description I could think of. Eventually, I found a matching image on an insect identification page. To my immense relief, the mystery creature was simply a beetle larva. It wasn’t dangerous, poisonous, or unusual. It had likely been displaced from soil and accidentally ended up on my balcony.
Suddenly, everything made sense. The same creature that had terrified me minutes earlier now seemed harmless and fragile. I gently moved it into one of my planters and watched it disappear into the soil.
The experience reminded me how quickly uncertainty can
