With language both moving and subtly terrifying, Kathleen M. Wright presents a picture of a girl dealing with frightening visions and escaping from a terrible reality into an imaginative fantasy that may be even more frightening. It’s at once horrifying and overwhelming but still reminiscent of fears and hopes perhaps all have experienced and forgotten as childhood gave way to adulthood.

Warning: This book contains disturbing and horrific content and is intended for mature audiences. Parents are strongly cautioned to listen to this material in order to determine if the subject matter is appropriate for a young adult in their care.

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She pointed as she cringed from the corner where the insects had swarmed before the light flashed on and made them disappear. She sobbed. “B-b-bees. There’re bees in the wall. They’re crawling out of the roses.” She was old enough to know how ridiculous it sounded, but her body was still shaking and she could feel things crawling on her skin.

His face was instantly furious. “What the...?” He smacked his hand on her wall, making her jump. “There are no damn bees, Misty! Look! No! Damn! Bees!” He beat the wall wildly up, down and then everywhere.

Then her mother appeared and Misty was allowed to cry loudly and demand attention. Her mom pulled her into her safe arms and she finally let her sobs loose. She squeezed her tired eyes closed tightly, keeping more away than the possible sight of fat, hairy bees.

Misty’s mother held her a moment longer before her father pulled her back and then pushed her out of the room, but not before she blew frantic air kisses to her only daughter still shaking in her bed and still feeling the kiss of the bees’ wings as clearly as she sometimes felt the final breath of the old lady who had lived and died in the middle of the same heavy pink garden.

“Go back to sleep. You were dreaming. It’s nothing.” She tried to ignore her father’s voice, focusing on her empty doorway, willing her mom to come back and defend her.

Then the light was off.