Squatter

There’s a tiny spider living in my driver’s-side wing mirror. I know this because I’ve seen it. I’ve seen it scuttle through the the gap between the mirror’s edge and the plastic dome that surrounds the back of it. Occasionally, I’ll see a little leg – no bigger than an eyelash – poking out the top. It sometimes leaves me a little present, often in the form of an intricate, near-invisible cobweb over the front of the mirror. It’s a present I end up tearing away with a thumb and two fingers, like I don’t appreciate the thing being there. That’s mostly because I don’t.

I’ve attempted to evict it a few times before now, but the blighter just runs back to the safety of the inner sanctum it’s managed to find. On those rare occasions I’ve seen a leg or two, I’ve attempted to grab the squatter, catching it unawares. I can never get a good enough grip on it though. I’m a giant and my fingers tree trunks in comparison.

It’s been this way for some weeks now that I wonder if I’m missing a trick by not charging rent. But then again, I don’t think it’s even a money spider, and I highly doubt the natural world understands the concept of capitalist society anyway. All I can hope is that the thing isn’t laying eggs inside an inaccessible portion of my car and giving life to a whole new batch of freeloaders, ready and waiting to leave more cobweb presents on the front.

Maybe I need to grab a hose and take a leaf out of the Itsy-Bitsy book of washing the spider out.

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More wobbly electronic noises. This time set to soothing vocals and occasionally pulsating drum beats. What may start off as mildly annoying or disconcerting in-and-out fading you wish would just settle essentially becomes part of the charm of this one, like growing accustomed to the central heating going off and on again every other hour.

This video contains actors, by the way. Just in case you were wondering whether the vocalist actually turned into a ten-year-old boy after emerging from a rock pool. Also, that’s not her miming. Tell you what, just shut your eyes after clicking Play. These snippets are for showcasing the music anyway.

Hercules & Love Affair feat. Sharon Van Etten – Omnion