章 14: 11. Before and during a storm

Yuree

The bee was dead . It was truly dead .

I had been riding home when I had the compulsion to go check on the bee . It had been a few days since I last checked up on it .

I went to my meadow and left my bike at the bottom of the hill .

I raced up to the tree hoping the bee had gotten better and that the ants hadn't started eating it's food .

What I saw had been ... unexpected .

I saw the tire swing as it was . But inside there had been no bee . The ants were still there though . I had felt a slight spiral of panic .

Where was it ? Did it fall out ? Did it get well and fly away ? I thought looking in the straw inside the tire . The bee hadn't been inside or under the straw . I had squated down and look to see if it had fallen out and landed on the grass .

That's when I saw it .

The tree , I still didn't know what type of tree it was , had a red type of bark with pink flowers when it bloomed . Its roots were evenly but closely spaced at its trunk and offered a good place to take a nap . It was at the place where I took a nap where I saw it .

I had gotten up and moved to the spot and looked down at the strange thing .

It was a ring of flowers , each stalk tied to the next flower and forming a perfect circle . The flowers were bright and still heavily scented despite being a bit wilted . The bee was in the centre of the flower ring .

It was still and I could instantly it was dead . I had cried tears and wiped them away . It had been painful , I had wanted the bee to get better . I had really thought it would .

I went down and got a piece of metal from a pile of bricks and things that made me always think there had been a house by the meadow .

I had lifted the bee gently and placed it on the side . I dug a small hole and then placed it in . After that I laid the flower ring around the grave .

I cried alittle bit again . I had gotten up and started heading home when thunder rumbled above .

But as I rode home I wondered who had done that for the bee ?

Would they come back to meadow ? Would I see them and get a chance to thank them ?

Bee

The rain fell thickly and just as i thought the people disappeared and I could roam . I had found a nice place to clean myself . I had seen it earlier when I came to town .

I had walked by metal bars that made me think of the graveyard . I had seen a path leading up to a fountain . I had seen a little girl with a woman who I assumed to be her mother by the fountain .

The girl had been smacking the water with her hand laughing at splashing water . Her mother had tried to stop her but the girl just ran and then she jumped right into the fountain . The end result was that the girl was wet and the mother was furiously cross . I had thought it amusing .

Now I came back to the place and looked through the bars at the fountain . I turned my head side to side looking for an entrance . I saw it .

It was a tall metal bar gate , with a thick bolt on it . I didn't try to break it as I had the one on the dumpster . I didn't want to break in like a criminal , I just wanted to clean myself and leave .

I saw that the iron rungs could be useful to hold and hop over . I braced my leg and jumped up ready to grab the rung . But I didn't even touch it .

I jumped up and hopped over the fence , landing ungracefully on my knees in the moist ground . I turned to the gate in confusion and then looked at my legs .

Did I just jump over the fence ? , I thought . It was atleast 8 feet and yet I hopped over like it was a small rock .

What was up with me ? I didn't remember much but I knew normal people couldn't do what I had done . But I wasn't normal ...

I shrugged off the melancholic thoughts . I would think about that later but first I had to clean myself .

I walked up to fountain and saw it upclose for the first time . It was square shaped and about five feet wide . It had a stone fish that was supposed to spew water , but was not . The water inside the fountain was a greenish blue and I saw coins and rocks inside .

I hopped inside the fountain and started cleaning my hands , and my face and everywhere. I had removed my scarf , shirt and cloak so that I was naked from the waist up . Because I couldn't feel temperature , I didn't know if the water was cold or not but it didn't matter .The blood and dirt washed of me and the water began to change colour . I looked down at its surface , trying to see my reflection but the continuous down pour stopped me .

I sat down in the fountain and let the water reach above my chest and then I completely layed back , submerging my whole body .

I opened my eyes and looked up as the rain fell . It was beautiful .

Each drop sent a ripple on the surface of the water and shapes I had never seen swirled in circular motions .

I smiled pleased . Hopefully I would be clean after this . I looked to the side of the fountain and saw pennies , rocks and sticks .

But above the water was a shadow .

I immediately got up out of the water and looked at where the shadow had been .

I was sure I had seen something there . It had ...been watching me .

I looked around me in the gloom and wet rain but saw nothing .

I didn't know if what I saw was still here or not but I didn't want to find out . I immediately got out of the fountain and went to the gate .

This time I braced myself and jumped anticipating my leap . I landed on my feet this time .

" Corpse ."

I turned around swiftly and looked behind me . I looked at the fountain and saw nothing . I had heard a voice though , it had been rough and had a undercurrent of viciousness .

" Hello !" I called out but I got no answer .