Untitled--Devyn

 

The structure looked intriguing. Almost inviting. Perhaps it would hold some exquisite or exotic flowers I’d never seen before. So I flew in. The others had warned me before that places of humans did not like our kind. That they would try to kill us because they didn’t have the capacity to understand what we do.

“Pah!” I had scoffed in their faces. “That can’t be true. ​We ​are the reason their kind isn’t extinct already!”

So I flew in, my mighty wins carrying me on the soft breeze that wafted into the structure through a small opening. My wildest dreams could not have envisioned something so extravagant. It was not like any hive I’d ever seen before. The walls were the color of roses and things that hung on the walls for display. There was a bed with the covers thrown about and a separate room filled with clothes (so many clothes).

I scanned the room. Items of various colors, shapes, and sizes were strewn about the floor haphazardly. Why did the humans need all of these things? How can a group of humans even accumulate that many things in one lifetime? In the far corner sat a large desk and chair. Slumped over in the chair was a girl. Her back shook with each breath she took and a feeble whimper escaped her with each sign. Crying. Isn’t that what they called it? When human’s eyes leak water?

As I studied her, my eyes drifted past her I saw the motherload, flowers. A whole vase was full of more colorful flowers than I’d ever seen before. The others had always warned me never to get too close to humans, so I flew in as quietly as possible, landing on the table before the girl. Whines of pain slipped out of her, though there didn’t seem to be any physical harm done to her as far as I could see.

I flew up to the tall flowers and landed on a bright blue flower. ​Interesting, ​I thought, ​I’ve never seen a blue flower before.​ But the more I examined the petal I was standing on, I noticed stitches in the blue and a plastic middle holding it all together. ​Wait... ​These were fake flowers! I glided to a second flower, this one was a bright pink daisy. Woven petals, plastic center.

Who would do that? Fake flowers are the reason my kind was dying out. Okay, maybe that’s not entirely true but humans are destroying my kind. And plastic flowers?! That was just cruel.

Another sob escaped the girl that startled me so much that when I jumped, I fell off the flower. What was this girl’s problem? Why was she just sitting here? Didn’t she have work to do for her queen? Maybe humans don’t work the same as bees.

What a pathetic existence, just sitting here in a puddle of tears consumed with your problems. H​ umans are always swatting us away, screaming at the sight of us. Do they realize we are the only reason their kind is alive? They kill us for frightening them and say our existence is pointless and insignificant. And yet they mope around all day with their problems and cry constantly. And they call ​us​ insignificant? What a pitiful existence humans have. Not like me. I have a purpose. I have a reason, a job. I was created to supply my hive with pollen. I was created so that our queen would be protected from predators like humans. Bees have a divine purpose in

life. We bring life to humans by foraging for our own food, we protect our royalty, and we have children that repeat. There is no room for tears and whining. There is always a job to be done.

But what are humans good for? They leak water from their eyes, it seems like poor craftsmanship. What are their pathetic feelings for anyway? They could be building or gardening or foraging for food but instead, this girl is sitting here crying. And for what?

Suddenly she jerks her head up in a quick motion, eyes darting all around her room. I froze, hoping she wouldn’t notice. I scold myself for not listening to the others. ​This is how some go out and never come back.​ Her red puffy eyes land on me. The look of hopelessness in her eyes quickly fades to disgust.

“EW!” she shouts, hand flying faster than I had anticipated. I sprang up, flying around her and dodging her blows. “Get away from me!”

One of her swats catches my wings and a start to fall, her other hand catches up and pushes me against the desk. Out of instinct, I bare my stinger.

“Ow!” she howls and immediately releases me. Eyes wide with surprise as she glances down at her hand and sees a tiny stinger embedded in her flesh. I lay on the desk immobile in stinging pain. I should’ve listened to the others. I glance at the girl and noticed that the leaking water stopped. She just stared at the palm of her hand, mesmerized. I began to lose feeling in my body and saw spots form in my vision. It was a foolish way to go, but the human had stopped crying. It seems she too had realized the insignificance of her problems. As he drifted into darkness, he felt content with the effect he’s had in her life.