Back at The Apiary, Kala playfully spends time with Punkin while teaching about herbology by showing flowers, nuts, berries, and leaf shapes, "...nuts, leaves or roots, know what to look for... hedera helix... shepherdia argentea... sometimes we use roots and bulbs which are these small things. Other times we boil leaves, smash, or rub them. Then there are flowers which we can boil too..."

Intrigued by the pretty flowers, Punkin starts reaching for a purple flower "Oooh it's so pretty, can I have it?"

"Yes you can my dear, it looks pretty on you and matches your hair. Just make sure to not rub your eyes after touching it."

"Can we eat these?" Punkin asks as she smells the flowers and nuts displayed on the table.

Responding warmly, Kala looks Punkin in the eyes, "We do not eat anything I show you right now. They will kill you. They are also bad for all the fish and animals that live in water... so please be careful not to use it near water."

"Then, what will we use these for?" Punkin asks as she tosses the flowers and nuts in the air, just to watch them fall.

"I will teach you how to make the best and strongest bubbles ever. This is what your mother taught me and I will teach it to you."

"You knew my mommy?" Punkin asks with deep curiosity and earnestness.

"Yes I did, and I loved her like a sister. I still know her, and will always love her." Kala responds softly as she looks off into the distance.

"I am mad at her…I don't love her" pouts Punkin, breaking Kala's pensive moment.

Sighing, Kala responds with a consoling smile, "My darling, you can be mad at people and still love them."

"Do you get mad at me?" Punkin asks, with a bit of confusion.

"Yes, sometimes, and I will always love you more than I can ever be mad at you." responds Kala as she picks Punkin up onto her lap.

Leaning in to touch her forehead to Punkin's forehead, Kala raises an eyebrow, and inquires "So why are you mad at your mother anyway?"

"She left me and never came back. She forgot about me." pouts Punkin.

Chuckling warmly, Kala reassures Punkin, "Nobody can ever forget about you. Your mother would never leave you if she never had to."

With tears forming in her eyes and a quivering voice, Punkin asks, "How do you know?"

Holding Punkin tightly in an embrace, Kala responds "Because she loved you more than life itself..."

Pulling out a vial and catching Punkin's tears as they begin to slide down her cheeks, Kala points to Punkin's heart to reassure Punkin, "You feel that ache and pain there? That's her saying she misses you too and she will always be a part of you."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Nodding in understanding, Punkin embraces Kala tightly and begins falling asleep in Kala's arms as Kala hums a soft tune.

-break-

Waking up in bed without Kala in sight, Punkin begins looking around frantically. Panicking, Punkin jumps out of bed and runs out of the house crying and yelling, "Baaaabbaaaaaa!!!"

Approaching the house wearing a beekeeper jumpsuit, Kala puts her hands on her hips and leans forward to greet Punkin, "Well, what is all the fuss about? I haven't left you. I'm just collecting more honey to deliver to our friends."

Standing in the doorway, Punkin continues whimpering while rubbing her eyes to adjust to waking up.

Kala reaches into her pouch and pulls out another empty tear vial to catch Punkin’s tears, "Now now, don't wipe those tears, you'll waste them. You want to go visit some of our dear friends? They met you when you were still a baby, and some met you when you started walking, so you might not remember them."

With a flick of Kala's wrist and some barely audible garbled words, Punkin's tears float over to Kala and land in the tear vial "There. We can save them in here for later"

Punkin laughs and screams with joy "Magic!!!! You are so good!! Teach me! I want to be good too. Daddy can’t hide the candy too high if I can do magic. I can do that and get any candy I want. Will our friends know magic too?"

"They sure will! Now be a darling and put your things in the bag on my motorbike. We will head out after I finish packing," Kala says as she nudges Punkin to the motorcycle. "If you want to learn magic, you will need to listen to our lessons and only then will you learn. Some lessons are taught in life, some are taught by life, and some are learned through books and sharing what we know."

