Ten - Helena's Bees

Characters:

Helena

Narrator

Captain Crowley

Betty Paget

Adrian Bellows

James Bellows

Walter

Emily

Timmy Atkins

Lindsey Davies

Olivia

Vicar

Phillip

NARRATOR:

Captain Crowley was

Complaining again

Muttering abuse as the first rays of sun

Melted morning dew from the tombstones

CAPTAIN CROWLEY:

Beasts and bastards

Curse the four-legged fiends

NARRATOR:

he cried

And not for the first time

Helena

Wondered if the old prude was

Part cat

So badly did he hate the walking dogs

Within the graveyard

CAPTAIN CROWLEY:

No respect

NARRATOR:

he’d mutter

CAPTAIN CROWLEY:

No damn respect

For their elders

NARRATOR:

As though rotting corpses

And bandy-legged

Scottish terriers

Shared some lineage

As yet untold

HELENA:

An early riser

And an early ranter

NARRATOR:

Helena was fond of saying

Whispering in the dark to her

Husband

Who lay in the box to her left hand side

Not that Phillip ever replied

She’d not heard a peep from him

In some sixty-

Seven

Years

Not since their eightieth

Wedding anniversary

All those years past

HELENA:

Remember our wedding day

Darling

With the flowers all in bloom?

How dashing you looked

In your uniform

All trim lines and smiles

And me

In my mother’s gown

That was her mother’s before that

Do you think someone else

Wears it now?

The generations slide by

So fast

NARRATOR:

Phillip did not reply

And Helena could not even hear him

Snore

In his eternal rest

Instead her attention was diverted by

The sounds

Of Timmy Atkins

Crying in his sleep

Poor Timmy Atkins

Who dreamt he was

Drowning still

Rather than the desert dry

Rattling bones

He had long since become

TIMMY ATKINS:

Throw me a line

NARRATOR:

he moaned in his long sleep

TIMMY ATKINS:

Throw me a line skipper

The waves are rising

NARRATOR:

And his pale bones rattled as he reached

For a line

That never had been thrown

Poor Timmy Atkins

Who sank like a stone and

Was dead in minutes

TIMMY ATKINS:

How long do I float

Face down

In the pea green soup

Staring with wide eyes at

The distant ocean

Floor

Do I see them there?

Mermaids wearing seaweed shawls

And Davy Jones

Serenading the maidens

Playing tunes on a harp

Strung with tentacles

And the glistening

Shreds

Of a drowned man’s gizzard

Oh, the topsy-turvy world

Of waves forever

Rolling

Give me solid earth

Give me unmoving, unchanging, beautifully boring

Soil

Give me worms not waves

Give me the sweet saccharine of senseless

Still

Not these moving mountains that never stop

Not the line that never comes

Do I dream of drowning?

Or as I drown

Do I dream I am already drowned?

Lying in the earth

Awake and asleep

Dead and still waiting

Where is that line, skipper

Please

Throw me a line!

NARRATOR:

Helena wished, not for the

First

Time that Timmy would wake

In the comfort of his coffin

And sigh in relief

At the still, dark dust and the

Solid pine walls

Of his small cemetery boat

But he did not wake, just

Dreamed

Of his endless waves

And

Endless drowning

CAPTAIN CROWLEY:

Worse than the

Dogs

NARRATOR:

Crowley cursed from the other side

Of the graveyard

CAPTAIN CROWLEY:

Urinating on my tombstone

And first mates calling

For their mothers

What’s an old Captain

To do

To get some blasted sleep around here?

NARRATOR:

Helena stifled the

Urge

To chip in

He was not to be reasoned with

Captain Crowley

The cat-loving, dog-hating

Curse-Captain

Emily had once whispered

To those who could not

Sleep

In the long dark

That rather than counting sheep

They ought to count the

Captain’s curses

It made Helena

Laugh

To hear it

The memory of it made her laugh

Even now

Now when even Emily

Dreamed quietly

In her spot beneath the spreading

Branches

Of the Jacaranda Tree

EMILY:

