LOST II

Chapter 39: "Veiled realities"

Finally, an update on time💪! Comment your reactions as you read😊.

First draft: April 2018

Salma looked around the small hillock that they had climb. The botanical gardens stretched beneath them on all sides in a sea of green, the various shades and hues of which were dotted with bright colours here and there. Smiling at a particularly heavy clump of flowers swaying in the gentle breeze just below, Salma figured this had to be the bees favorite spot on campus.

A bee whizzed past her right. Salma followed its flight to see it hover over a chamomile flower that had already been claimed.

"Oh come on!" Zayn cried, giving the stalk a gentle nudge to move it away from the bee. "I saw it first!"

Salma giggled, feeling the soft caress of the grass on her palm as she used it as a prop to turn to Zayn.

"It was the bee's property all along," she said.

"Says who?"

"Says the bee," Salma replied, pointing at the tiny winged-champion. It was still stubbornly buzzing over the flower, trying to settle on it, despite Zayn moving it hither-thither.

"Which one?" Zayn smirked. "The human bee or the honey bee?"

"Just stop," Salma muttered, laughing.

"Now don't act like you weren't sneakily laying claims on my flower," Zayn continued.

"Pshttt! I don't even like flowers!" Salma rolled her eyes.

"For real?" Zayn asked, surprised.

"No, I don't like them like gifts, as bouquets," Salma explained. "I like them but on plants, where they belong."

"Where bees can access them as their property whenever they want?" Zayn provided, suddenly letting go of the stalk. He was glad he had not plucked the flower that was now cheerfully bobbing in the wind, while the bee hovered over it.

"Yes and – what no!" Salma backtracked to see Zayn trying to suppress a smile. "You gotta stop with 'all things bees' with me!"

"What? Isn't it 'all things bees' with you?"

Salma did not respond. She felt her cheeks getting warm realizing how accurate his words were.

"I suppose," she muttered quietly.

"Glad that you agree." Zayn flashed her with a smile. "Let's make a deal then, whichever bee wants to claims my flower, it can do so on the condition that I get to keep her for a day?"

Salma stiffened.

The heck?!

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye to see him offering his hand. She felt a shiver rake her spine to realizing he had not burst out laughing yet. He was serious?

"Shake on it to seal the deal?" Zayn said.

Salma swallowed, watching the bee fly away, probably realizing there were plenty more flowers on the field then the one she wanted. Salma smiled.

Clever lil bee!

"No," Salma refused. "I don't want the flower that comes with a jail sentence, anyway."

"Rude!" Zayn frowned, dropping his hand. "Doesn't matter, there's plenty bees lining up to spend the day with me."

Salma turned to him to see him grinning. He pointed at the flower. The little bugger had returned. This time with two more and they were chasing each other away from the flower. The first bee won the fight as the two flew away. She eased onto the flower, settling on it gently.