by Dave Corrick
Chapter 12
Pearl Baker-Moth’s Theory is Tested.
Louie and Lulu were up early. Both were excited and nervous about the day ahead.
As with all good bees, both had brushed their bodies and washed their teeth.
It was quite a beautiful winter’s day. There was a light northerly breeze bringing air down from warmer latitudes. The early morning sun was still low in the east but it was just warm enough for the pair to sit out on the deck after breakfast with a cup of Louie’s favourite tea, TG Tips.
The stream flowed quietly past below them. The sunlight filtered through the trees and bush on the opposite bank and flickered as the trees moved in the slight breeze that was blowing up the steam from the direction of the village.
Louie had an arm around Lulu and held her close to him to keep her warm.
Louie reflected and said. ‘Pearl was so right Lulu in saying last night that we need to do everything we can to protect what we have here. We just can’t let the humans of the world destroy it’.
Lulu sighed and agreed with Louie.
‘What I find incredible’, Lulu went on to say. ‘Is what Pearl was saying about the greed and crime that exists in the human world, and how they steal from and hurt each other. It seems to me that money is the root of it all and they will do anything to cheat each other out of it’.
‘I agree’, said Louie. ‘What also really amazes me is the immense amount of knowledge that Pearl has, and her ability to work things out. We are so lucky to have her as our leader and Queen’.
Louie looked at the stream and the bush that surrounded them. He then looked at Lulu and thought to himself that he would never ever want to be part of the human world.
‘Lulu’, said Louie. ‘I really do believe we have got to try this thing with Pearl. We owe it to her with all the effort she has made to look after us and the other members of our community. The biggest fear I have is that something could go wrong and we can’t get back. If we do this with Pearl today and something does go wrong, I do love you and I will forever’.
The pair hugged and cuddled each other for a moment and sat in silence. It was a serious decision they were making.
Lulu broke the silence and turned and looked at her mate. ‘I agree with you Louie, we have to do this with Pearl and if it all works out we can do so much to preserve what we have here now, we can’t be complacent about the future. It’s probably going to be a bit scary at times if we do go with Pearl but just think how happy we will be if we make the effort and get back safely again’.
‘Right my precious Lulu’, said Louie. ‘It’s agreed, I will phone Pearl now and let her know we will be at her apartment in half an hour, ready to go and test her theory!’
‘Yea!’ said Lulu. ‘Let’s go and do it! I am so proud of you Louie’.
After confirming with Pearl, Louie and Lulu were soon out over the stream and on their way up to Pearl’s apartment.
Pearl was pleased that they had decided to test her theory. She knew it had been a big decision for the pair to make, there were potentially unknown risks involved.
The intrepid trio were soon at the quartz crystal face in the tunnel. They were now close enough to make it glow.
‘What I suggest’, said Pearl, ‘is that we link arms and move through together. When we are on the other side, for safety, no matter how strong the impulse to gasp or cry out, don’t utter a sound. Once there just follow me’.
The three insects advanced nervously, Lulu looked up at Louie and clung to him tightly, the pulsing blue light became more intense.
‘Here goes!’ said Pearl. ‘Remember on the other side, strict silence’.
They were all through! There they were in the open outside the bank in the village. There were plenty of people around. Pearl carefully led Louie and Lulu away to a clear grassed area in front of the bank where there were no people.
‘Can you hear me?’ said Pearl shouting in a whisper.
‘Wow yes’, said Louie.
‘Yes I can’, said Lulu.
The three of them stood close and looked at each other. Their appearances were of being translucent blue nymph like creatures with quite beautiful transparent blue wings. However they no longer had the six legs of an insect but instead arms, hands and legs like humans, they even had to breathe like humans. Pearl was the largest and tallest; next there was Louie and Lulu the smallest. Apart from this they were difficult to tell apart.
Pearl spoke. ‘I forgot to mention yesterday, it appears that our smell phones or anything else we have with us doesn’t arrive on this side. Apart from talking directly to each other we don’t have any other means of communicating. If any thing goes wrong and we get separated I suggest we make it a rule to make our own way back through the wall’.
Louie and Lulu stood speechless for a while, adjusting to what was happening. Pearl waited for them to take it all in and gain some confidence then said to Louie. ‘Let’s test something. Louie see that group of people standing by the bank entrance?’
‘Yes’, said Louie.
‘Shout out “Oy” to them, as loud as you can’.
