FICT: Ants Cause A Nasty Accident

I set off from home before down to go to work. It was a sweet summertime day, with plenty of rain.

I was tired of the long traffic lines during the morning rush hour. Besides, my boss wanted me to send a report to potential investors in Washington DC by 10:00 am.

As I drove down a street, about a dozen well-fed ants moved across the dashboard. I did not expect ants in my vehicle. At the same time, an ant bit the back of my neck.

At first, I thought my brain was playing tricks on me. But no, these were real ants. One paused for a moment and looked in my direction as if saying: “Man, drive carefully.”

I was thrown off guard. I paid attention the ants for a brief second, wondering how they came to be in the vehicle.
The next thing I saw was a pedestrian on a bicycle in front of the vehicle. I braked and swerved to the left, but I could not save the poor woman. I hit her, and she fell down on the side of the road.

When I stopped to take her to the hospital, a crowd of people started gathering. Before I could get out the car, passersby began accusing me of reckless driving.

I feared for my life and drove off. I stopped briefly at the gas station and called the police and reported what I had done. I noticed that my hands were shaking. I could 'see' the woman lying on the road in a pool of blood.

My heart went to her family. Perhaps she had children, a husband, a mother and a father. I sympathized with them and felt deeply hurt at what I had done. You have killed a person, I thought to myself.

I was angry with the ants because they had invaded my car without warning. As I drove to the police station, I could not stop thinking about how the ants entered my car.

After reporting to police, I sat in the vehicle and researched about ants on the internet. I discovered that they usually enter cars during the summertime rain.

Ants look for shelter, warmth, and sources of food. They are also attracted to odorous substances that are released on the skin of mammals, humans inclusive.

An expert in pest control recommends putting ant traps in the vehicle, especially along wires and in crevices, where ants usually frequent. Also, park your car far away from vegetation, where ants make trails.

I park my car under a car shed in the yard overnight, which is near a flower garden. When I went back home, I confirmed what read: there were plenty of ants in my garden!

Later I was overjoyed to learn that the woman was severely injured, but had survived.