If I ever met Aragog.

Just the other day, I had the most interesting rickshaw ride. Maybe interesting isn’t the right word and traumatising is a more accurate and precise one. I shall now recount and relive this incredibly painful story. So the first thing I notice as I sit on the rickshaw is this rather large spider sitting quite cosily on the driver’s shoulder. This very sight of course has made my insides turn to jelly and my body squirm in very evident discomfort. I try to tell myself to calm down, that it’s just a spider resting peacefully on the rickshaw driver’s shoulder and NOT mine, that I’m a big girl and I MUST get over this completely irrational fear of spiders. Alas, all these soothing thoughts aren’t exactly helping as I watch the spider start to move. I now consider either jumping out of the rickshaw or more preferably telling the rickshaw driver to stop and then getting off. (I’m generally not suicidal) Next minute, I muster all the will power inside me and convince myself that I need to get to college and I will not let a spider hinder me. I’ve got to be stronger than that! I’m now in all sorts of painful discomfort as my eyes are glued to the spider chilling around and calmly crawling towards the driver’s neck. I feel things crawling all over me as I squirm and feel goose bumps erupting on my skin. Ms Spidey moves away for the driver’s neck as I heave an inward sigh of sheer relief; however, much to my horror smart Ms Spidey crawls to his back now, which happens to be closer to me. I’m quite paralysed now and can’t seem to be able to think coherently and process any kind of rational thought as I can now see Spidey’s 8 beautiful, sexy legs. She takes a stroll on his back, then moves towards his neck again and lands all her 8 legs on his skin. Okay, now I’m positive the driver will feel Spidey and brush him away. Then, another fear enters my already crazily frenzied mind. What if he brushes her off and she lands on me somehow?! I suppress an agonized scream as Ms Spidey vanishes from my sight. Driver finally feels something on his neck and brushes Spidey off, who fortunately doesn’t land on me, miraculously. And that puts an end to my brilliant rickshaw ride that I remember so vividly. Somehow throughout the entire melodrama taking place in my mind, I never once considered telling the driver there was a spider on his shirt. I wonder why. This just proves that this wretched arachnophobia really does take away one’s ability to string together coherent thoughts. Arachnophobia is real and shouldn’t be taken as a joke. Only the people suffering from it understand how deep-rooted and terrifying this mortal fear of spiders is. After recounting this painful memory, I’m left wondering what I would do if I ever met Aragog, the incredibly massive, big daddy spider with huge protruding eyes in Harry Potter. Ron must’ve been a brave boy to have survived that without any lasting brain-damage.