Honey

“Is he okay?”
“He is breathing. I think he is asleep.”
“Do you know what he is?”
“It is a human You morron. Oh! Go go go, he is moving!” says the bird, flapping off Sami’s chest.

Sami opens his eyes slowly and rubs them with the back of his hands. At first, he can only see light, a sunlight so bright it covers the whole world, turning everything it touches into gold. The leaves of the trees shimmer as they sway with the breeze. The tall grass dances softly. The flowers sparkle in every color he can imagine. And right in front of him stretches a lake so huge and shining, it looks as if it is made of melted gold.

On the surface of that golden lake, pink frogs hop from leaf to leaf, their shiny skins glimmering. Not far away, three ducks swim in circles, their feathers silver like moonlight. Sami blinks, trying to take it all in. It is like a garden, but not just any garden. It is perfect, too perfect. Every tree, every bush, every flower seems placed just right, as if someone has painted paradise and asked him to step inside.

Then he notices what he is sitting on. A giant chair. Not any chair. A golden chair so big it looks like it belongs to a king. Its top sparkles with red and green diamonds. On one side of the chair, two birds are standing, watching him with curious little eyes, almost as if they are judges deciding what to think of him.

Still dizzy, Sami stands up and begins to walk toward the lake.
“Where is he going now?” asks one of the birds in a grumpy voice.
“I think he is going to the lake,” answers the other, in a younger, lighter tone.

Sami freezes and turns around quickly. “You can talk??” he asks, his eyes wide open.
“Yeah, what did you think? Only humans can talk?” snaps the grumpy bird.
Sami walks closer, amazed. “Sorry, I just never saw birds talking before.”
“Of course you didn’t. Humans talk too much and never listen,” says the grumpy bird, shaking his wings as if annoyed already.
“Ah, don’t mind him,” the younger bird says quickly. “My name is Bar, and this is Birou. And who are you?”
“My name is Sami,” he replies, still staring at them and then looking around at the shining place. “What is this place? It is so beautiful.”
“It is a garden! Don’t you have eyes?” barks Birou.

Sami laughs, shaking his head, and walks over to the lake. He bends down and dips his finger into the water. But it is not water. It is thick, golden, shining. He touches it, raises it to his lips, and tastes it. Honey. The most delicious honey he has ever tasted in his life.

The two birds fly and land beside him, watching closely. Birou keeps glaring at him as if he dislikes everything the boy does, while Bar tilts his head, curious, trying to understand every move. Sami dips his finger again and holds it out.
Bar leans forward and licks it carefully. “Ohh… that is very delicious!” he says, eyes sparkling.
Sami laughs and turns to Birou. “Want some?”
Birou jumps back with a disgusted squawk. “Move your dirty finger away from my face!”
Sami and Bar both laugh, licking the honey happily, while Birou puffs up and shakes his head like the world’s angriest featherball.

Suddenly, from far away, a voice echoes. “Hello? Can someone hear me???”
Sami stands up quickly. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?” asks Bar.
Sami looks around, silent, holding his breath. Then the voice comes again, softer but desperate. “Hello, I can hear you. Do you hear me? Please, I need help.”
“There! That voice! Did you hear it now?” cries Sami, spinning in circles.
Birou taps his wing against his head, rolling his eyes. “The boy is crazy,” he mutters.
“No, I’m not crazy!” Sami shouts. “I hear her! A girl’s voice!” He cups his hands around his mouth and shouts. “Hello! Where are you?”
The answer comes back, trembling. “I don’t know. It’s dark here. There is a big door, but it is locked. Please, please help me!”

 “Is there anything else you can see?” Sami asks, running across the grass, searching.
“No… it’s empty. Only dark walls. But… wait… sticky water is dripping from the roof…”
Sami’s eyes widen. “Sticky? Is it honey?”
The girl sniffs. Then, hesitating, she touches it, and Sami can almost hear her face twist. Then comes a small scream. “Yes! It’s honey! Very delicious honey…” She giggles nervously.
Sami looks at the golden lake in front of him, then at a tree standing far across. “You must be close…!”

The two birds fly beside his head, Birou glaring as usual. “Humans are very weird,” Birou says. “He talks to empty air like it is his friend.”
“No, really!” Sami shouts at them. “She’s real! A human girl! She needs help!”
Bar flies high above the trees, scanning every corner, but sees nothing unusual. Birou stays on the ground, grumbling louder than ever. But then Bar swoops back down. “You said honey, right? Maybe… maybe that frog can help.”

Sami turns. On a lily pad, a plump pink frog with giant round eyes is staring at him.
Sami walks closer and says, “Hi… please help me.”
The frog tilts his head, blinking slowly. “Help you? Whooo aaaarrree you?” he croaks.
“My name is Sami,” he says quickly. “And you? What’s your name?”
“My name is Kirmit,” says the frog in a deep croak, turning around slowly.
Sami gasps. “Wait… you are not Kermit the Frog! Now are you?”
“No no no,” says the frog quickly. “My dad named me after him. I’m Kirmit. With an i.” Sami smiles nervously. “Oh… okay. Listen, Kirmit, I need your help. There’s a girl trapped somewhere nearby. She says it’s all dark. She says there’s honey dripping from the roof and a locked door. Please, can you help me find her?”
Kirmit blinks his big eyes, then hops onto another leaf, then another, then another, moving fast across the lake.
“Hey, please help me!” Sami shouts after him, stumbling along the shore.
The frog glances back, puffing his cheeks. “What do you think I’m doing, aerobics? I am helping! Hold your human horses!” He keeps hopping, splashing honey drops with each leap.
Finally, he stops at the far side, near a tall tree. He turns and croaks, “Ta-da! See? A door in the back of this tree. You’re welcome.”
Sami’s face lights up. “We found it! We found the door!” he shouts.
The girl’s voice comes again, shaky. “Please come fast. I’m scared. The honey is covering the floor.”
“I’m coming!” Sami promises.