Good day, my ladies

And welcome, welcome all

Thank you so much

For coming

To my splendid little party

I’m so happy you could come

Why, Miss Simmons

I’m so glad to see you

Yes, I certainly am

No, really, you’re too kind

Too kind

Oh, I’m sure I don’t deserve it

Please, do take tea

Yes, sugar and milk

More lumps

I always do

No such thing as too sweet

As my Norman will say

NARRATOR:

And Helena herself

Thought back

To her childhood days

And the no such thing as

Too sweet

Beat

That had drummed her own tiny feet

Back when she was still

Alive

HELENA:

Oh, the taste of honey

Golden rich and warm

Easing down my throat

By the spoon I would

Eat it

The sweet, sweet taste

Rich

Like liquid gold

Across my tongue

My parents always scolded

When I finished the jar

Often before they’d even had a taste

But really

They didn’t mind

They spoiled me so

Really they did

Oh, the taste of honey

So sweet

Back when I had tongue to

Taste

And mouth

And teeth

NARRATOR:

And like a stray thought

Buzzing

In her head

Helena thought

There was something she ought to be

Noticing

Something different

This day

As the warm light of sunshine made the

Shadows

Dance away

And the spring of spring

Made the quiet

Yard

Sing with a chorus

Of insects

And pollen

LINDSEY DAVIES:

No more music

Nor candles, I swear

NARRATOR:

Lindsey Davies hissed from

Four plots down

And Helena knew why

Remembering the children

In their pale faces

And dark clothes

Playing music and whispering

Round candles

In the dark of night

Mere hours before

LINDSEY DAVIES:

He told them out

And out they went

But that caretaker

Oh, why does he sleep so

Early of the eve?

When the young

Rascals

Climb the walls

And start their chanting

Playing at being dead

While the dead

Beneath them

Play at living still

If the caretaker

Can sleep through that racket

You’d think I could too

But I can’t

No, I cannot stand

the smell of incense

Nor the smell of innocence

The little ones and their big

Games

Creatures of the night

My bony behind

Fourteen-year-old boys

Trying to impress

Fourteen-year-old girls

By painting black circles around

Their eyes

Oh, thank goodness for the dawn

Only tonight I beg

No more candles

And no more music, oh

Else this poor old soul start to go

Insane again

CAPTAIN CROWLEY:

Sign ‘em up

NARRATOR:

came Crowley’s reply

CAPTAIN CROWLEY:

Sign ‘em all up

The sea dogs

And the putrid pups

A few weeks on the wide blue

Yonder

Would thrash them into

Shape

In no time flat

Do them the world of

Good

It would

And no mistake

I’d take to them myself

If it weren’t for this

Back of mine

Sore like a broken

Mast

In a west wind

Round the cape

And me here

With nothing but the

Stink

Of dog’s piss

In a dead man’s nostrils

NARRATOR:

But Helena

Wasn’t really listening

Her thoughts still on

Honey

And the sweet taste of

Life

Memories of

Yesterday

HELENA:

Like the time you

Brought me

Honey Phillip

Do you remember?

After your voyage

When you came home

A jar of honey

From every port

A taste of every

Part of the world

Or so you said

Taste the places I’ve seen

My love

You told me

Taste the world

That I have sailed

For in my heart you

Sailed

With me

And always will

My darling

NARRATOR:

But Phillip did not

Stir

From his rest in peace

And soon

Helena’s thoughts

Turned

To the sound of Walter

Who counted daytime walkers

Between the stones

WALTER:

Twelve million and seven

NARRATOR:

he cried

But only he knew how accurate

That figure

Was

WALTER:

I’m sure of it

New treads

We’ve not seen this one before

Aha, do you smell that?

Coffee

And no mistake

A morning coffee break

And a stroll between the headstones

I wonder

Will this become his habit from now on?

A regular little ritual

To while away the day

Do you think his job

A new career in the very near

Has brought him to us today?

So many of them do

Office workers and shop

Assistants

And hairdressers

And train guards too

Coming here in the just before

Halfway through

And not long after

To wind up, wind down

To rewind and

Fast forward

Wishing their lives

Away

And their lunch times

Doubled

Oh, how many more to come

The dog walkers

Coffee drinkers

Picnic makers and

Historians too

Artists taking

Rubbings

And writers

Taking inspiration

Who’d have thought it, eh?

