The dream is of the hive.

You are inside the wax.

Hot. Sticky. Golden.

The bees are not bees.

They are needles.

They are teeth.

You wake in the dark.

The air is cold.

Your hands shake.

You are in the cellar.

The light is weak.

A single bulb.

Flickering.

Dust motes dance.

They are gold.

You stare at them.

They settle on your skin.

You do not move.

You are Thomas.

You are old.

Your back hurts.

You are a man who speaks to the dead.

Or so the town thinks.

They call you the Medium.

They throw coins in your cup.

They beg for names.

They beg for dates.

You give them nothing.

You keep your silence.

You keep your gold.

The gold is in the jars.

Honey.

It is not money.

It is life.

It is the only thing that tastes sweet.

You are poor.

The rent is due.

The landlord, Mr. Vane, is at the door.

He is tall.

He is thin.

He smells of soap.

He smells of clean shirts.

He does not smell of honey.

He does not smell of death.

"Thomas," he says.

His voice is flat.

A stone in a well.

"The month is past."

You say nothing.

You look at the floor.

The floor is bare wood.

It is cold.

"I have no money," you say.

Your voice is dry.

It is the sound of leaves skittering.

Vane steps inside.

The door slams.

The door is heavy.

It shakes the walls.

The jars rattle.

The honey sloshes.

A wave of amber light.

It is beautiful.

It is terrifying.

"You have the honey," Vane says.

He points.

His finger is a bone.

"The bees are yours. The hives are yours. Sell it. Eat it. Do what you will. But you must pay."

You nod.

You do not speak.

You cannot speak.

Words are useless.

Words are thorns.

Vane leaves.

The door closes.

The silence returns.

It is thick.

It is heavy.

You walk to the jars.

You touch the glass.

It is cold.

Inside, the honey is still.

It is gold.

It is life.

You open a jar.

You dip your finger in.

You taste it.

It is sweet.

It is thick.

It is the taste of the hive.

It is the taste of the dream.

You close the jar.

You must make a choice.

You must feed the bees.

The winter is coming.

The frost is on the window.

The bees need warmth.

They need sugar.

You have no sugar.

You have no food.

You have only the honey.

If you eat it, you live.

The bees die.

If you give it to them, they live.

You die.

This is the ritual.

This is the golden ritual.

You have done it before.

You have always done it.

But this time, it is different.

This time, you are afraid.

You are afraid of the dark.

You are afraid of the cold.

You are afraid of the end.

You are a man.

You are not a god.

You are not a saint.

You are just a man.

You sit on the floor.

The jars surround you.

A ring of gold.

A halo of light.

You close your eyes.

You think of your mother.

She is in the ground.

The ground is cold.

She is in the dark.

She was kind.

She was quiet.

She smelled of lavender.

She smelled of rain.

She is gone.

You are here.

You are alone.

You open your eyes.

The light is fading.

The sun is setting.

The shadows grow long.

The shadows reach for you.

They are hungry.

They are cold.

You stand up.

Your knees crack.

You pick up the jars.

They are heavy.

They are warm.

You carry them to the hives.

The hives are in the back.

In the corner.

They are dark.

They are silent.

You open the first lid.

The bees are still.

They are waiting.

You pour the honey.

It flows.

It is a river of gold.

It is a river of life.

The bees stir.

They wake.

They buzz.

The sound is soft.

The sound is sweet.

It is the sound of survival.

It is the sound of hope.

You pour the second jar.

The third.

The fourth.

Your arms ache.

Your heart aches.

You are empty.

You are hollow.

You are a shell.

The last jar is empty.

You set it down.

It clatters.

The sound is sharp.

The sound is final.

You look at the hives.

They are full.

They are warm.

They are alive.

You are hungry.

You are cold.

You are alone.

You walk back to the door.

Your steps are slow.

Your steps are heavy.

You open the door.

The cold rushes in.

It bites your face.

It bites your hands.

You step out.

The night is dark.

The stars are out.

They are far.

They are cold.

They are indifferent.

You walk to the street.

The street is empty.

The houses are dark.

The windows are black eyes.

Watching.

Judging.

You are a ghost.

You are a shadow.

You are a man who gave away his life.

For what?

For the bees.

For the gold.

For the ritual.

You do not know.

You do not care.

You are tired.

You are so tired.

You sit on a bench.

The wood is wet.

The wood is cold.

You wrap your coat around you.

It is thin.

It is useless.

You close your eyes.

You dream again.

The hive.

The gold.

The needles.

The teeth.

But this time, the pain is gone.

This time, the sweetness remains.

You are the honey.

You are the gold.

You are the life.

You give it all.

You give it all.

You give it all.

A light in the distance.

A car.

Headlights.

They approach.

They stop.

A door opens.

Footsteps.

You do not open your eyes.

You are too tired.

You are too cold.

The person stops in front of you.

They are tall.

They are thin.

They smell of soap.

They smell of clean shirts.

"Thomas?"

The voice is flat.

The voice is Vane.