Looking puzzled and distracted, Punkin points at the tear vial and asks, "Can I have that back? Tthose are mine."

"Yes. For now I will keep them safe for you until you need them. Go get a snack. Our first visit will be to the Akashic Athenaeum!"

Snapping her fingers, all the baggage shrinks into a silver ball and floats into Kala's pocket. Kala picks up Punkin and puts Punkin on the bee shaped motorcycle.

Looking at the motorcycle with fascination, Punkin notices the wheels are shaped like The Apiary logo- something she has never paid attention to before.

Turning on the motorcycle, large swarms of bees come out of the two large exhaust pipes at the end of the motorcycle and begin to surround them.

Assuring Punkin they won't be harmed by the bees, Kala says with amusement, "They are also magical. Aren't they majestic and beautiful? All life is magical."

Looking around at the bees with amazement, Punkin squeals, "Wow, You are doing magic too! You are magical bees! Please don't sting me with bee magic!"

Now barely visible in the center of the swarm of bees, Punkin and Kala ride off towards the path north of the house.

-break-

After riding for a couple hours, the mountain range that seemed so small in the distance begins to look bigger and bigger as Punkin and Kala steadily approach a tall tower.

In front of the tower stands a building with a translucent dome roof. Near the tower and the building with the dome roof sits a bridge that crosses over a calm river. Across the bridge stands a very large tree as wide and as tall as the tower. Below the tree sits a small river junction that splits the river in two.

Hopping off the bike, Kala points to the dome building, "Here we are- our first stop. That building shaped like it has a bubble is the Akashic Athenaeum! You'll get to see Arwyn- she is a real good friend of your father and your mother. She has some things to teach you before you get to play with magic."

Curiously, Punkin looks up and points, "What's the tall rock house?"

Without breaking her focus on the Akashic Athenaeum, Kala responds, "That's the scryers' tower. That is home to our other friends, the Mehti Gameehrs. Nobody has seen them for a little over two years, come to think of it. As a matter of fact, nobody saw them much before that either. We should visit them and see if they are okay."

Punkin then gawkingly drops her jaw and points at the large tree "Who lives in that? Can we play hide and seek there?"

Kala quickly cuts off Punkin at the mention of the tree, "Nothing lives there. Only sadness and death linger there."

Now amused and dancing, Punkin taunts Kala, "So nobody will find me there?!?!?!! Oooh I know where I am hiding."

Grinning, Kala responds to Punkin's taunt, "Actually that is true. Nobody will find you there, especially if the tree kills you..."

Without breaking her gaze at the tree and her eyes widening in terror, Punkin whispers back to Kala through the side of her mouth while still pointing at the tree, "The tree kills people??"

"Only if you upset it. So it's best we play on this side of the water. Also the bridge does have an actual rock troll so you can't get there anyway!" Kala says semi-jokingly.

Punkin retorts quickly "Trolls aren't real!"

Bending down to speak to Punkin, Kala says sternly, "Listen or you will definitely learn your lesson and find out the hard way, darling. Stay away from the tree. It is dangerous and you should not go there alone."

Taking a big gulp, Punkin turns away from the tree to look at the scryer's tower. With a look of unsatisfied curiosity, Punkin asks "Are they in the ground? Are they in trouble? Why can't they come out and play? How come nobody sees them?"

Putting her hand on Punkin's head and turning it to focus on the Akashic Athenaeum, Kala redirects Punkin's curiosity, "I don't think they are GROUNDED. Later we can ask them why they won't come out. But right now we need to see Arwyn inside that giant house of hers."

Together Punkin and Kala walk up to the large doors of the Akashic Athenaeum and knock.

Thump Thump Thump

Their knocking echoes as if it hit an empty chamber.

Silence.

Suddenly, loud rumbling shakes the ground as the doors slowly open. Punkin and Kala look at each other, take in deep breaths together, and walk through the open doors of the Akashic Athenaeum.