Otra vez los “bee-boys” me venieron, llamaron a nuestra puerta. Era una noche de verano, caliente con fragrancia de flores en el aire. Ellos eran serios, en misión sagrado. Solo van en noche, siempre llevaban ropa oscura, suétores rizados negros con franjas de narajana.
El alto habló primero: “Hemos venido servir su reina. Esta listo?”
En la jardín del otro lado del calle mi esposa guarda un colmena de abejas. Yo seguió los hombres aquella. Antes las han emitido poco palabras, pero ya era una lectura a criando abejas. “Ponemos una rejilla entre los dos camaras de la colmena, con las abeturas tan grande para zánganos sino no para la reina. Luego seperirimos las cajas.”
Quién los chavos? Mi esposa esta asociada con algunos personas extrañas. Esos estaban “Los Amigos del Jardin.” Uno era alto, uno era debajo, los dos tuvieron lo mismo ojos locos, ojos de oro con un facha facetada. “Ya tenemos el equipo. Tiene dinero?” el alto dijo.
“Esta es?” Yo les preguntó. Era nada pero una rejalla metallica, pie y medio cuadrado. “Ciento y cinquenta dolares por esta?”
“Tendremos mucho miel en otro lado,” El debajo dijo, se lamó sus labios, “Mucho miel.” Él empezaba a vestirse en traje de malla, su cara, esos loco, loco ojos amortigua en sombra.
“Necesitamos sedar las abejas con humo,” me dijimos. Uno lo tiró encendedor de bolsillo y enrollo papel de periodico para quemar. Ponió punto del fuelle en abetura de colmena y encendió una fuera, empusando el humo de dentro.
“Vendremos en la noche,” murmuró mientras lo volvo lo humo dentro la colmena. “Los nubes oscura caerán. Duerman. Duerman, mis amigos pequenos. Cuando se despertaran sera vez empezar criar su reina nueva.”
“Duerman, duerman,” le acuerdo el otro hombre, bailo extraño. Quién los chavos?
No tenía miedo de las abejas sino no llevaba traje protectivo, solo mi camiseta. Y aunque yo he escocido mucho antes, no lo quería de nuevo. Ahora no la sentió la noche estuviera tan caliente. Algo los rozo los vellos de mi brazo, como un escalofrio, tal vez una trabajador que la regresó a la colmena antes la fin del dia. “Cúal pensaría tal individual?” yo me pregunté. Monstruos miticos? Gigantes oscuros?
Ya los gigantes la leventaron la sección de arriba, y miramos de dentro. Eran milles de abejas se despiertas todavia, un panal rebosando con cuerpos pequeños. Comprendía de repente que un aguijon era nada, pero un mil picaduras la significarían mi muerto. Pero no lo pasó. Aun vivo.
Bueno, entonces por que yo le digo eso cuento? No tiene el punto filosofico o religioso como el previoso. Es muy dificil decir que se significa. Solamente descripcion de algo que ocurrió. Pero la historia no se terminaba aquella—yo lo diré luego.
The blog version of Give Blood Magazine, est. 1972
Is it me, or is it my vision?

- skaar
- My first memory is of losing my glasses. Had they not been found, folded carefully on the top edge of the sea wall, where would we be today?
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Here’s the translation:
Another time the “bee-boys” came to me, knocking at our door. It was a night in summer, warm, and with the fragrance of flowers in the air. They were serious, on a sacred mission. They only come at night, always wearing dark clothing, fuzzy black sweaters with orange stripes.
The tall one spoke first: “We have come to serve your queen. Are you ready?”
In the garden on the other side of the street, my wife keeps a hive of bees. I followed the men there. Before this they had uttered few words, but now it was a lecture on the raising of bees. “We put a screen between the two sections of the hive, with openings large enough for the drones but not for the queen. Later we will separate the boxes.”
Who were these guys? My wife associates with some strange people. These were “The Friends of the Garden.” One was tall, one was short, both had the same crazy eyes, eyes of gold with a faceted appearance. “We already have the equipment. Do you have the money?” The tall one said.
“Is this it?” I asked. It was nothing but a metallic screen, a foot and a half square. “A hundred and fifty dollars for this?”
“We will have lots of honey on the other side,” the short one said, licking his lips. “Lots of honey.” He began to dress himself in a suit of mesh, his face, his crazy, crazy eyes disappearing in shadow.
“We need to sedate the bees with smoke,” they told me. One pulled a lighter from his pocket and began to roll newspaper to burn. He put the point of a bellows into the opening of the hive and lit a fire, pulsing the smoke within.
“They will come in the night,” he murmured as he blew the smoke into the hive, “The dark clouds will fall. Sleep. Sleep, my little friends. When you wake it will be time to begin to raise your new queen.”
“Sleep, sleep,” agreed the other man, dancing strangely. Who were these guys?
I have no fear of bees but I had no protective suit, only my T-shirt. And although I’ve been stung a lot of times before, I don’t desire it again. Now I didn’t feel the night was so warm. Something brushed the hairs of my arm like a shiver, maybe a worker returning to the hive after the end of the day. What would such an individual think, I asked myself. Mythical monsters? Dark giants?
Already now the giants had lifted the top section, and we looked inside. There were thousands of bees still awake, the honeycomb seething with tiny bodies. I realized immediately that one sting was nothing, but a thousand would mean my death. But it didn’t happen. I’m still alive.
Well now, why am I telling this story? It doesn’t have a philosophical or religious point like the previous one. It’s very difficult to say what it means. Just a description of something that happened. But the story didn’t end there—I’ll tell it to you later.
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