MagiStream

I write a lot in my own time and often follow prompts to write short stories. This will be where I post the short stories I'm proud of, and the prompts I used if applicable. Feel free to write your own short stories here, either using the prompts I've used or your own! And, if you're writing about an event you witnessed or that happened, provide some context if you'd like

Now, onto the prompts and short stories!

Would you rather be stung by 100 bees once a month for the rest of your life, or go bald and never be able to grow hair ever again?

To Ted, the answer had seemed easy. He had beautiful, luscious hair that he couldn’t imagine living without. In fact, his hair was the one thing that kept people from not looking away in disgust whenever they saw him. It was his greatest physical trait.

Although he had never been stung by a bee before, Ted didn’t think it would be that painful. He had endured both a broken nose and arm before and was solid on his notion that those were the most two painful events of his life. He imagined getting stung was no more painful than a quick pinch of a needle, which was something he had gone through many times either at the hospital… or when he was… somewhere else.

Even so, it’s not like this was an actual question that, once answered, would automatically come true. But it did get the gears in Ted’s head turning. What does a bee sting feel like? Both of Ted’s two closest friends, Chris and Nathan, had both been stung by bees on multiple occasions. Nathan, who usually played up the severity of any situation, had said that it was one of the most painful experiences of his life. Chris, on the other hand, had told Ted that it wasn’t that bad.

Ted stood up from his very high-tech gaming chair, stretched, then checked his phone before going for a walk outside. He had been craving the crisp fall air all day, but because of his busy schedule, hadn’t been able to leave his house yet.

It was the beginning of fall, the best time, when it was still warm enough to go outside without a coat, but just chilly enough that a t-shirt would not suffice. Luckily, Ted was wearing a blue, pink, and green pastel tye-dye crew neck shirt. The perfect option for a day like this.

He strolled around the sidewalks of the town he lived in, taking in the familiar scenery around him. The trees were starting to change from their regular green to different reds, oranges, and yellows. Ted hated the cold. He hated being cold. Just the thought of winter was enough to make him shiver. But the trees were pretty, and watching all the flowers and other plant life around him die made up for it slightly.

Many of the flowers were already starting to wilt, but there was a group of three or four pansies growing right on the edge of the sidewalk. Out of impulse, Ted kicked them.

He hadn’t noticed the small bee that had been flying around them. Not until it flew under his pant leg and stung his ankle.

Ted let out a quick yelp, moreso out of surprise and confusion than of pain. He quickly got the bee to fly out of his pants, without giving it another chance to sting him. Once that had been accomplished, Ted walked back home.

It was only once he had gotten back that he felt a bit of a hot flash coming on. Considering he wasn’t going into menopause, Ted could only think to reason that it was caused by the sudden change in temperature from the outside to inside his house. Either way, he decided to sit down on his sofa.

That’s when it hit him that he had been stung by a bee. He had been too focused on getting back home again that he hadn’t truly processed the fact that he had beaten that dumb little yellow thing. He could now proudly announce to Chris and Nathan that he had been stung and that he could confidently confirm that it was not as painful as Nathan had made it out to be.

Ted cleared his throat. It felt a bit like it was closing in around itself, making it hard to breathe. He tried taking a few deep breaths, but that only seemed to make it worse. He tried clearing it again, but before he could focus too much more on his breathing problems, he started to feel really itchy. At first, it was just around his ankle, right where the bee had stung him, but it soon spread to seemingly everywhere else on his body.

He was now a gasping, itching mess spread out on his sofa. His eyes began to swell, and everything around him became blurry. He felt his life coming to a close. He wasn’t sure what to think.

The truth was, Ted had been deathly allergic to bee stings. He wouldn’t have survived a day if the would you rather had come true. He couldn’t even survive a day when one bee stung him. But alas, silly Ted didn’t know this information.

That is why it is important to never underestimate the power of the bee.

Thank you.