus driver.

“You can have these, I can’t wear them” piped up a small insect looking woman in a red with black dots dress. She stepped forward to help the bus driver.

Together they covered Alana’s eyes with the sunglasses and helped her onboard the bus. The small woman in the red dress sat Alana next to her on the bus.

The bus driver put Alana’s luggage into the luggage bay of the bus and stamped the bus ticket that was hanging around the newest passenger’s neck, then went back to close the doors and finish driving the bus route.

“It would seem you’ll be sitting next to me for a while. Seems no one else wants to chance my company. Maybe I’m just too chatty for my own good” chattered the little red dressed woman to Alana.

“Lights… must possess the lights… must go to the lights” said Alana still in her trance.

“Good, you’re talking. That’s a very good sign you’ll be coming out of your trance in a little while” said the small woman as she checked that the sunglasses were still on the person in her charge.

After about 10 minutes in the darkened world of the sunglasses Alana began to come out of her trance.

“What? Where? I’m on the bus to Paragon City?” Alana said dreamily.

“Yes, on the bus to Paragon City. You’re ok and safe” said the small woman.

Alana cautiously removed the sunglasses and sat them upon her flat-top styled hair. She surveyed her dimly lit surroundings. In the bus she could see all manner of people – some clearly human, some in brightly colored costumes, some very odd looking indeed.

“All these people are going to Paragon City?” She asked of her strange new friend.

“Yes, they’ve all answered the call to assist in cleaning the crime from the city” said the small woman.

Alana began to laugh. “What a bunch of freaks! I’ll fit right in!”

She looked over to the small woman in the red dress “My name’s Alana, what’s yours?”

“Well… I don’t really have a human name – long story. People just call me ‘Cootie’. You’re welcome to call me that, I’ve gotten used to it” replied Cootie.

“Nice to meet you, Cootie” replied Alana. “So, what’s your story and why are you going to Paragon City?” she said loud enough to be overheard by her fellow passengers.

****

/ooc Anyone traveling on the same bus, feel free to jump in here with your background story