Unwelcome House Guests

They arrived on the doorstep of their new temporary home. It was perfect! Humid atmosphere, just like they loved; uncrowded, little competition for space and resources; warm, but not hot; and best of all: free! They'd just squat for a while before they were either discovered and evicted or crowded out once they had too many offspring. Then they'd move on.

They moved in and began making themselves comfortable. First, they blocked up the draftiness; they didn't want their babies getting sick! Mrs. was already expecting, and didn't want her first children dying of exposure. Thinking of exposure, they remembered to turn the temperature up. As long as the place was still a bit drafty, there was no need to make matters worse by freezing!

Then they took over the food and resources in the house, fattening up and putting things to work for them. Before they realized it, they had a nice little colony to keep them company. Loneliness problem solved! They'd have all the entertainment and entertaining they could ever want.

And then some. They'd only been there a couple of days and they were already feeling a bit cramped. The draftiness was gone, and the temperature was sitting at a slighty-warmer-than-cozy 102°. No matter, they'd invite a few of them to start scouting out for their next place. The couple sighed at the lovely new place, vaguely nostalgic about it as though they'd already left. They turned their thoughts to the future, excited about how quiet it would be compared to this place. Not all of them would make the move, of course; they themselves were already past their prime. Ah, well. This would be the perfect place to die, if they weren't evicted first.


It started as nothing more than a tickle in my throat that made me want to clear it constantly. I could tell that it annoyed people immensely, but what could I do? Then the fever and congestion set in; I couldn't breathe without effort, and certainly not through my nose at all. I got a sinking feeling in my stomach to go with the stuffy feeling in my head and chest. Yep, I had a cold. Man, I hate being sick! "I'd better wash my hands," I thought, "before I spread it to everyone else."