Here's what I came up with:
Mahogany
A roaring vibration yanks me from a slumber filled with deeply satisfying dreams of sinking my teeth into the silky richness of dark mahogany. Sometimes, I imagine feasting on a syrupy maple or a crisp evergreen, but these musings are much less palatable. The blaring sound shakes our home to its core, inspiring my brethren to scurry about. I sense their panic, and it incites me to jump up and follow. It is now time to leave our home forever. I know this as surely as I am running frantically down the tree I call home. I was told this day would come, but I didn’t expect it quite so soon.
The soldiers herd us into the tunnel they’ve built. Some swarm about the Queen, who is ready to lay her eggs. They must protect her at all costs. I trail behind the others, bidding a silent goodbye as I ponder what is prompting our swift departure.
“Isn’t this exciting?” my sister asks.
I frown at her. “Not really. Leaving our home is hardly thrilling.”
She nudges a cousin nearby who is gnawing through a blade of grass. “The little one, she doesn’t even remember! She has no idea what’s in store for her! Isn’t that a hoot?”
My cousin nods. They take off with some others giggling wildly as I stare after them completely dumbfounded.
What could possibly be better than our home? All the wondrous places to explore, changing each day as we eat ourselves silly. Crevices opening into lush outcroppings surrounded by appetizing greenery, providing a perfect playground for the curious, a cool shelter from the brutal sun, a haven for learning and prosperity. How could our sudden retreat inspire anything but sadness?
As I ruminate about the paradise I’ve grown to love, an immense shadow looms above until the sun’s warmth succumbs to the coolness of impending doom.
“Run!” someone shouts. My instincts summon me to burrow deep within the earth.
“Timber!” a booming voice calls, and everything around me shakes with a violence I’ve never known. I swim toward others squealing nearby. We huddle together, sighing with relief when the intense rumbling mercifully halts. My jaw is sore and my head is spinning. I am still groggy and giddy from dreaming about my banquet of luscious mahogany.
“That was way too close,” my brother says. “Our home has finally surrendered to the great chainsaw.”
“You mean, it’s gone?” I ask. Tears erupt from my eyes. I wipe them away before anyone notices.
My brother embraces me. “Dear Sister, there was barely anything left. We’d eaten ourselves out of house and home, literally. Our tree was ready to collapse on its own, and it would have been way too small with the Queen’s new colony anyhow. We would have had to leave eventually no matter what.”
“So, where do we go now?” I ask.
“To where you were born and spent your first weeks. We had to vacate for awhile, but now we’re finally going back to our real home.”
A soldier approaches the King, bowing deeply. “Your Majesty, it seems we have a slight problem.”
Everyone stops talking and turns to listen.
The King scowls. “What is it? Is our castle still being remodeled?”
“No, that’s finally done, as we reported last week. The trucks are gone and the tools are put away.”
“Then, what’s wrong?” The King glares at his subject.
The soldier swallows hard. “Well, it seems our castle has become completely infested.”
The King’s eyes turn red as his nostrils flare. “Infested? With what?”
“With humans! They’ve completely overtaken our home!”
The King contemplates the situation as we lean forward with baited breath. Finally, he thrusts his fist upward. “Summon the other Kings! We must condemn the castle due to human infestation!”
After the other colonies are called forth, hordes of our kind storm the castle. As I enter through a beckoning hole in the foundation, a familiar smell almost knocks me over. It’s what I’ve been dreaming about my entire life. Solid mahogany lines every surface, its smooth darkness more inviting than I could ever imagine.
We rush forward, our anticipation building. “I hope everyone is hungry!” the King calls out. “The faster we eat, the sooner the humans will be gone. Then, and only then, can we reclaim our castle!”
I open my mouth, wondering if I’m still dreaming, but as I taste the first blissful bite of mahogany, I know I am finally home.
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