Louie did, sure enough the group turned around and stared. They had heard something but couldn’t see anything.
‘Now you see what I mean’, said Pearl. ‘We can be heard but we can’t be seen’.
‘What I suggest now’, said Pearl, ‘is that we go back to the tunnel, but this time we will go through one by one. You go through first Lulu then Louie. I will stay to the last in case anything should go wrong’.
‘Here goes!’ said Lulu nervously.
Lulu walked over to the quartz façade of the bank, it glowed blue and none of the people close by noticed it. Lulu disappeared. Louie followed and then Pearl. It worked they were all back on the other side in the tunnel!
Lulu was overjoyed that it had worked and they were all safe, and jumped for joy. This was becoming really exciting! The three of them hugged each other and laughed with relief that it was so simple!
‘Right’, said Pearl. ‘It seems that there is no problem going back and forth through the quartz. The next thing is to see if there are any risks to us in doing things on the other side. Let’s go back again. Be careful to avoid touching anybody. They can feel you but not see you, remember too that the beating of our wings may be heard if they are beating quickly. We will try flying over the area, just keep close and follow me. Remember, just fly as you normally do, nothing is any different’.
Outside the bank Pearl took off and Louie and Lulu followed. As Pearl had said, they could fly as they normally did.
Louie and Lulu flew close together behind Pearl. Lulu studied Louie beside her. It wasn’t the same. Louie didn’t have a wonderful warm furry body any more; he was a translucent blue shape. However he still had a loveable bee face of sorts. She could touch him and hang on to him but he was neither warm nor cold. ‘Thank goodness’, she thought, at least we can talk to one another.
Pearl led the way up into the sky. She pointed to the distant city that was sprawling ever closer to the village.
‘As you can see’, said Pearl. ‘It won’t be too much longer before the village becomes part of that city. That’s the time when our world as we know it could be destroyed’.
It was disturbing for the insects to contemplate what could happen.
Pearl led the way down to the stream. As Pearl had said there was no sign of the Reserve Bank, the Nest Café, the supermarket or Louie’s house. However they could see the cross Pearl had marked on the ground the other day, most strange.
Pearl flew on to Mr McFarland’s place. Yes Mr McFarland was out giving bread crumbs to some sparrows.
‘This will be interesting’, said Pearl. ‘Let’s go down and land beside Mr McFarland to see if the sparrows can see us’.
The three insects glided in and landed right beside the sparrows. They didn’t move. Mr McFarland didn’t see any of the three arrive either.
Louie went over to Pearl and
whispered as quietly as he could. ‘Let’s go down to the shed and see if we can see the Factory’.
‘Yes let’s’, said Pearl.
Louie led the way. The portal to the Factory was there but there was no Factory inside. Amazingly enough they saw ten ants on the floor of the shed down where the Ten Ants lived. So the Ten Ants were still there but there was no way they could communicate with them!
Pearl said. ‘Let’s go and sit down by the stream for a moment’.
Pearl found a nice grassy spot in the sun. The three sat down and relaxed for a bit. It was good to pause and reflect for a moment on what they were seeing, what they were and where they were. It was just so surreal.
It was strange; none of the insects could feel the warmth of the sun. It was a neutral feeling, no sense of hot or cold.
Pearl and her enquiring mind were at work. She couldn’t understand why it was that they couldn’t see their homes and other things where they lived.
‘I think’, said Pearl after a period of silence and intense thinking. ‘That in coming here through the quartz there must be a time difference between our world and the human world. It may only be a few seconds. I don’t think we can see where we live because if we could, we could alter things that have happened in either the past or the future’.
This was a very profound statement by Pearl and it had Louie and Lulu deep in thought for awhile. It was almost too much to comprehend.
‘I believe’, said Pearl. ‘What we have discovered is just too complex to ever explain fully. I guess we just accept it for what it is and use it to our best advantage. We will learn more about what we can and can’t do as time goes on. Sometime when we have gained a bit more confidence and we know more about any limitations we might have, we should go into the big city and check out what we can see and do’.
‘It’s strange’, said Louie who normally liked to snack quite frequently, ‘that I don’t have any sense of being hungry or thirsty’.
‘Me neither’, said Lulu.
‘Yes that is an interesting point’, said Pearl. ‘I wonder how long we can stay here without food or water. Or is it even relevant? Why is it we need to breathe, yet maybe we don’t need food or water?’