Twelve million and seven

Who’d have thought?

NARRATOR:

But Walter’s

Closest neighbours

Were all but dust

And the only sound that

Came

From their crypts

And coffins

Was the soft echo of

Snoring

The deep breathing of a deeper sleep

Than any other inhabitant of

The yard

Above them all

The walker sipped his coffee and

Sat

For a time

Resting his weight against

The weighty slab

That read inscribed

‘Here lies Adrian

Bellows

Beloved son and brother

Sadly missed’

And Adrian’s brother

James

Who had died full sixty

Years

Past his brother’s time

But now

Lay reunited nearby on

The family plot

Or as Adrian had

Laughed

When joined by his

Sibling

ADRIAN BELLOWS:

The plot thickens

NARRATOR:

What do you say to your

Older

Younger brother

Dead at twenty three

And you

An eighty four year old

Man

With distant memories of

An older boy

with a

smile

and a jar full of butterflies

that they’d caught

together

but forgot to

let go

ADRIAN BELLOWS:

You were such a nervous

Boy

My little

Big brother

Always running to

Mother

When the postman’s dog

Chased across the yard

Oh, how you

Made me smile

When your voice

Rang out in church

Those old psalms

Sung so sweet

Like an old dented bench

Given a fresh coat of lacquer

JAMES BELLOWS:

You sound so

Strange

So young still

And me old

But I remember you

So tall, so proud

And father

Patting you on the head

And saying

‘That’s my boy

There walks my son’

And always so proud

NARRATOR:

They would work it out

In the

End

But both knew

How lucky they were

To meet once more

Under soil

Under sun

BETTY PAGET:

Doesn’t anyone else

Hear them?

NARRATOR:

Came the blast of

Betty Paget

And Helena knew

That the sun

Must be spinning by fast

For the warmth of the

Rays

Always woke her

In her deep

Six feet deep

Sleep

To worry about the other

Things

That burrowed

And scurried

In the earth about her empty ears

BETTY PAGET:

Don’t you hear them

Talking amongst themselves?

They’re smart you know

Real smart

They absorb everything they eat

Thoughts, memories, dreams

And they’re eating us

And no mistake

The smartest first

Chomping through

One by one

They could sail a boat around the

World

These worms

With the knowledge they’ve

Eaten

I keep telling them

They don’t want me

Not silly Betty

Not me

With nothing but fritter and

Fancy

Between my ears

And they stay away

For now

But they’ll get to me

Eventually

You know they will

The monsters

Eating us

Like we were earth

The meek, crawling in the

Darkness

Don’t let them inherit us

Yet

Oh please

Not yet

Don’t you hear them

Talking amongst themselves?

Once it was jabberwocky

But now it’s all

Politics and philosophy

Those graveyard worms

Smarter than all of us

Eating all our thoughts

NARRATOR:

But that was pure Betty

And most would have

Shrugged it off

If they had shoulders to

Shrug with

Instead they turned their

Attention to

The clanking of wood on wood and

Steel on steel

As the gardener made his rounds

About the yard

HELENA:

Late afternoon

Already

NARRATOR:

Helena thought to herself

Wondering at where the

Time went

HELENA:

Oh, hear how he

Cleans the stones

Strips back the

Encroaching weeds

Tears away the

Obscuring foliage

Truly this man

This hero

This paragon

Deserves the applause and

Accolades

Of a giant

Striding across the Earth

An Olympian god

A hero

NARRATOR:

And as the lawn mower

Edged its way between

The remembering stones

The inhabitants of the yard

Applauded

Beneath the earth

So glad were they

To know they were

Remembered

To see that someone

Cared

For them still

Even Captain Crowley

Agreed

CAPTAIN CROWLEY:

Give the man a

Medal

NARRATOR:

he’d cry

CAPTAIN CROWLEY:

What a sailor he’d have made

Look at him now

Ha ha!

