The Moment of Now by Elizabeth Day

Author:Elizabeth Day [Day, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blue Root Press
Published: 2020-07-14T22:00:00+00:00

12:20 p.m.

Ben and August stood a good twenty feet from the hives. “Should I at least wear gloves if I’m gonna be going into the hive?” Ben asked.

“Heck no!” August said. “If you have gloves on, you won’t know how much pressure you’re putting on a bee when you go to move it. No, this way you can feel it. You can tell. You’ll stay gentle. Second, you’re not going into the hive. The propolis I want you to get can be scraped off from the edges of the hive. It’s the glue the bees make. They mix tree sap and other goodness and use it to seal their hive. That way, no beetles or rain or wind or other bugs can get in there and mess with things—or their queen. Resourceful, aren’t they? You’ve probably had it without knowing it. It’s in gum and a lot of other things, including ointments. I was fifty-fifty whether to put it on your stings when you had them, and I followed my instincts with the lavender and honey, and it sure as heck looks like I was right. Don’t you just love when that happens?”

Without waiting for an answer, she turned up the volume of the radio in her hand and adjusted the knob till it was playing something classical with distinct piano and strings leading the way. “Let’s give them something to dance to,” she said.

August faced Ben. “Now, you can do this. Look at what you unburdened from yourself back at the eucalyptus tree. That was something else, no small feat. This? Piece of cake. You’re going to do exactly what you’ve already done, and you’re going to get to see it in the physical world, what it does, what it looks like. Are you with me?”

“Yes … but—and—no. What have I already done that I’m about to do again?”

“Let your guard down. Put down your hackles. Relax. Trust. Let go of what you’re used to holding so tightly to. Do not worry. Do not worry. You’ve felt the stingers, lots of them. You know you’ll be okay—always. Feel the dancing music in your heart. Get carried away by the music. Let’s go.”

With a jar hooked into his pocket and a plastic scraper in one hand, Ben walked next to August, and they approached the beehive, August humming along with the music.

Lured by the soothing music, Ben let the slow, rhythmic movement of the notes pull him in, allowing himself to feel the gently building euphoric highs, followed by their gradual descent into deep lows, and then the steady flow of the melody back up and around again. He felt the merging of the instruments and the harmony they were creating. He invited all of it to seep into his being, the lifeblood of the music, wordless expression his heart felt at home in.

He observed the bees he was nearing, and they too, like him, seemed to be absorbed by the music. The louder the music got in his head,

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.