Lulu reached out to touch Louie to make sure he was still there. ‘Louie when I touch you I can feel you as an object yet there is no warmth or cold’. It really was as though they were all in some sort of dream.
After resting for awhile, Louie suggested ‘Let’s fly over the Valley Barn and see if we can see anything’.
The insects took off again and headed east. Sure enough, the Valley Barn was there but no sign of Al Spider or any of the gang, not that there should have been after the starling attack. However there were spiders there that were similar to the type that Al Spider and the Gang had been.
‘Hmmm’, said Pearl. ‘I firmly believe that there must be some slight time difference here, but even that doesn’t fully explain things’.
‘Before we go back’, said Pearl. ‘Let’s go to the cake shop and get a bit of chocolate cake to see if we can take it back with us’.
‘Good idea’, said Louie and they headed back to the village.
The cake shop along with other shops was on the edge of a landscaped and grassed square off to the left of the High Street.
Louie, Lulu and Pearl landed in the middle of the square.
‘We have to be careful here’, said Pearl almost laughing. ‘If people see a piece of chocolate cake floating across the square they might panic. ‘I’ll go and get it; I think if I wrap my “hand” carefully around the cake it won’t be visible’.
Pearl went off, carefully avoiding coming into contact with any people as she went and then disappeared into the cake shop.
Louie and Lulu sat on the grass and waited. Pearl was back in a moment. She opened her hand and sure enough, there was the chocolate cake for all to see.
‘Well’, said Pearl. ‘I think this has been enough excitement for one day; let’s go and see if we can take the chocolate cake back with us! Louie you take the chocolate cake, I know you will be dying to have some!’
The three stood for a moment looking around, still not really believing it was happening. Lulu held Louie’s hand (the one without the chocolate cake!). Not that it really meant anything to hold Louie’s hand because there was nothing really to feel.
‘Louie’, said Pearl. ‘You lead the way, Lulu you next and I will follow last. Let’s go back through the wall’.
They took off and flew to the bank wall in single file. With Louie leading the way, one by one they disappeared.
What a relief to be back in the tunnel. Lulu hugged Louie, he was real again. Louie stroked Lulu softly to reassure her.
Louie however was really disappointed about one thing. The chocolate cake hadn’t come through! It became obvious that they couldn’t bring anything back with them through the wall.
‘Never mind Louie’, said Pearl laughing. ‘If it had come through it might have mutated into something horrible and smelly!’
The whole experience had been an exciting but emotionally draining. The three insects grabbed each other and held on tight. They were glad to know everything was alright and they could do it again whenever they wanted to. What a relief to be back safe again.
The change from the tense feelings on the other side to one of tremendous relief that they were all now safe had an effect on the insects as though they were coming out of a state of shock.
Pearl, usually very calm and collected in any situation broke down and tears flowed a little. ‘I am so glad you two are alright, it is such a relief to be home again. The wonderful thing is it really does appear to be quite safe for us to do it again’.
Lulu started crying and Louie gulped back a sob or two with relief that Lulu was OK. There really had been that awful underlying thought that something could go wrong and they would never get back.
‘What a hopeless pack of softies we are’, said Pearl crying and laughing at the same time!
They all sat down close to the quartz face so they were bathed in blue light. They talked about the experience, recapping on the dangers, the strange things and the highlights. They all now had a good understanding of what was involved.
‘What I suggest over the next week’, Pearl ventured, ‘is that we come through as and when we feel like it. It will give us more confidence and understanding. Then we can look at what we might do to make the world a better place’.
‘Tonight’, said Pearl as they walked back up the tunnel. ‘I think we should all go back to the Nest Café and celebrate the success of today. This could in fact have been one of the most important days of our lives, not only for us, but for the whole insect community’.
Pearl didn’t realise it then but what she was saying was indeed very true, as we shall see.
The trio continued on up and out of the tunnel. It was about 1.00 p.m. Louie gave Pearl a key so she could come and go as she pleased. Pearl gave Louie and Lulu a final hug, bid adieu and headed to her apartment. Pearl’s mind was full of ideas she had for using this new found ability and how to better fulfil her role as the Queen of the insect community and to protect it.
When Pearl had departed, Louie locked the door to the tunnel. He and Lulu flew back to the stream and on home. What a relief to be back. Louie and Lulu held each other close, relieved that everything was still there just as they had left it.
Much later in the evening they joined Pearl at the Nest Café once more for a truly wonderful evening.
