ARIA’S QUEST

CHAPTER ONE: Call to ADVENTURE

By Katya Winters

Can two truths be true at once? Wondered Aria, who was a classic yet far from ordinary bumblebee as she buzzed along her favorite towering Fireweed blossoms. Fireweed is considered invasive, one single plant can produce around 80 000 seeds per year. Yet it symbolizes rebirth, as the blankets of green and captivating magenta are the first to appear after a wildfire. As if as a promise to the local wildlife that better days are ahead. It is a friend to a vast range of pollinators such as butterflies, moths, and of course, bees just like Aria.

One thought drifts to another, as it does in the mind of a bee. Aria considered if she could contain two truths at once. Could she be soft hearted and sentimental while delivering a punch to a world that would send it in the right direction? Or, were those qualities not different at all and in fact, we needed one to support the existence of the other. Doesn’t an action require fuel? Could fuel flow through the veins from the heart? She was a chronic daydreamer, and luckily also a good multitasker at flying while doing so. The daydreams more often than not consisted of saving her beloved Earth. A peaceful, harmonious existence for all. And of course, the odd fantasy of a delicious river of floral honey that she floated down while kind birds sang her favorite songs. The forest was peaceful and reliable. It was her home and she knew it by every leaf, rock and stem. Yet, there was an underlying feeling that would surface every so often that she was meant for more. Aria had ventured a few times tenderly into urban development. She found humans very interesting with their colorful clothes and the different sounds they made. Some seemed to be more pleasing to the ear than others. She wondered why they swatted her away when she came to only briefly say hello and buzz on, but she forgave them. She never had the courage to communicate with them but she had a feeling it was possible. Other bees didn’t like to hear about these small outings and Aria kept them to herself. They wondered why she would ever feel the urge to leave the hive and its beautiful, safe sanctuary. For the most part she didn’t understand it too much herself. Only that curiosity at times outweighed her fear.

The way in which bees function as a hive was something Aria loved. Despite her tiny solo adventures, Aria felt the comfort and meaning in coming home and being a part of a team. She wished the whole world could function as a hive in its own unique way. She was curious as to why humans seemed to feel estranged from one another, specifically in the city areas. They seemed to go about a little confused and lost at times, and perhaps lonely. Could it be from the stress of a world going sick? When too much garbage in the water, in the earth, too much smoke in the sky, too much tilling and not enough nurturing, starts to show up subconsciously in their psyches? It would cause her heart to ache. Sometimes it felt bleak as Aria observed the

world from a bee’s eye view. There was so much she didn’t understand and wanted to know. Yet despite it all, there was hope whenever she noticed a human had stopped to smell the flowers. When a smile spread to their lips after a delightful sniff.

There was a sensitivity in Aria's heart that made her curious about all other beings. She loved to observe what mattered to them. Some days, when work was done she found time to hum by a stream and watch the little fish and frogs from a safe distance. Other times she went through meadows to find a mother fox and babies sleeping in a soft, rust coloured pile. Or a deer nibbling on fresh grass for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In Aria's mind we were all equally important and equally crucial in our role. Even the mushrooms minding their own business on a mossy log had their duties.

A friendship had formed between Aria and a Ladybug named June. June liked to listen to Aria’s ideas, and Aria liked the supportive yet grounding advice June gave. Sometimes it was as simple as enjoying a comfortable silence on a daisy together. June asked Aria if she had any interesting dreams lately. Aria replied:

Nothing out of the ordinary. I feel a bit discouraged and tired. Maybe, my brain has run out of creativity. So far it’s just been the usual flower gardens and buzzing as high as the clouds.

June never had dreams herself usually and that’s why she enjoyed asking. But this day was different, June replied:

I had one. It was that you were asking me to climb over this rainbow, but the rain hadn’t stopped yet. I was nervous to join you, even though you promised it would stop before we got to the other side. It was a beautiful rainbow.

Well, did you join me? -

The following night Aria awoke suddenly at a strange hour. The rest of the nest was asleep and she quietly buzzed out into the cool night air. Under a wide sky sprinkled with diamond mimicking stars, her buzz was warm and steady in the quiet darkness. Despite the calmness of the night around her, Aria was quite literally about to explode. Her mind was racing with divine direction. In her sleep she had received the confirmation she was waiting for, that she was vital to healing the world. She had been stricken with a vision of a thriving, perfect ecosystem; not limited to one area but encapsulating the entire planet. Every heart and living being, seen and unseen to the naked eye sang in perfect harmony in landscapes that flourished. Aria flew to the top of the tallest Fireweed and observed the city lights in the distance. If one fireweed can make 80 000 more, what could Aria accomplish if she just started?

As a group of fireflies flew through illuminating the dark for brief seconds at a time, Aria thought:

What if I was not only the seeds, but the initial fire that sprouted new growth.