A can of off-brand energy drink sits discarded in the back end of a rec park. There's a few sticky morsels left clinging to it's interior. That draws the ants in, and then all the other little scavengers after, who are too afraid of that ravenous hive. A few flies get trapped and can't get out. The mould finds a home in their bodies. Fungus spreads out to form a new landscape inside the silver halls of the can. Bumpy hills. Creeping cliffs. Towers and walls.
And that's what draws the little people. Snappy and vicious. Creative and passionate. They stake their claims and build homes. Hunt the insects that wander into their realm. Then they contest each other's land. Wage little skirmishes. Then full war. Soon the interior of the can is devastated by their conflict and the little people hold court to establish peace. They find they have a great deal in common with one another. They find themselves on the verge of a new, brighter era for little people everywhere.
Then a kid kicks the can on a whim, annihilating all inside. And that's that.
Paddy Dobson
28th July 2021