Of Bees and Mist Read Online Free

illogical creatures. They crave to be touched and admired, and then without reason they shut you out cold in the dark. And when your heart no longer has a place for them, they blame you for the hell and the ruin that is their own making!”
    The blow hit. All at once Meridia’s stomach jolted, her insides squeezing out from between her thighs. She looked down and saw blood on her dress. While the two scholars sat dumbstruck, Gabriel sprang to his feet.
    “You animal!”
    He yanked her arm as if he might tear it off and shoved her into the hallway. Just before she smashed into the wall, Meridia caught herself. Behind her the door slammed. Another jolt assaulted her stomach.
    She dashed for the staircase, hoping it would not play its usual trick. Yet the second her hand touched the banister, the treacherous thing lengthened interminably. She ran and ran, panting and wincing, but it seemed she would never reach the top. A trail of blood marked her steps, scattered petals on smooth, shiny marble. Through the hall door Gabriel’s voice was booming, apologizing to the scholars for his daughter’s barbarity. Meridia clamped her hands over her ears and kept on running.
    When she reached her room, the nurse screamed in horror, letting fall the blanket she was folding.
    “My dear! Why is there blood on your dress?”
    The good woman rushed toward Meridia. Another glance told her there was no reason to panic.
    “You silly girl.” The nurse smiled with indulgence. “Or perhaps I’d better call you a little woman now. Why did you frighten me like that? I told you this would happen. Come, let’s get you changed before your mother sees you.”
    Meridia wrenched free and regarded her with angry eyes.
    “Why does he do this to me?”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “Papa! Why does he take pleasure in tormenting me?”
    The nurse gave a start. “What—what did he do?”
    Meridia told her. The nurse clenched her lips until they drained of color.
    “Why does he hate me, Nurse? Why did he say those ugly things about Mama? Tell me why they never speak to each other.”
    The nurse turned to the window. Meridia stole up and yanked her arm, as forcibly as Gabriel had yanked hers.
    “Look at me!” She jerked at her bloodstained dress. “How much more do I have to take before you tell me?”
    Tears began to cloud the nurse’s eyes, but still she clenched her lips. Shaking like a ribbon, Meridia shouted, “I will hate him if you don’t tell me. I will hate him with all my heart!”
    There was a terrible appeal in her voice, more forceful than if she had been crying. The nurse drew back, shocked to see the small, pale girl grow hard and savage. The air was filled with things Meridia could not yet phrase, things dark and unspeakable, heavy like clouds on an ominous day. It was the threat of them bursting and drenching Meridia whole that finally parted the nurse’s lips.
    “All right. I’ll tell you. But let’s get you out of that dress first.”
     
    TEN MINUTES LATER, SITTING in bed facing Meridia, the nurse began her story.
    “You must understand that your parents did not always live like this. There was a time before the mist when the house came alive every night to the sound of music. Everywhere you looked there were flowers and candles, drinks served in tall glasses, lanterns twined over the garden. Men in evening jackets and women in silky dresses piled into the dining room and flooded it with laughter.
    “I was a maid then, and no one in those days entertained like your parents. The best food. The best wine. The smartest conversations. Clever and handsome, your father sat on one end of the tablewhile your mother ruled the other end with her grace and beauty. Even a stranger could tell how much they loved each other. It was said that an electric current jolted the room every time their glances met.
    “When you were born two years into the marriage, your father threw a banquet that lasted three days. He covered your