bee-you-ti-full comic

Clan Apis comic #5

I have been missing my friend who gave me the book Clan Apis, which had a different cover than the one shown above.  I remember him telling me about bits of it...the Swahili word for bee, the sister stuff...and in retrospect, I think he could tell that I wasn't bonding with the book. After many years, I gave it away without ever reading it. But my friend was wise. Ten years later, this would be the perfect book for me to read. And its message is even more of a gift in coming from a friend who has left this mode of existence. I felt a pang when I opened the library copy, knowing I had given my gift away, but I do believe that I wound up reading this story at exactly the right time.