I Ran Naked With Wasps!

Strands of long blonde hair dusted across my pre-teen shoulders with each movement. A perpetual smirk rested on my face almost as though I had a secret that nobody knows. People often described me as someone who is just happy to be useful. I liked this description however my foolish need for approval masked my view on the world; it still remained a wonderful mystery.

The morning broke; sunlight beamed through the red football printed curtains and formed streaks of pink light onto the walls. My eyelids break open and I inhale a deep breath. My smile forms as the youthful feeling of my torso strain as my arms reach out grasping air. The excitement of a new day lifts me out of bed and into the upright position. A quick pit stop to the bathroom for the briefest of routine and then back to the bedroom. Glancing out of the window; sounds fill the room as I push the glass open. Children filling the streets and fields. Playing, shouting and riding around on their bikes. The fields opposite the house were long and green. The perfect habitat for a growing adventurer. “Today’s going to be a good day” I exclaim without any knowledge of the word cliché. The negativity usually swarming inside my brain by now was locked up tight. Not today, not with the sunshine and freedom I had been feeling. I quickly dress myself; Tracksuit bottoms and a pink t-shirt, and just like that I was out of the door to meet up with my friends.

A large grassy field mirrored by a longer field separated by only a single road. My friends playing football on one side and the older kids across the other. One friend named Anthony beckoned me over towards the mirrored field away from our friends. Anthony is a younger child who often finds himself acting on compulsion and instinct. His instincts however are always way off. “I’ve got something to show you.” He announces. My brain flashes imagery of each time I’ve heard those words from coming from his mouth. They were always followed by a shock to the system. This however would become the height of his genus. As I approached the crazed child he turns and points over towards his hedge, witch ran along the trim of the mirrored field. He lowers his finger as I draw closer. Once I reach him my eyes follow the invisible laser produced by my mind extending out of his finger. He is pointing at what looks like some form of popped balls piled on top of one another. The words that follow hook my young feeble mind. “Bees!!!!!, and they’ve all left so there’s bound to be honey.” I do not understand why my brain takes his word as fact, or why those words defused any warning signals, however my heart fills with joy and I've got an opportunity to get a closer look. I crouch and move in, a meter away now from the possible honey hive and the small buzzing begins. Somethings not right here shouts my brain. Whoosh, a small black blur whizzes past my head. “What are you doing?” I shout but it was too late. A second rock flew by and it was a direct hit. BZZZZZZZZ surrounding me, buzzing and a laughing from ant. “Ouch” I moan. A sting on my leg then another on my side. These are no bees I think, oh no these are wasps. Angry shocked wasps who don't seem too thrilled by us being here. Wasps swarm my trousers and top, stingers are firing into my skin. Sharp scratches cutting my body like razor wire. The panic erupting and my body rushes to motion, I turn the street corner and begin running towards my home. A decision has to be made, the pain is so intense. I need freedom, so I did what any sane person would do. I strip, The top, then the trousers, boxers are my only layer and then I sprint.

The humility of running through your friends and family naked, screaming “the wasps are angry” wouldn’t settle in for days to come. A now fond memory of my childish antics. The day I ran naked with wasps