Purple Pop's Arc

Chapter 15 of 16

By morning the new hive buzzed strong, its lavender bees thick around the blooms. Purple Pop knelt to check the frame when a gentle woman paused at the wrought iron gate. She admired the bees, then lowered her voice. Neighbors were already whispering, she warned. Soon they would come knocking with questions Purple Pop could not afford to answer. Purple Pop thanked her and stood by the purple bars long after she left. Questions meant rules. Rules meant fees, permits, and maybe a shut door. She would not let her bees be taken from her now. She spent the afternoon clearing out a small grape and lilac barn at the edge of her garden. She moved the hive inside, set the humming bottle on a shelf, and trained the glowing vine along the rafters. A narrow window let the bees come and go without showing the box from the lane. By dusk the barn doors closed on a hidden, working hive. The whispers outside the gate faded for now. But Purple Pop knew her bees needed flowers, and flowers grew in plain sight. She had bought herself a week, maybe two, before the next knock came.