the tiny and the winged in my backyard

Chapter Three

There's no hope.

Tears well up in my eyes. How could this be? Why would Queen Daisy send me to someone who couldn't be of any help?

"Hey, sorry... There's nothing I can do but I know someone who might be able to help instead. The thing is... I'm sort of a secret. That is, the Queens keep me secret from everyone, Feathers, Flutters, Shimmers, and Shadows alike."

I wipe the tears from my eyes and meet her concerned gaze. "What's your name? I never asked."

Fear flashes in her eyes. "Perhaps it would be best if I didn't tell you. It's complicated."

I blink, puzzled. "What? Why?"

She sighs. "There are things you don't understand about our world."

"Only because no one's bothered to explain," I say pointedly.

A smile flickers across her face. "Good point. You know what? Come on in, have some food, and I'll tell you a thing or two you'll need to know while you're here."

I nod. "Thanks. I'd like that."

I forget about the giant bee until I step inside her house. It's a lot bigger than I expected, and FULL of bees.

I freeze and gape in terror.

She rests a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Hey, calm down. They won't hurt you."

My eyes settle on their sharp-as-death stingers. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah. They belong to me." She moves past me, wiping her dainty boots on the mat before continuing forward into her house. She has a small wooden dining table with a single chair. Her living space is small but behind it there is a swarm of bees, all flying around appearing to be very busy.

"You have pet bees?" I ask, baffled. "Uh, why?"

She turns to me and grins. "They make honey, of course!"

Obviously.

"Have a seat," the girl invites me. "I'll get us some lunch."

I sit down and rest my head on the table a moment as exhaustion sets in. A few minutes later she pulls up another chair and sets a couple bowls down, one in front of each of us.

The sight makes my mouth water. They're bowls of the most golden, sticky honey I've ever seen.

And it's never tasted so good.

"Like it?" she asks, amused.

I can only manage a nod with my mouth stuck shut.

"So, you want to know about me, huh?"

I shrug and nod at the same time.

"Alright. Well, I'll tell you the biggest thing first, then fill in the details. I am a mere shadow to everyone. To every Flutter, Feather, Shimmer, and Shadow, I am just a fleeting face. Every time someone meets me they forget about me the next day. I am a phantom. No one can ever really get to know me because they can't remember me. The sound of my name makes them uncomfortable because they feel they should remember it when they can't."

I don't understand how that's possible, but it doesn't really matter. I understand how terrible that must feel. To be invisible. "What's your name? Maybe I won't forget."

"Maybe..." she murmurs. Then she clears her throat and looking rather nervous she says, "My name is Snow Flower."

I smile. "That's a really pretty name."

She looks relieved. "Well, thank you. You said you're Lilly, right?"

I nod. "Out of curiousity, what kind of, uh, creature are you? You know, the Flutters... Shimmers... I don't know them all, or what they all are."

Snow Flower laughs. "The Flutters have the butterfly wings. Feathers have, well, bird wings, obviously. Shimmers have dragonfly wings. Shadows..." She shivers. "They have bat wings."

I look at her curiously. "Do they get along?"

"Usually. Not often with the Shadows. They keep to themselves. Only come out at night, lurking around in the dark, hunting their insects." Snow Flower shudders again. "They eat insects! Do you understand how revolting that is? We're practically related to insects and they kill and eat them. Ugh."

It's hard for me to resist the urge to smile or laugh. "Well, bats hunt bugs. it's just what they eat."

She shakes her head. "Disgusting."

"I'm wondering still, how is it possible to have everyone forget who you are? It seems a little hard to believe. And I have a very open mind now after what I've been going through."

She gives a small smile. "I don't fully understand it myself. Just that all four Queens did something, working together."

"Why?"

She averts her gaze. "Eh... let's not go there."

I cross my arms over my chest. "Come on."

She heaves a sigh and meets my gaze again. "I... um, was helping someone I wasn't supposed to be helping."

I raise my eyebrows, silently urging her to go on.

She grimaces but continues. "You might not like this bit... it was a human, looking for a way to shrink himself to join our world."

I stare at her, as the implications of her statement form a possible explanation for my situation.

"I know, I know," she says, flustered. "But we met, sort of by accident, and then we kept meeting up and we feel so much in love that I wanted to do anything to help, so I worked in secret. He was a genius, really. But I was caught before we finished. It was forbidden to interact with humans, let alone help one join our world." She sighs sadly. "I've never seen him since."

"I'm sorry," I say softly.

She shakes her head hard, as if to clear it. "Bah, whatever. We're focusing on you now. You done eating?"

I look down at my empty bowl and nod, a little disappointed.

"OK. We're gonna get going then."

"Where are we going?"

She hesitates. "This might not even work... I'm going to try to find him. The human I mentioned earlier."

I frown. "I thought you didn't know where he was."

She cringes. "I knew... I was just too scared to see him again. But now I have a reason. Maybe it was why Queen Daisy sent you to me to begin with."

"Maybe," I say with a shrug.

"OK. We're going to do this... It's a bit of a long journey. A few days."

I groan. "My parents are going to freak out. They'll think I was kidnapped or killed."

She laughs. "They'll be fine."

I wince. "I hope."

She claps her hands together. "Alright! How do you feel about riding a bee?"

What am I supposed to say to that?

"Good! It'll be fun." She whistles and a rather large bee wearing what looks like a saddle comes over. "Hop on!" she invites me.

I give it a skeptical look, and it looks back at me.

She smiles. "Her name is Golden. She's friendly, don't worry."

I eye her stinger but decide to take her word for it. Cautiously, I approach the hovering bee and slide one foot into the place for the feet on the saddle. There's one problem I'm focusing on right now.

I have no idea how to ride a bee.