He jumps into the honey lake. But the honey is thick, too thick. He tries to swim, but it holds him, pulling him down. He pushes and pushes, but his arms grow tired. He starts to sink.
“Let’s help him!” shouts Bar.
The two birds grab his shirt with their little claws and try to pull. Kirmit stretches his long tongue and wraps it around Sami’s arm. They pull together, wings flapping, tongue straining, but Sami is too heavy.
Then, with a shimmer, the three silver ducks swim fast toward him. They push with their beaks, paddling strongly, guiding Sami across the honey lake. Together, all the animals work, and finally, Sami reaches the other side, dripping with honey from head to toe.
He laughs, hugging Bar, hugging Kirmit, patting the ducks. Even Birou, who has helped without wanting to, flutters angrily and smacks Sami with his wing. “Stay away from me, human!”
Sami only laughs harder.

He runs to the tree and pushes against the hidden door. Once. Twice. Three times. Finally, the door cracks open, revealing a long, spiral staircase that goes down, down, endlessly into darkness.
“I’m inside!” Sami calls.
“Your voice… it’s closer now,” says the girl softly.

Sami begins running down. The stairs twist forever, his feet slipping on the honey he leaves behind. But as the sunlight from above reflects off it, the whole stairway begins to glow. The dark turns golden, lighting his way.

At the bottom, Sami finds a great hall. Honey drips from every wall, from the roof, from cracks in the stone. He realizes this place is under the lake. It trembles as if it can collapse any second.
“I’m here!” he shouts at a door.
On the other side, the girl’s voice is clear now. “I can hear you. Please open it!”
Sami throws himself at the door again and again, but it does not open. He stops to catch his breath, pressing his ear against the wood.
“The door is too strong. It won’t open,” he says, his voice cracking with worry.
From the other side, her voice comes small but brave. “What can we do?”

Sami looks down. The floor beneath him is soft, sticky with honey. He kicks at it and notices the ground gives way a little. His eyes light up. “Wait! The floor is soft! What if we dig? You dig from your side, I’ll dig from mine, and maybe we can meet in the middle!”
There is a pause. Then her voice answers, hopeful. “Okay, I’ll try!”

Sami drops to his knees and begins scooping with his hands, pushing sticky honey-soaked dirt aside. As he works, he shouts, “What’s your name?”
“I’m Celine,” comes the answer, a little muffled. “And you?”
“My name is Sami,” he says proudly. “How did you get in there?”
“I don’t know,” she says between scoops. “I remember I was watching Pippi Longstocking. Then I woke up here. It was dark, and I was scared… then I heard voices. I think it was you and your friends.”
Sami pauses, his hands sticky, his heart beating fast. “That’s strange… because before I came here, I was hugging my mom. Then I opened my eyes and I was in the garden.”

For a moment neither of them speaks, only the sound of digging and dripping honey fills the air.
“Do you think we’ll get out?” Celine asks softly.
“Yes,” says Sami. “We’ll dig a hole, and when you come out, you’ll meet my friends. They’re birds and frogs and ducks, and they all talk.”
Celine giggles. “Talking ducks? That’s funny.”
“They really do!” Sami laughs. “But one bird is very grumpy. He doesn’t like me.”
From all the way up Birou squawks, “You’re right about that!”
Celine laughs even louder. “Then I’ll make him like you.”
Sami smiles wide, his sticky hands digging faster. “See? We’re already friends.”
“Yes,” says Celine softly. “Thank you, Sami.”

But just as the words leave her mouth, the ground shakes. Pieces of the roof above her crack and fall. Honey pours down faster, turning into a waterfall.
“Help! Sami, the room is filling too fast!” Celine screams.
Sami’s eyes go wide. “No, no, stay with me! I’ll break this door down if I have to!” He stands, shoulders shaking, and begins ramming the door again, harder than ever.
“Please hurry,” says the girl, panicking. “The honey is rising, I can’t breathe.”

Sami slams against the door with all his strength. Once, twice, three times. “Stay with me, Celine! I’m coming!”
Nothing works. Honey surges higher. Celine’s voice grows weaker. “Hurry… please…”
Then Bar, Birou, Kirmit, and the ducks rush down the stairs. They press their tiny bodies against the door beside Sami. All together they push, feathers and flippers and little froggy legs straining. Sami yells, “One more! One more!”
CRACK. The door bursts open. A flood of honey explodes out, sweeping everyone off their feet. Sami grabs at the wall, holding Bar with one hand, then sees Birou drowning. He lets go of safety to grab him too. The current slams them all down the honey-slick stairs. Rocks crash. Honey roars. Sami shields the birds with his body, taking the blows himself, until everything goes dark.

When he wakes, golden light shines on his face again. He is back on the giant throne. Bar and Birou are by his side, Kirmit and the ducks in front. And next to him, holding his hand, is the prettiest angel he has ever seen. Celine.
“You saved me once. I saved you once. Now we’re equal,” she says, laughing softly.
“Huh?” Sami blinks, confused.
“She saved you, you moron,” grumbles Birou, pecking him on the arm.
“Ouch!” Sami laughs, turning to Celine. “Thank you, miss.” He holds out his hand. She smiles shyly and reaches for it.

As soon as their fingers touch, light bursts between them, blasting them far away while everything around them melts into gold.

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