Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Sun Vanishes
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“What do I need to do?”
The Little Queen Bee’s antennae remained pressed against Chi Sui’s fingers.
A childish female voice Chi Sui had never heard before entered her mind. Somewhat startled, Chi Sui shifted her finger away slightly, only to find that the Little Queen Bee’s antennae followed. The same young voice sounded in her mind again.
“Can I trust you?”
Once she understood where the voice was coming from, Chi Sui smiled. She separated her fingertips from the antennae and lifted the Little Queen Bee in both hands, pressing its antennae against her forehead.
“I could certainly say yes, but whether you trust me is a decision you have to make for yourself. I don’t need you to do anything. I only want to ask what you want to do.”
The Little Queen Bee fell silent. By the time Chi Sui was almost unable to support it with both hands, its voice finally sounded in her mind again.
“Your hair is very pretty. May I lie on it?”
After saying this, the Little Queen Bee withdrew its antennae from Chi Sui’s forehead. Its pink, gemlike eyes looked somewhat flustered.
Surprised by the answer, Chi Sui gently placed the Little Queen Bee on top of her head.
“Of course.”
It was best that the Little Queen Bee was willing to change locations. Chi Sui gathered up a lock of hair and brought it close to her nose.
No smell. Thankfully, she had washed her hair last night.
“It’s evening already. Would you like something else to eat?”
The Little Queen Bee shook its head, then belatedly realized that Chi Sui could not see it. It stretched its head forward and pressed the antennae atop its head against Chi Sui’s forehead.
“No. I don’t want to eat anything at all.”
Afraid Chi Sui might misunderstand, it added, “But what you make is delicious. I won’t be able to stop myself.”
Chi Sui could not help laughing. “Thank you. Night is almost here. Would you like to come back with me and stay at the Pasture Cabin for one night?”
Again, there was a long silence. Chi Sui continued to wait quietly. After an unknown length of time, she finally heard a voice so soft it was nearly inaudible.
“Okay.”
On the way back, the Little Queen Bee remained sprawled atop Chi Sui’s head, silent and still.
Afraid it might be blown away by the speed, Mr. Stone slowed his flight. Then the familiar voice sounded in Chi Sui’s mind once more:
“Are you really going to accompany it until the very end?”
“With the amount of energy it has taken in, it may have another twenty or thirty days left, perhaps even an entire season—and that is assuming it consumes nothing else. Is it worth spending so much time merely to accompany an unfamiliar magical creature until it fades away?”
Chi Sui did not speak. She only patted the forelimb Mr. Stone had wrapped around her and answered silently in her mind:
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“Isn’t that a good thing? If it is willing to eat, that means it still has something it cannot let go of. Besides, is one season really that long? In our long lives, a season is only a brief passage. To it, however, it might be an entire lifetime.”
“And besides, Mr. Stone, you were willing to sleep in Fufeng Town for ten years for the sake of a promise. It’s only one season. You’re underestimating me.”
Mr. Stone’s muffled laughter came from above. Chi Sui hurriedly made a stopping gesture—she certainly did not want one careless twitch to send her tumbling off while the Little Queen Bee was still on her head.
“Do as you wish. There are people looking after the pasture. You can always begin again whenever you like.”
The route back was familiar to them both, and before long, the Pasture Cabin came into view as they talked.
Cecil had been waiting outside. He waved at them, but only lowered his arm after noticing the patch of pink atop Chi Sui’s head.
Cecil had just opened his mouth to say something when Chi Sui shook her head. She could feel a sudden tugging from above. The Little Queen Bee still held a deep aversion to Cecil.
Cecil stared intently at the pink figure, watching it gradually curl into a ball. Nothing could be read from his bearded face. After a while, he finally looked away, turned around, and waved his hand as a farewell.
Only after Cecil had walked away and disappeared from sight did the tension atop Chi Sui’s head vanish. The Little Queen Bee’s antennae returned to her forehead.
“Tomorrow... can you take me around this pasture?”
Chi Sui extended a finger and carefully rubbed its head.
The Little Queen Bee hesitated, but in the end, it did not move away.
“Of course. I’m not very familiar with this place either. Can you show me the way?”
“...Mm.”
Once summer arrived, the sky grew light early each morning. The flower stems were still beaded with dew, and the Little Queen Bee laboriously shook the droplets from its body. Only after making sure it was dry did it fly up to Chi Sui’s head.
The previous night, no matter how Chi Sui tried to persuade it, the Little Queen Bee refused to come inside. Instead, it chose a nearby rose in full bloom and fell asleep nestled within its petals.
Its familiar antennae drew close, and the Little Queen Bee’s voice appeared in Chi Sui’s mind:
“Shall we set out now?”
“Mm. Let’s go. Which way?”
“To the right. There’s a lake there.”
Following the Little Queen Bee’s directions, Chi Sui turned to bid Mr. Stone farewell before setting out at once. Cecil’s pasture was enormous, thick with flowers. Momo could barely move through it; two days earlier, he had forced himself inside despite the scent, only to demand to leave before half a day had passed. Finding the outside unbearably dull, he had been taken back to Fufeng Town by Mr. Stone.
Now Chi Sui’s return date was uncertain, and no one knew when they would see each other again.
Following the Little Queen Bee’s guidance, she soon came upon a lake surrounded by flowers. The sunlight was perfect, streaming through the clouds in radiant shafts that made the surface glitter. Butterflies of every color circled above the water, creating a scene of breathtaking beauty.
Cecil’s pasture truly was beautiful, though its colors were rather monotonous. Looking at the same thing day after day was bound to grow tiring. Apart from the Honeyfall, this lake was the loveliest place Chi Sui had seen in the pasture over the past few days.
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“I came here not long after I was born. I even met a very, very large butterfly here.” The Little Queen Bee’s voice grew quiet. “Back then, I didn’t know how to fly very well. Whenever I came here, the Powder-Ring Bees from the hive carried me.”
“This place really is beautiful. That big butterfly took me flying all around the lake. I saw the rosy dawn when the sun first rose, and the afterglow that remained once it had set.”
“I thought they had brought me here to show me the scenery, but after I landed, I couldn’t find a single bee.”
“I couldn’t fly, and I got lost.”
Chi Sui sat on the grass beside the lake with her knees drawn up, quietly listening to the voice in her mind.
“The butterfly left, and the bees were gone too. This lake was so vast that I couldn’t possibly escape it with my wings dragging behind me.”
“That was the first time I ever spent the night outside. The lake was rather cold at night.”
The Little Queen Bee’s voice held no fluctuation, calm as though it were recounting someone else’s story. Only after it finished did Chi Sui slowly speak.
“Then how long would you like to stay here this time?”
“I want to bask in the sunlight until the sun disappears.”
“All right. Then we’ll stay until sunset.”
The Little Queen Bee’s antennae slowly drew close.
“Are you leaving first?”
“No. Of course I’m going back with you. And besides...” Chi Sui lifted the Little Queen Bee from her head and held it before her eyes. Looking into its pink eyes, she smiled tenderly. “The sun won’t disappear. It’s only being blocked. When the time comes, it will appear again.”
Since coming to the Sky Island, Chi Sui had rarely enjoyed such complete leisure—gazing at beautiful scenery, feeling the breeze beside the lake, and lazily waiting for sunset.
A day could be both long and short.
Only after the last glow had faded from the surface of the lake did Chi Sui place the Little Queen Bee, which had been sitting on a flower, back atop her head.
That familiar touch returned to her forehead.
“Can we come out together again tomorrow?”
“Of course.”
...
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