Flash Fiction | The Honey Bees of Orun – An African-American Yoruba Story

Not too long ago in the United States of America, golden sweet honey became a luxury crop and very expensive for people to buy. Nobody wanted to be a honeybee keeper, and due to lack of interest in the work and inability to genetically modify the food, honey was scarce.

One day the Orisha Oshun sat by the Saint Lucie River bank chatting with other marine spirits, her cousins. “I am concerned that there are not enough cultivators of honey in this country.”

Another beautiful marine spirit named Nea agreed with her. “You are right, and due to the high prices, the people are not buying honey and have become cold and bitter in spirit.”

At that very moment, a young African-American girl came running to the riverside. She was chasing a honeybee and laughing at it while she scolded it for avoiding her. She seemed completely unaffected by the threat of being stung.

Oshun smiled looking at the girl lovingly and came up with an idea. She knew the girl could not see her so she followed her home.

That very same night Oshun appeared to the young girl in a dream.

The girl, whose name was Aneka, found herself in a vibrant colorful forest, but was not familiar with the place at all, though she thought she’d explored every nook and cranny of the woods because she loved being outdoors.

“Little girl!” Oshun called out to her from a rushing brook.

Aneka turned around and saw a beautiful woman and was taken aback by how gorgeous she was. “Are you talking to me?”

“Yes my child. I have need of you.”

Aneka was shocked. She’d been told she was a tomboy all her life and could not imagine what the lovely woman would need her to do.

“What do you need ma’am?” Aneka asked with tears in her eyes. The woman’s beauty made her emotional.

“Will you love me, care for me and take care of me?” Oshun asked.

“Of course I will,” Aneka answered, filled with amazement, love and loyalty. She had never seen this woman before, but was captivated by her and adored her inexplicably.

Oshun nodded at her and suddenly shapeshifted into a golden honeybee. Aneka immediately woke up from the dream and knew what she wanted to do with her life.

In the days following, Aneka read everything she could find about honeybees. She watched documentaries, attended seminars and soon grew to be an absolutely gorgeous young woman. Despite her family’s coercing her to pursue other careers she was only interested in attending the closest reputable agricultural college.

Aneka used social media to garner public interest in honeybees and also drew the attention of modeling agencies from all over the world. She declined each one of them and devoted herself to opening the largest honeybee co-op in America. She opened her beehives to many schools for girls, initiating young women to take up interest in beekeeping. Men became more intrigued with bees as well, along with scientists and doctors.

Honey prices dropped, more people ate honey, the country became a much sweeter place to live and after 35 years of hard work, Aneka married and had two beautiful daughters, settling in Miami, Florida, as one of the richest women in the country.

The end.

Story by Renee Tarot, author of “The Mystic: Pagan Essays on Mindfulness, Meditation, Wicca and The New Age” on Amazon

https://linktree.com/reneetarot

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Renee Tarot

Chief news curator and Editor.

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