Telling that woman to keep

Her dog away

Oh, what a champion

What a warrior

NARRATOR:

And the tired gardener

Depressed

And thinking of his finances

Thinking of the things he

Could not buy

On a gardener’s wage

Thinking of the racing world

Outside

That every day seemed to pass him by

Further and faster

For a moment

Simply took pride

in what he had

Accomplished

And felt the joy, the satisfaction

And appreciation

As it echoed up from

Below

And as he packed his rakes and shears and clippers

As Achilles might have packed

His sword

As he departed for another day

He felt happy

Despite himself

Even though he could not

And never would

Hear

The tumultuous applause

That came from deep

Beneath his feet

HELENA:

But what is that sound?

NARRATOR:

Helena mused

So sure that there was something

Different

About this day

She tried working it out

In her head

But the days all ran sideways

The years like water

flowing

And her concentration had a tendency

To wander

The sounds of Olivia crying

Turned her musings

Outward once more

To listen in to that quiet voice of

Constant sorrow

OLIVIA:

Oh where is my love?

My dearest and only

I know what they say

The plot is full and

Elsewhere

His bones must lie

But they lie

There was room

Is ever room

Beside me

And with me

To lie in my arms

If only he were here

To whisper to me again

As once we did

Together

Oh then the darkness would not

Be so dark

The winter waiting

Would seem a spring afternoon

Oh where is my love?

And when shall I see him

Once more?

NARRATOR:

It was enough to make

Helena cry herself

And she once more

Counted

Her blessings

That her own dear, quiet

Husband

Lay beside her in the dark

It seemed to spark something then

A buzzing in her head

A memory of day

Of date

Something of importance

But before the thoughts would

Form

She heard familiar steps ranging through the stones

And realised the day was done

Flown by in a

Heartbeat

Or rather

The echo of a beat from inside

A bone quiet cage chest

But the sun was setting

As sure as it had just risen

For this was the time

He took his walk

The vicar

From the empty church

Just before the evening service

VICAR:

Hello Captain, hello Betty,

Good evening Phillip,

Fond regards Helena

NARRATOR:

He would smile

As he strode through the stones

Reading the names

Worn but still legible

From the markers that lay

Upon his way

VICAR:

I hope you all rest

In the arms of our Lord

That the long sleep

Brings only dreams of peace

Until the day of judgement

When we all shall rise

Together

To walk

Hand in hand

Into the gates of

Heaven

NARRATOR:

He gave them hope

This old man and his small

Congregation

His evening stroll

His caring words

Were a soothing balm

That eased the voices

From below

Sent them to rest

For the dark night ahead

To dream easier

To think more kindly

To rest in a well earned sleep

HELENA:

Thank you

NARRATOR:

Helena whispered

As her friends and neighbours

Drifted into rest

As the sun set

And the Vicar strode

Back to his small church

With its age stained walls

And uneven floor

And small gathering of parishioners

Ready to sing

Hymns

In the gathering dark

And it was as their voices

Were raised in song

That Helena remembered

The significance of the day

HELENA:

Why Phillip

NARRATOR:

she cried to her

Husband

HELENA:
I just realised

It’s today

Our anniversary

Our one hundred

And forty-seventh

To be exact

NARRATOR:

And with her joy

There came another

Realisation

The buzzing in her head

She realised what it was now

What it meant

HELENA:

It can’t be…

NARRATOR:

she muttered

Surprised

But it was

There was no doubting it

HELENA:

Honey?

NARRATOR:

she whispered in awe

And delight

As the delicious amber taste

Dripped upon her

And she thought of summer days

Long gone by and her husband

Dripping the sweet

Substance

From a silver spoon

Into her laughing

Open mouth

HELENA:

Honey!

NARRATOR:

she wept with joy

As the bees who had

Made their hive

Within her crypt

The buzzing insects that

Hovered in and out

That flew through the graveyard and

Beyond

To gather the tastes of pollen

Far and wide

Busied their insects selves

To the task

Of making honey

Sweet and perfect

To be tasted by a dead mouth

That had tasted nothing but

Dust

For years too long to count

And in the dark

A second voice

Whispered to Helena

And she knew that all was

Well

And ever would be

So

PHILLIP:

Happy Anniversary

My darling

NARRATOR:

came Phillip’s sweet

Sentiment

And in the dark

Together

They dreamed of days

Now done

And days yet to come

Drifting to sleep once more

To a buzzing tune

Wrapped in the sweetness

Of love

And the sweeter taste

And glow

Of golden

Radiant

Honey.