@mc5punk 30 March 2025 more from that month

Short story: A Hot and Dangerous Sunday

It was one of those Sundays that seem to melt the city. The sun was shining with a scorching intensity, and hot air was filtering through every corner, even in the Rodríguez's apartment, located on the top floor of a tall building. The family tried to cope with the heat in the best possible way: Carlos, the father, was sitting on the balcony reading the newspaper, Maria, his wife, was preparing a refreshing lemonade in the kitchen, and the two children, Ana and Luis, were entertaining themselves in the living room playing video games under the relief of the air conditioning. Everything seemed to be going on normally until a strange buzzing sound began to be heard in the distance. At first, Carlos thought it was the noise of some electrical device or maybe a drone flying near the building. However, the sound became louder and more constant. Intrigued, he put the newspaper aside and peeked over the balcony railing. What he saw left him speechless: a huge black cloud was rapidly advancing towards the building. It wasn't smoke or dust; it was bees. Thousands of bees. - Bees! Carlos shouted in an alarmed voice as he ran inside. Close all the windows now! The scream echoed throughout the apartment. Maria dropped the pitcher of lemonade she was serving, spilling all the liquid on the counter. Her eyes widened as she heard her husband's words. - What did you say? - she asked in disbelief as she ran to the kitchen windows. - Bees! A whole cloud is coming this way! - Carlos repeated as he hurriedly closed the balcony windows. In the living room, Ana and Luis interrupted their video game game when they heard their parents screaming. - What's going on? - Ana asked as she dropped the control to the floor. - Close the windows right now! - Maria ordered from the kitchen. Quick! The children ran to the nearest windows to close them, but they were not fast enough. Just as Ana was trying to close a window in the hallway, a group of bees managed to sneak through the open crack. Within seconds, the insects began to frantically fly all over the apartment. - Alas! I got stung! - Ana screamed as she let go of the window and ran to hide under the dining room table next to her brother. - Don't get out of there! - Carlos ordered them while grabbing a cushion from the sofa to try to scare away the insects. Maria took a towel that was hanging in the kitchen and began waving it frantically in the air to scare away the bees that were approaching her. - This is a disaster! - he exclaimed in despair as he dodged the insects that buzzed near his face. What do we do now? Carlos desperately opened the closet in the hallway and took out a can of insecticide that he had bought months ago. - I'm going to finish them off! - he said resolutely as he shook the boat. - Be careful! We don't want to make things worse — Maria warned her as she continued to wave the towel to protect herself. Chaos reigned in the apartment for several minutes that seemed eternal. The bees were buzzing furiously, crashing into the walls and furniture, as the Rodriguez family bravely fought to protect themselves. The children remained hidden under the table, hugging and trembling with fear. Suddenly, the apartment doorbell rang. Carlos ran to the door cautiously and heard a voice on the other side. - I'm your neighbor from 8B! I heard the screams and called the fire brigade. They're on their way! Carlos sighed with relief and thanked the neighbor before returning inside to continue protecting his family as he could. Within minutes, a specialized team arrived at the building. Dressed in protective suits and equipped with special tools, they went up to the top floor and knocked on the door of the apartment. - Is everyone okay? - one of the firefighters asked as he entered. "Yes... more or less," Maria replied in a trembling voice as she pointed to the bees that were still flying around the room. Calmly and accurately, the firefighters began to work. They used a special vacuum cleaner to capture the bees without harming them and checked every corner of the apartment to make sure there were no hidden ones left. After a few minutes that seemed like hours for the Rodríguez's, they finally declared that everything was under control. That night, while they were resting after the scare, Carlos reflected out loud: - Who would have thought that something so small could cause so much chaos? Maria smiled faintly as she applied ointment on Ana and Luis' stings. "The important thing is that we are fine—" she said with relief. But I don't think I'll ever leave a window open again without thinking twice. The next day they discovered that everything had been caused by a hive formed on the roof of the building, just above their apartment. The extreme heat had disturbed the bees, causing their aggressive behavior. Although what happened was terrifying, the Rodríguez's learned a valuable lesson: never underestimate unexpected dangers and always be prepared for any unforeseen event... even if it comes flying with a deafening buzz. Source of the images. Image created with Starryai.