A few years ago I had a huge fear of spiders, if I saw one I would jump onto a chair, grab the ceiling lights and cling onto the lampshade, keeping my feet as far away from the floor as possible, hoping to high heaven that the lighting wire wouldn't give way causing me to tumble to the floor where the spider could get me and do a merry dance on my face whilst laughing hysterically at my fear.
I came to the conclusion that this was a irrational fear and my actions were a little over the top, so when I found a new house spider sat in my bath looking up at me I decided that I wouldn't throw it out of the window and I would befriend it.
I looked down at the big black fat spider infront of me, ignored his big sharp fangs and chilling smile and told him he could stay and he didn't even need to pay any rent.
The spider stayed in the bath for a day or so, but I soon decided that I smelt and really needed a bath so I had to remove the spider from the bath. I was petrified to go close to him, so I decided I would name him Wilamena, as that's not a scary name at all, especially when it's the name of a man.
I took a glass from the kitchen and placed it over Wilamena and slipped a thin piece of card under it, lifting Wilamena from the bath, and placed him in the glass on the floor whilst I ran a bath.
As I sat in the bath and watched him in the glass I suddenly remembered that you could kill spiders by containing them in a glass for too long as the spider would breathe in all the oxygen leaving behind only methane (apparently) which is highly poisonous in high quantities. The last thing I wanted to do was kill Wilamena as that's no way to treat a new friend. As soon as I was out of the bath and fully clothed I let him go in the bathroom.
I now had a new flatmate and he had a new home.
Wilamena generally lived in the bathroom, he hardly came out. I said hello to him each morning and checked on him at night before I went to bed. We formed a friendship and it actually became quite nice having him around the place. Then one morning, a few weeks later, I went to the bathroom to say hello and he wasn't there.
I searched for him all over the flat, but I never saw Wilamena again.
I was sad that he had gone and missed him alot. I had no inclination that he was thinking of leaving and before he left I never even had chance to thank him for helping with my fear, just by being there.
I still think of him often.
***
Recently my boyfriend and I split up, causing me to have to leave our house. Whilst I was packing I found another great big house spider in the bath, this one was brown. I wasn't fearful of this spider, but I didn't want to pack her up with my belongings and take her to my new flat, so when I needed a shower I used a glass to take her out of the bath, then I put her back when I had finished in the shower.
I had a few days to pack my belongings as my boyfriend had broken his leg and he wouldn't be returning to the house for a few weeks. I decided to leave the glass in the bath with the spider so it would be easier for me to remove her each day, until I finished packing, then I would let her run free.
On the final day I saw something in the bath inside of the glass, so I picked it up and looked at it. The big brown lady house spider, who I didn't name, had laid a ball of eggs inside the glass.
A smile came to my face as I thought about leaving the spider and the spider eggs in the house as I thought it would be a nice leaving present for my boyfriend to find. I imagined him coming home after a few weeks with a house overrun by spiders, so my last act after I had moved my belongings from the house was to take the spider and the glass full of spider eggs out of the bath and leave them on the floor in the bathroom.
I thought nothing more of it, until recently.
My boyfriend and I have started to work things out as love really is the most important thing in the world and if you find it you should work at it and not just throw it away. I am spending a lot of time back at the house now, the same house that I left all of the spider eggs in and low and behold we have found at least six large brown spiders running all over the house in the last few days and no doubt they have been laying more eggs. I have no idea how many spiders hatch from a big spiders egg, but I am sure we will find more over the coming weeks.
I am sure there is a moral to this story, but I have no idea what it is, do you?
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