guest post: "love or die" by elaine chen

May is that insanely busy time when my life gets super stressful because of looming yearbook deadlines. This year is worse than most because, well, my staff and I have really struggled to get pages finished! Through the end of May, I probably won't be creating much original content for this blog, other than a few book reviews. But I do have a treat for you! I recently held a writing contest in my ESL Reading class. The students were to write a story from an animal's perspective, and the top three entries would receive bonus points on the final and be published on my blog. Today, we have the third place winner. Be sure to leave a comment telling Elaine what you think of her story!

Love or Die
by Elaine Chen

This is the city of spiders. The most remarkable scene is in front of an elegant house, and many spiders are waiting outside.

“Sorry, I can’t.” This is my daily conversation with my suitors because I want to find someone who loves every aspect of me and not only my beauty. I am a pretty Black Widow spider; my name is Abby. I think those suitors only like my beauty and don’t know me. However, one particular day, the one appears who will make my wish come true.

This night I hear the most familiar melody: “Never mind, I'll find someone like you; I wish nothing but the best for you, too. Don’t forget me, I beg; I remember you said. Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead.” This is my favorite song. I begin to find who is singing this song. 

I see a spider under my window, and he is playing a guitar. He is a tarantula spider not a black widow spider. But he is a really handsome boy and he has nice voice. I feel good about this, so I begin talking with him. His name is Hitler and he likes to sing. He also is an attractive boy. Tonight is the darkest night, so he can't really see my face. I think I find a nice boy, and he really loves me, not just my beauty. I don’t care that we are not same kind of spider. I just know I love him and he loves me. I want to be with him. So quickly we are married. I think I am the most happy spider who ever lived in the world. 

After a while I have a new trouble; I am expecting a baby. In my family, if we have a baby, we need to kill the husband because we need to have more nutrition. If I don't kill my husband, I will die. My husband doesn't know this law because he is a tarantula, not a black widow. I feel very tangled because I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to kill my husband. I love him to much. For a long time, I feel confused. Finally I make a decision. I have to sacrifice myself for my husband, but I will not tell my husband why I am dying. 

I feel more and more weak. Tonight I lay on my bed, and I feel someone close to me. Eventually, I can’t move or speak. Then I see my husband Hitler by my bed. I want to ask him to help me. But he doesn't say anything or do anything. He just looks at me, and then he begins to cry. “I feel sorrow about that, my dear. Your friend told me every black widow will kill their husband. I know you will kill me and eat me; if you don’t eat me you will die. But I don’t want to die, so I just will eat you. I am so sorry. You need to remember I will love you forever.” 

I want to tell him I will not eat him, but I can’t speak. I also want to tell him my body has toxins. If you eat me, you will die also. But I do not have the strength.

After that, I hear the most familiar melody: “Never mind, I'll find someone like you; I wish nothing but the best for you, too. Don’t forget me, I beg; I remember you said. Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead.”

Finally we all die.

About the author:
Elaine Chen (right) is a sophomore from China. She is currently a sophomore. Elaine enjoys playing on her computer in her spare time.