C4 antho - Chamber Four

~226~ The Chamber Four Fiction Anthology
Its antennae sprouted from its small head, curled inward on
themselves into the shape of a heart.
It had eyes the size of dinner plates, silver dome eyes.
She saw herself reflected in the mosquito’s eyes.
“If you had one wish,” the mosquito said, its voice like
crawling insects, “what would it be?”
“I would like to help everyone.”
“And how would you do that?”
Betsy thought for a moment, then said, “I would like
more hands. I have always seen my two hands as helping
hands. If I had more hands I would be able to help everyone
in the world. Two hands are not enough to help everyone. I
could reach out to everyone in the world. I wish that I had
more hands.”
As she spoke, she thought of the pile of arms she’d seen
in the IRC tent. She thought of how small they had been. She
wished she had picked them up, brought them somewhere.
She wished she had done something, anything other than
leave them there. She thought of Malmoud, his obsidian
eyes, the way they radiated anger, the way he touched her
ponytail.
“I wish I had been able to bring those children back to
life―the way those villagers thought I could. I wish I had
picked up those arms and put them back where they belonged,
reattached them to their sockets. I wish that I had
been able to breathe life into those children’s lungs, to give
them back the life that was robbed from them.”
The mosquito laughed a buzzing laugh. Its whole body
convulsed with laughter. Its heart glowed red inside its body.
The mosquito’s face turned into Paul’s face. He looked
upset. Betsy recognized his voice.
“I’m here with you,” he said.