6 p.m.
The heat of the day was beginning to subside.It was getting darker at the horizon.There weren't many trees around,but the air started getting a little cooler.She decided it was time for her to head home.Her kids would be waiting for her,hungry,waiting for her to give them food,and maybe tell them how her day went.
That was the general routine she followed since the day her kids opened their eyes.She would head for work in the morning,work all day.around 2 pm, when it was impossible to even lift one's head towards the sky in the heat,she would go and rest under the big tree nearby.Then she would wake up within an hour and would work till the sun would drop.She would then collect some food for which she worked all day,head home and meet her kids who would start shouting in excitement of seeing her return.That one moment,the look in her kids' eyes,the brightness that flashed out of their smile on one sight of her,would make all her efforts worth bearing.They loved her without any parameters of logic,and she loved them beyond the obvious reasons.Her family,her home,her world,it was them.
4 p.m.
Mrs. Singh came out in the balcony to pick up the clothes she'd left to dry in the morning.It was a hot day,and she was sweating profusely.It had been two days since the power cut,and the inverter at her place had stopped working.She made a mental note that she'll ask her son to get some batteries for it from the market.She looked below the apartment,a couple of people started fighting on the street over something."Losers",she mumbled to herself.She was already irritated by the electricity issues,then managing all the housework on her own without the appliances working left her all angry and bubbling with suppressed rage.Just as she was about to take the clothes down the hangers,her elbow felt a sharp piercing pain.She jerked her arm in a reflex action and turned around to find a little hornet bee flying away from her towards the roof.The stinging sensation on her elbow enraged Mrs. Singh further and she took a good look at where the little bee was flying back to.She saw the bee enter a tiny beehive at the corner of the roof,right beside the balcony door,towards the outside.Scratching her elbow and cursing the little bee under her breath,Mrs. Singh walked inside the house deciding that getting rid of the beehive was of utmost priority.
5.45 p.m.
Siddharth came out of the apartment lift thinking about the football game at night. Juventus vs Milan, always a big game in the league.The mere thought of Andrea Pirlo ruling the midfield against his old club gave Siddharth goosebumps.He reached the apartment door and was about to ring the bell when he noticed the nameplate hanging upside down against the nail. "Weird name,but sounds cool,upside down."He thought and chuckled to himself,and pushed the plate upside down."SINGH'S",he mumbled,"damn!that sounds royal",chuckled again and rang the bell.Nothing happened.He realized the power cut was luxuriously extended by the authorities.He took out his phone and called his mother,asking her to open the door.She came,opened the gate and rushed inside,mumbling to herself,leaving Siddharth utterly confused.He walked in behind her and saw some medical creams lying on the table and his mother sitting on the chair furiously rubbing her elbow with a cream sponge.
"What the ! What happened to your elbow?" Siddharth blurted out.
"A hornet bee.Small in size,but boy did she pinch in hard!Get the cleaner mop from the kitchen,and go out in the balcony of my room,right above the door,on the outside,is a little beehive.Go and smash it before anyone else gets hurt.Be careful!"
Siddharth casually picked the mop up and went towards the balcony.Seemed to him as if he was Darth Vader and he would destroy the habitat of the aliens in a jiffy.Carefully,he walked out of the door,and looked up.He saw the smallest beehive he had ever seen."Must've been one lazy bee,ha!"he chuckled.Slowly with the mop,he prodded the beehive,to make sure if there were any bees inside.Just as he prodded the hive,3 tiny bees flew out of it in a weird fashion as if still learning how to fly."Now its empty!"He smashed the hive with full force against the roof with the mop,and the hive fell on the ground and he smashed it into pieces with the mop."And then Sid saved the family from stinging attacks."He dramatically spoke.Just when he was about to turn back towards the door,he looked at the hive,and he thought,so small,so weak,so fragile,is this home to anyone?The buildings around him were huge and impregnable,and this tiny substance lying on the ground,was nothing in comparison.Then he thought,perhaps that's why Human race is the best and top of all species!Feeling pride inside his chest,he walked inside the house.
6.15 p.m.
She was almost home.The closer she got,the more impatient she grew. She was constantly thinking about the kids.They were growing up now.There had been a couple of time when she found them lurking around outside home,when she reached home.She was worried about such situations.With nobody to take care of them, they could land themselves in trouble.After all,they were kids,and their judgment wasn't preceded by logic.She felt a tinge of nervousness creeping on her spine by these thoughts.Especially when her kids had started flying and had their stingers growing sharper.
As a Hornet Bee,life wasn't easy.With a constant threat from all the species,coexistence was a major issue.She knew she never meant harm to anyone,but as often as day and night,she'd find others threatened by her presence,especially Humans.Humans,the unique specie which,in some ways,ruled the movements of life across the globe,but felt threatened by minutest of creatures.She was scared that her kids might scare Humans,which might have dire consequences.
Lost in complex process of thoughts,she reached home.As she flew over the balcony,she headed for the roof,only to find traces of hive-dust around there.She was petrified to the core,and looked around for her kids.It was then when she found crumbs of her home lying down on the floor in pieces.She flung herself to the floor with full force,but couldn't locate any trace of her children.She went off around everywhere searching for them,but all she could find was settling dust,dimming sunlight and the bedsheet of stars far away.
6.25 p.m.
Siddharth stood near the window of his room,looking out in the balcony.The mad buzz created by a hornet bee made him look out.He felt scared,the bee was buzzing frantically around.he couldn't step out fearing it might sting him.All his Human superiority came down crashing in pieces of fear,instilled by a creature far smaller than him.The frantic buzz,was enough to petrify a member of the winning race,the Human race.
6.25 p.m.
She returned back to the pieces of her home,and started looking at them.Her eyes were empty.Her emotions left her.She couldn't feel anything in and around her.Everyday,she fought for her life,her children's lives,only to survive and help them survive.Never did she intend to harm a creature around her.All her energy,all her
chi, was spent in creating a sense of security for her family,a circle of faith.The circle,which lay on the floor,broken into pieces.Her niche of life,so small,so weak,so fragile,but it was home to her and her family.The buildings around her were huge and impregnable,and this tiny substance lying on the ground,was nothing in comparison.But then,every piece of the fragile hive,contained something which the ever rising globe of debris could never have.The purity of soul.The desire to love.A Meaning.
