Despite his youth, he set great store in the notion of individuality.
He was laying on his back, arms and legs spread wide, soaking up the afternoon sun. He was told not to lay here too long. The fact of the matter is that he had never been good at following the rules… about anything!
Both his parents were worried about him. His mother would get so frustrated with his carrying on. His father insisted that there was nothing to worry about, saying he’d grow out of it. His endless frustration with his younger sister moaning about her leg wasn’t going to stop any time soon. Despite them trying to keep it from him, he knew that his sister would never walk properly again, after the crushing incident. There was nothing he could do about that either.
He dreamt of having companionship outside of his immediate family. It had always been that way with him. Sticking together seemed to be the unspoken mantra. But his dreaming of setting off on his own was never far from his thoughts. As he lay, allowing the heat to warm his whole body through, he ruminated on the feeling that his parents were less patient with him of late.
Of course, their attitude about him was that his erratic nature and foolhardy behaviour were entirely inappropriate for that of a stag beetle.