The Bee, The Bear & The Beetle

In one contentious space, the sky stretches over in a command of faded light. It slices through the canyons, funneled along highways and hills. The air, filled with faded smoke and finished cries, is quiet now. The gardenia is rest for the bumble bee; she’s happy to find a lone stem.

He appears like a low cloud at first, an aberration—furry, moving slow. A small giant making for the edge. My breath catches. Muscles tense to hug my bones, but I stay still.

A beetle crawls over a stone.