Related previous posts: Bees Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5

Bees, Pt 6

Consciousness dawned slowly on Honey. It came first as awareness of the growing glow, monochrome and pale, then glittering and gold as the sun rose over the canyon.

Next, Honey grew aware of the soft sound and gentle vibration of footsteps floating through the foliage as gentle as a deer grazing on grass.

Clearly human, thought Honey, but not loud and clumsy like the beekeepers who dismantled my home. Too exhausted to rise, she lay in anxious anticipation until the person came into view.

Fine, feminine feet… Small, slender side and stomach…

Could it be?

Finally, the full figure floated into frame and Honey saw long luxurious locks.

“Belle!”

In one hand, the young girl carried a mason jar with a metal cap. In the other, she cradled a collapsable net made of mesh.

From across the yard, the echoing roar of the second sovereign rattled the air. It reverberated through Honey, thrumming her thorax and attacking her abdomen until she thought she would die from despair.

Midway across the garden, Bell stopped and set hands to her hem. “What is going on here? This isn’t right.”

“My hive is gone,” cried Honey. “And I’ve been out here all night!”

“Let me see what I can do to fix this,” said Belle. Striding past the jacuzzi and the pool with her giant girl gait, she faltered at the far fence where the foreign matriarch had forged her foothold.

Having clearly grown bold in the absence of Honey’s matriarch, the foreign queen perched with her followers on the property’s periphery. Unfolding the net, Belle cast it over the area, catching the queen and her congregating cohorts. Cinching the net, Belle nodded at the matriarch nestled in the net.

“Well now, you don’t belong here,” said Belle, eyeing the invasive insect. “You should go back to your own home and not fret my friends.”

Holding the net out over the rail, Belle uncinched the cord and shook it. Afraid that the queen and her colleagues might turn and attack, Honey held her breath as the trapped troops took to the air once more.

They rose on the breeze, hovering around Belle, but the young girl held her ground. “Go on now,” she said. “Go find gather another garden. You aren’t welcome here.”

The scathing sovereign soared skyward until she floated in front of Belle’s face. She buzzed and buzzed with irritation and indignation, but Belle held on her hips.

“I know you are only trying to survive, but this is not the place for you,” she said, lifting the net. “Now go on, or I will catch you again and not let you go this time.”

With a final furious flurry, the conquered queen turned and flew off towards the upper reaches of the uncultivated canyon. As she flew, she sent out one final message.

“Peace to you,” came her call. “If you’d been in my place you’d do what I did too.”

Belle watched the swarm go until they sailed out of sight. Then she folded the net and returned to her refuge. Stopping a few yards from where Honey lay, she set down the jar and unscrewed the cap.

Honey watched in confusion as Belle scooped up a fallen bee and placed it in the glass jar. Belle repeated this action three more times with other nearby bees. Then she stood, moved a few feet, knelt again, and repeated the process.

Does she mean to kill? Force us to leave against our will? Honey’s tiny torso trembled. She didn’t know why Belle was collecting fallen bees, only that she trusted her.

“Here!” cried Honey. “Over here!”

But Belle must have been too far away, because she rose from her crouch and moved to a new spot farther away. Honey called out again but raised no response.

Honey sighed and counseled herself to calm. She’s my friend. She’ll draw close again.

***