The curse of the bees

5

The curse of the bees

A swarm of little black insects buzz busily around the pillar at the front door. The lady is upset about their new nesting place because of a children's party planned for Sunday. She says they are native bees and wants them removed.

Her cleaner knows a beekeeper, but uses the broom, because it is Friday already and she doesn't have the beekeeper's number.

Bees are precious! She is reluctant to disturb them. A Japanese movie that she once saw on a plane was the first to make her aware of the plight of the bee. Beekeepers find their swarms disintegrating, dying. They have to travel long distances with their hives to find fresh pollen. Honey will be very expensive very soon!

Well yes, she used the broom to clean off the busy little black native bees from the pillar by the door. Her colleague suggests smoking them. 'Roll a torch from a newspaper and light it, hold it near the bees that should make them move.' They had cleaned the whole house and patio; the glass pool fence was shiny. 'Have a lovely weekend!' she shouted before leaving.

One of the surviving bees danced in dismay that the chosen location to set up home had been a terrible mistake. 'I knew it', she sang, 'it just doesn't smell right here.' 'Out the back there are flowers and small shrubs, shall we move there?' 'Yes, I saw it, too, but it is very exposed and the waterhole smells toxic!' "Let us stay and try to survive this summer in the current set-up. We have lost too many companions to start afresh.'

It is Jeff's birthday and he is thinking:

• I am so excited! Me and my mates are going to celebrate my birthday at Grandma's! We have a fantastic play room there and she has a pool. The place is huge! My birthday is today, but the party will be on Sunday; parental logistics!

The lady of the house with the bees is also excited, but a little trepidations:

• My grandson is growing up. For his birthday I have a big surprise: a mountain-bike. I am sure he'll love it!

My wrist is getting stronger, but having he kid's party at my house.........it will be alright. Thomas and his wife need to enjoy some time on their own or rather with her family. Their place is a lot smaller, so I get to see more of the kids.

Jeff's mother says to her husband:

'That was a great idea, to have the kid's party at your mum's place! It is made for big events, so much space; look at the size of the kid's room! And the pool, no need to worry about entertainment.'

To which he responds: 'Yes, it is about time we treated your parent's to a nice evening out.'

'What, if we took our bicycles? We all have one. That way, there won't be any danger of being caught drink driving!'

'Parking is a hassle at the Esplanade anyway. Let's!'

So she rings her mum:

'Mum, guess what? We think it would be very special to all ride our bicycles to the lagoon and walk to the restaurant from there.'

'What is the weather forecast? It has been raining every weekend lately!'

'I think it will be fine.'

'Well, it is a lovely idea. Why not?'

The following week the cleaner comes by herself, her day is not as busy. Some bees are still there. 'Hello Jane, how was the party?' Jane had been having a hard time lately, since she began working for her less than a year ago Jane's father has had a stroke, her mother has dementia, she herself has had an operation on a wrist and just a few weeks back had two hernias removed.

Children's parties are strenuous, but she often has the kids over while their parents are working. The cleaner was not expecting the scared and distraught look on Jane's face in response to her innocent question. Hunched over from the hernia operation, the eyes wide open in her thinner looking face, Jane seemed quite frail.

'I gave him a bike as birthday present, a mountain bike and he did not know how to use the breaks!!! On mountain bikes you can't back paddle, you have to use the hand brake and he did not know....'

'What happened?'

'The kids went off down to the skate park. Jeff went down the U-shape and picked up a lot of speed. He probably tried to brake but couldn't and crashed into the up-wall.'

'Did he hurt himself? Was he wearing a helmet?'

'Yes and no. The other kids ran or rode back to the house. 'Jeff came off his bike, he doesn't move!' My husband said immediately: 'Call triple zero, get an ambulance!' and ran down to the park. The ambulance came and took Jeff to the emergency at the base hospital. He was unconscious but later came to. They let him go the next day, but he has hurt his neck.'

'Oh, that can have repercussions; I hope he gets better soon. And the new bike is already broken!' Seeing the look on the face she assured her that this accident was not her fault. 'How are the parents coping?'

'The parents wanted us to have the kids so they could go out with the other mother-in-law. They rode their bicycles to the esplanade to have dinner with ocean view. On the way back the mother-in-law hit a bump, fell off her bike and hit her head.' 'Oh, no! That is terrible!' 'They took her to the Emergency department where she got examined and sent home, no fractures only bruising.' 'Did she have to wait long? The emergency department is not a pleasant place to be in, especially on a weekend!' I was talking from experience.

Jane said, that yes, that Sunday turned out to be a very long day. 'But they let her go. Two days later she suddenly died.' 'What?' 'She died of bleeding in the brain.'

She realized that the whole family must be traumatized. At least the boy was still alive and seemingly ok in the head, although in shock over the death of his beloved grandmother. But she could not imagine the parents, the feelings of guilt because of their idea of riding bikes. The grief, the sorrow, the irreversibility of it all.

These thoughts were going through her head while she was vacuuming, cleaning, dusting and mopping the large place on her own.

People were gathering around the open grave. It was a sunny winter's day in Cairns. The temperature was already 26 degrees Celsius at 10 am but black was the colour of the day. Young Jeff was wearing a neck brace over his black shirt and silver tie. He was the only one whose head was not bowed, even though he had been close to his deceased grandmother.

The hearse arrived. The speeches in the chapel had been sincere and full of lovely anecdotes. A swarm of little black insects was buzzing under a nearby tree.

1189 words

Bio Moona Perrotin

Poet, artist, writer. I use words to make sense of the world and the soul. I use colour to celebrate life.

8/10/2016

Fiction Prompt

For the first time in the United States, bees--seven species that are native to Hawaii--have been placed under protection on the endangered-species list. Write a short story in which a seemingly commonplace animal species suddenly becomes endangered or extinct. Do your storytelling instincts take you to environmental activism, a futuristic sci-fi universe, or an adventure in the wilderness? Or perhaps, to an apartment scene in which this news seems, for the time being, to have no bearing on the characters?