Beautiful Bats?

.short story. short story. short story. short story. short story. short story. short story.

By Kayode Taiwo Olla

A flock first flew past. Then another one. There was a sudden sweep through the air each of the time. I looked up to the sky. Goodness, innumerable bats they were! And I stared into the skies beyond as they disappeared in the distance ahead of me.

Wow, what a spectacle!

Amidst a flock of classmates I thronged along, with a friend, to a literature class I had then. In a moment, my lecturer’s usual statement echoed in my memory ears.

‘Romantic poets see beauty where there is no beauty! They see beauty in all nature!’ he would usually say.

‘Mmm!’ I would breathe, for I liked to be like those writers.

The words had sunk. No, I had swallowed them hook, line and sinker – with the bait too!

          Now, as the bats disappeared into the vague clouds, sweet appreciation of nature was springing new through my whole system.

I tried to fix my glasses well so as to catch clear sight of just a single one. But I couldn’t see, for soon they were all gone. Oh!

I’ve heard bats are ugly. But now I want to see for myself at least; and I could bring beauty out of the sight I see! Or so I thought.

Oh, another set flew near. I adjusted my specks over my nose and raised my gaze.

‘Ugh! What is this!?’ I grunted. Really, I’d never seen a bird so ugly! Ugly like mad!

But I held my breath and gazed on to the sky, trying to imagine beauty where it is not. One bat I spotted.

‘Look!’ I called my friend’s attention. ‘I never knew the bat is this beautiful! Look at!’ I said with sudden liking for the bat.

And she gazed down at me too.

I smiled genially. Oh, I should have known bats are no refined, genteel elements! She just opened her mouth.

Boy, it was kind of repulsive.

Aw, what’s this now? Ha, maybe that’s bats way of smiling back anyway!

Next, she dropped with some force some messy stuff from her mouth! Before man could dodge – you know what? SPLASH!!!

‘What!?’

Hey, at least, thank goodness I looked this animal of a thing through my windscreen – I mean my specks!

‘Ugh!!! Bat’s saliva spattered on my specks!’ I grunted.

‘Aw, sorry! Sorry!’ my friend said. ‘You know what? I just thought this looks like a replica of what happens in life itself! There are bats of humans too! Nasty, unmindful – you know?’ he remarked.

‘Eh! Oh boy! Bat’s saliva! My specks!!’ I retorted, not interested at that moment in my friend’s drawing a moral from mere nature.

He chuckled at what I said. ‘D’you think that’s saliva?’ he said. ‘Bats don’t spit saliva! That’s shit! Shit!’

‘Huh? I saw her spit from her mouth, uh? Her mouth!’

‘Oh, sorry – bats shit from their mouth, if you don’t know!’

‘Huh!!’

Insult added to injury!

I looked into the distance. If only I could still see that bat and I’d stone her till she dropped down! But they had all disappeared from sight!

‘Look,’ I said, addressing the bat and gazing in the direction it took, ‘you’ve proved yourself what you are for real, uh? You’ve proved yourself what you are for real – a bat! You’ve proved people right in the long run – I think you need to hear that! People said you’re bat – now I have no doubt you’re bat! Look, if I look up into the sky next time you fly past, call me a flamingo!’

‘Ha, friend!’ my companion called.

‘Yes, look,’ I interposed, turning to him, ‘next time my lecturer says romantic poets see beauty where there is no beauty, I’ll raise my hand and object –

“Sorry sir, but there is no beauty where there is no beauty!’

‘True, you can’t make someone virtuous by assuming they are, or that they will behave so!’ my friend interposed meditatively, drawing a lesson from nature again.

‘Mm, that’s true; in fact, applicable in daily relationships!’ I said.

‘Hey, friend,’ he said, ‘this bat shit today is really symbolic of life itself, I think you can see. You know what I just thought now?’

‘What?’

‘If we decide to shut our eyes so we don’t see bad people, good people will even pass by us without us knowing! That’s it! I mean in life we can’t ignore all people just because we see or hear that some are nasty, as you can’t forgo the beauty of the whole sky just because of some nasty bats!’

‘Mm, very true! Very true!’ I breathed, getting inspiration from the whole event. Lost in thought, I was gazing up.

And then at once, another flock of those nasty things flew towards our head.

‘Ugh!!!’ I yelled, covering my face with my hands.