Statement of Josiah Worthington, regarding the insects in his walls. Statement never given. Aired November 5th, two thousand and twenty three. Statement begins. 

It hurts, and I love it. Their legs pinch and their mouths bite. The centipedes are my friends, the beetles my lovers, the earwigs my family. I am at home within their embrace. 

Of course, there was a before. A time when he-who-used-to-be-me could move freely about without hearing that wretched melody. I sing along to it now, the bees in my ears humming along. 

I used to hate bugs. Be afraid of them even. I can’t fathom how I could hate them, not when they are now the only thing that brings me comfort. I used to run any time I saw a multi-legged thing. Now I embrace them as the burrow into my brain. 

WE INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM WITH A MESSAGE FROM TODAY’S SPONSOR: THE FLESH. 

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WE NOW RETURN TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM. 

I remember the first time I heard the song. It drove me wild as I tore at the plaster walls with nothing but my fingernails. The desperation gripped me with a mania I had never before felt. I cherish it now. My fingers bled, my nails worn ragged, and I finally had made a significant opening in my wall. 

I took in the space between the beams with horror as the thousands, millions, of my worst nightmares moved like a wave over and around, a rainbow of terror. They flowed out of the hole of my creation and began to fill my flat, covering me as well. 

I tried to scream, but they filled my mouth and wiggled down my throat and crawled up my nose. I choked, and that's when I heard the words. They held so much weight and as the world began to change, so did I. 

The bugs are my friends, my home, and I never wish to leave. You can join me if you’d like. There is plenty of room in the song for you. 

Statement ends.