“I’m laying eggs. About 20 at a time near the end of the branch. I have about 600 eggs to lay, so I do not have much time to talk. I need to keep moving so I can finish before some feathered beast catches me.” Her name was Cecie.

Suzi quickly asked,” Will you have to come back to gather your babies and raise them once they hatch?”

“Oh my, no. I do not plan on hanging around to see them. They are on their own now. From what I hear, they will find their way underground and sip on sap for 17 years. Then it will be their turn to come back on top of the world. Good luck with your egg laying. Toodles,“ replied Cecie as she lumbered off to the next twig.

Suzi stopped to consider this news. Good luck with her eggs? That felt right, but where would she get eggs? She returned to find her friend Magic and filled him in on the latest information. Magic told her that he just learned about cicadas mating. Then he sang her the most beautiful song.

The next night, Suzi landed on a twig, sliced into the wood, and deposited her first set of 20 eggs. She felt confident that she was in the right place at the right time and making the most of the moment. She thought about all that she had learned in the last month. She was grateful to have learned from Sam that each creature had a different way of living. She was happy for Benjamin that he would soon start his own family. She was grateful that cicadas had long lives underground, and that most of them got to fly.

She was uncertain how her babies would get underground, but she trusted that somehow the process would work. She knew that one day her little ones would feel the pull of the sunshine. They would learn to spread their wings and fly.

Read the epilogue to Suzi Cicada.

Author Suzanne Holland is the Visitor Center Manager at Hidden Oaks Nature Center, which is home to lots and lots of cicadas!