With eyes shut tight, palms pressed against his temples, and head bowed forward, Hakeem strained to escape the confines of his body. He squeezed his eyelids even harder, as if willing the world to vanish with his sight. But nothing of the sort happened—his body refused to let go.
The unconscious forward bend was proof. His lungs expanded, drawing in more oxygen, and gradually, his awareness shifted—rising from instinct to emotion, then to cognition. His brain, now brimming with richly oxygenated blood, pulsed with newfound vitality. At that moment, he felt it—the coursing of blood beneath his temples, the warmth against his palms.
Relief washed over him. He sat upright. And in that instant, as if within a dream, Nature revealed itself…
The first revelation was about the honey bees.
The entire drama unfolded in an instant. With great urgency, he made his way home, compelled to record the vision—something unheard of, as though he had been granted sight within the honeycombed hive itself. At times, he was the queen bee. At times, the hive. And then, the tireless worker bee.
The Honey Bee
‘Hail the new Queen of Apis mellifera’, reverberated the hive in a cave.
‘Now, you have it in you to survive the toughest challenges posed by predators’, said the Queen Mother to the new Queen.
She had announced her arrival from the Queen cup through piping – a buzzing noise that invites other virgin queen candidates to fight. Later on the young queen went on a killing spree around the hive chewing the sides of the queen cups of any possible queen candidate by stinging and killing the pupae.
‘Beware of your youngest brethren – the Sapiens’, said Mother Queen.
‘Why would they disturb us Mama?’
‘For honey, dear - an elixir for their immortality’, said the frail queen.
‘Times have changed Mama, Sapiens have become aware that their survival as a species depends on us. They are in a symbiotic relationship with us’.
‘And this relationship has caused Colony Collapse Disorder, due to large-scale movement of hives for artificial pollination and excessive use of insecticides, antibiotics to actually protect us from pathogens and parasites. Ignorant imbeciles! But do not forget your responsibilities. You have to continue our lineage,’ remarked the Mother Queen.
‘Stay quiet for sometime, save your energy for the few breaths left Mama.
Time for my nuptial flight! Responsibility, Lineage, remember? I will be back.
As she stepped out of the hive there was an unusual calm. Unaware of how a normal day is supposed to be, she moved on guided by her instincts.
‘Abandon your nuptial flight - mating with drones - and return to the hive, you are safe there’, warned a forager – a worker bee responsible for collecting pollen and nectar.
‘Forager! you are too naïve to understand this. I need to meet the congregation of drones to further our lineage’.
‘But there is no congregation anywhere. It looks as if life has been awarded the death sentence. I have just managed to come this far to inform you to return to the hive for safety’, said the forager making a weird movement that definitely wasn’t the waggle dance – the Scout bees teach the foragers to indicate the distance and direction of nectar and pollen - before dropping down dead.
On her way back to the hive, the queen mated with five drones mid-air. She received her quota of sperm in her oviducts and spermatheca and tried flying back with the endophallus of the last drone still stuck.
The queen tried reaching the hive but it wasn’t there. Not even a trace. She followed the trail of pheromones – a unique scent of her hive and finally banged against a metal wall. She opened her big round eyes slowly on recovering…..
Hakeem was shocked and thrilled as he completed recording the first revelation. He was so intoxicated by this experience he desired for more. Having tasted this vision he was wondering if he could wish for more such revelation and visions of his choice. He yearned for an evolutionary voyage since the beginning of time and space.
A faint voice from his deepest core was prompting him something else. It was feeble in the midst of his selfish desires for knowledge. He immediately retracted from his wants and slowed down the rain of thoughts that were acting as curtains from that deep inner voice. It seemed to say “Yearn knowledge for the good and welfare of creation” and then there was silence. He was able to hear his heart throbbing and the gushing of blood across its chambers.
As he was reflecting on his vision it then dawned upon him that the hives were in danger. People were exploiting. He shared his vision with his trusty friends. He had to do something to prevent and he knew it wasn’t an easy task. But that’s the demand of a revelation. Action, nothing less. Hakeem had a purpose now and he felt that to once again receive visions he had to first complete the task in hand. Preservation of Hives became his mission. The journey continued……
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