You do not move.

You do not speak.

You are dead.

You are alive.

It is the same.

Vane kneels.

His knees crack.

His voice is soft.

"I am sorry," he says.

You do not hear.

You are in the hive.

You are in the gold.

You are in the dark.

The dark is warm.

The dark is sweet.

The dark is home.

You are the bee.

You are the wax.

You are the honey.

You are the gold.

You are the ritual.

The end is the beginning.

The beginning is the end.

You are free.

You are empty.

You are full.

You are nothing.

You are everything.

The light fades.

The sound fades.

The cold fades.

The pain fades.

Only the sweetness remains.

Only the gold remains.

Only the life remains.

You are the golden ritual.

You are the sacrifice.

You are the redemption.

You are the truth.

You are the lie.

You are the dream.

You are the wake.

You are the man.

You are the beast.

You are the god.

You are the dust.

You are the star.

You are the earth.

You are the sky.

You are the air.

You are the fire.

You are the water.

You are the stone.

You are the tree.

You are the leaf.

You are the root.

You are the seed.

You are the fruit.

You are the flower.

You are the bee.

You are the hive.

You are the gold.

You are the life.

You are the death.

You are the sleep.

You are the waking.

You are the dream.

You are the truth.

You are the lie.

You are the silence.

You are the sound.

You are the light.

You are the dark.

You are the cold.

You are the heat.

You are the hunger.

You are the fullness.

You are the pain.

You are the pleasure.

You are the fear.

You are the courage.

You are the love.

You are the hate.

You are the joy.

You are the sorrow.

You are the hope.

You are the despair.

You are the faith.

You are the doubt.

You are the belief.

You are the disbelief.

You are the knowing.

You are the not knowing.

You are the seeing.

You are the not seeing.

You are the hearing.

You are the not hearing.

You are the feeling.

You are the not feeling.

You are the thinking.

You are the not thinking.

You are the being.

You are the not being.

You are the is.

You are the is not.

You are the was.

You are the was not.

You are the will be.

You are the will not be.

You are the can be.

You are the cannot be.

You are the should be.

You are the should not be.

You are the must be.

You are the must not be.

You are the may be.

You are the may not be.

You are the could be.

You are the could not be.

You are the would be.

You are the would not be.

You are the had been.

You are the had not been.

You are the was being.

You are the was not being.

You are the had been being.

You are the had not been being.

You are the will have been.

You are the will not have been.

You are the would have been.

You are the would not have been.

You are the could have been.

You are the could not have been.

You are the should have been.

You are the should not have been.

You are the might have been.

You are the might not have been.

You are the must have been.

You are the must not have been.

You are the shall be.

You are the shall not be.

You are the shall have been.

You are the shall not have been.

You are the let be.

You are the let not be.

You are the let have been.

You are the let not have been.

You are the be.

You are the not be.

You are the have been.

You are the not have been.

You are the is.

You are the is not.

You are the am.

You are the am not.

You are the are.

You are the are not.

You are the was.

You are the was not.

You are the were.

You are the were not.

You are the will be.

You are the will not be.

You are the would be.

You are the would not be.

You are the can be.

You are the cannot be.

You are the could be.

You are the could not be.

You are the shall be.

You are the shall not be.

You are the should be.

You are the should not be.

You are the may be.

You are the may not be.

You are the might be.

You are the might not be.

You are the must be.

You are the must not be.

You are the let be.

You are the let not be.

You are the have been.

You are the have not been.

You are the had been.

You are the had not been.

You are the will have been.

You are the will not have been.

You are the would have been.

You are the would not have been.

You are the can have been.

You are the cannot have been.

You are the could have been.

You are the could not have been.

You are the shall have been.

You are the shall not have been.

You are the should have been.

You are the should not have been.

You are the may have been.

You are the may not have been.

You are the might have been.

You are the might not have been.

You are the must have been.

You are the must not have been.

You are the let have been.

You are the let not have been.

You are the be.

You are the not be.

You are the is.

You are the is not.

You are the am.

You are the am not.

You are the are.

You are the are not.

You are the was.

You are the was not.

You are the were.

You are the were not.

You are the will be.

You are the will not be.

You are the would be.

You are the would not be.

You are the can be.

You are the cannot be.

You are the could be.

You are the could not be.

You are the shall be.

You are the shall not be.

You are the should be.

You are the should not be.

You are the may be.

You are the may not be.

You are the might be.

You are the might not be.

You are the must be.

You are the must not be.

You are the let be.

You are the let not be.

You are the have been.

You are the have not been.

You are the had been.

You are the had not been.

You are the will have been.

You are the will not have been.

You are the would have been.

You are the would not have been.

You are the can have been.

You are the cannot have been.

You are the could have been.

You are the could not have been.

You are the shall have been.

You are the shall not have been.

You are the should have been.

You are the should not have been.

You are the may have been.

You are the may not have been.

You are the might have been.

You are the might not have been.

You are the must have been.

You are the must not have been.

You are the let have been.

You are the let not have been.