I could barely get down the long staircase that led to Grandma’s backyard. Which became my favorite part of her house. It was our summer retreat. There, together with my brother and cousins, we played hide and seek and whatever else our imagination could conjure up.

It was the first summer I lived in the “shelter” and little did I know that near the end of it Grandpa’s bees would be coming.

I woke up to shouts, horns honking from a big truck moving the hives. The older ones told me that they were full of bees that if they jumped on us they would sting us so badly we would die. I got scared, of course, and started crying while they laughed.

Until Grandpa pulled a couple of ears , took me by the hand and pulled me down telling me not to be afraid. And then for the first time in my life I saw Grandpa’s fragrant honey flowing out of a big barrel, golden blond, for the first time in my life. Now the shelter smelled of honey and wax. A smell that has scarred me. Come take your finger here Grandpa told me putting my hand under the golden waterfall. I placed my hand staying looking at Grandma who sat across from me smiling and cleaning a honeycomb from the wax. ‘She kissed my mother… I hesitantly put my finger in my mouth and I can still feel that taste that was new to me.

My grandfather laughed when he saw my expression and lifted me up and said “well done, my honey. See? What are you afraid of? Isn’t it nice? I didn’t answer, I just opened my palm and put it all under the magic tap. I was happy until I felt that loud pinch on my bottom. I screamed so loud I think the whole village heard me. Grandfather laughed and told me it was nothing daughter and deftly pulled the sting. You were welcomed by a bee.

I didn’t understand this welcome and continued to cry until Grandma shoved a piece of honeycomb in my mouth. Chew my love well and the pain will be sweetened. And sweeten the pain especially after I ate Grandma’s honey pies. So what if my cousins and my brother were laughing at the sting in the butt. It was all so sweet. And Grandpa lifted me up again and said, “Go on, you’ve had your first baptism of honey. My melenia.

Melitine I said and that was it. Established.