“What’s this?” I ask warily, looking at the flower offered to me. Katie, one of my students, smiles cheekily and shoves the flower into my hands. Hiro and I look at each other at the same time, and he shrugs in confusion at my bewildered gaze.
“The master told me to give it to you.” Katie says matter-of-factly before scampering off to play with the rest of her classmates.
“Um, Hiro, why would your dad give me a flower?” I hold the flower out in between us, and it droops almost comically. “Where did he even get such a sorry-looking thing?”
“I don’t know. I don’t understand what my dad’s thinking.” Hiro looks away from the thing.
I laugh as a sudden thought pops into my head. “Don’t tell me he plucked it from the vases around here.”
Hiro laughs too as he amiably replies, “Maybe.”
I smile up at him, for this is the first civil conversation we’ve had in a while. Usually we verbally spar and make mean-spirited jabs at each other, but perhaps this flower is our peacemaker.
Katie comes running back, looking rather excited and important. “The-the master told me that,” here she stops to take a deep breath, “later on in the performance, Hiro’s supposed to slap the flower out of your hands, and that’s how the fight begins. And also,” she carefully takes out a larger, more alive-looking flower from where she had stashed it, “the master got you a better flower.”
At a loss for words, I take the larger flower. “What will I do with this then?” I offer the first, punier flower to Hiro.
“Throw it, I guess.” Hiro shrugs infuriatingly again.
Smiling devilishly, I tuck the flower into his hair. “There you go.” I laugh. “Pretty as a flower.” He musses up his hair, looking ruefully at me, and I watch the dying flower float to the ground.
Purple, white, and gold. There exists a legend of a flower so pure and full of magic that it can cure any illnesses. Legend also speaks of a tiny fairy that lives inside the flower. Do not let her size fool you though, for she too possesses great powers, powers that can raise great kings or topple kingdoms.
Over the years, kings and warlords have sent out armies to search of the flower and its fairy. None were ever successful. To this day, none who have searched for them have found the enchanted flower or the powerful fairy that reside in it. There are those who believe that perhaps neither the flower nor the fairy had ever existed to begin with, but everyone knows that all legends and myths start out with some truths in them.
“What’s this?” I ask warily, looking at the flower offered to me. Katie, one of my students, smiles cheekily and shoves the flower into my hands. Hiro and I look at each other at the same time, and he shrugs in confusion at my bewildered gaze.
ReplyDelete“The master told me to give it to you.” Katie says matter-of-factly before scampering off to play with the rest of her classmates.
“Um, Hiro, why would your dad give me a flower?” I hold the flower out in between us, and it droops almost comically. “Where did he even get such a sorry-looking thing?”
“I don’t know. I don’t understand what my dad’s thinking.” Hiro looks away from the thing.
I laugh as a sudden thought pops into my head. “Don’t tell me he plucked it from the vases around here.”
Hiro laughs too as he amiably replies, “Maybe.”
I smile up at him, for this is the first civil conversation we’ve had in a while. Usually we verbally spar and make mean-spirited jabs at each other, but perhaps this flower is our peacemaker.
Katie comes running back, looking rather excited and important. “The-the master told me that,” here she stops to take a deep breath, “later on in the performance, Hiro’s supposed to slap the flower out of your hands, and that’s how the fight begins. And also,” she carefully takes out a larger, more alive-looking flower from where she had stashed it, “the master got you a better flower.”
At a loss for words, I take the larger flower. “What will I do with this then?” I offer the first, punier flower to Hiro.
“Throw it, I guess.” Hiro shrugs infuriatingly again.
Smiling devilishly, I tuck the flower into his hair. “There you go.” I laugh. “Pretty as a flower.” He musses up his hair, looking ruefully at me, and I watch the dying flower float to the ground.
The Legend
ReplyDeletePurple, white, and gold. There exists a legend of a flower so pure and full of magic that it can cure any illnesses. Legend also speaks of a tiny fairy that lives inside the flower. Do not let her size fool you though, for she too possesses great powers, powers that can raise great kings or topple kingdoms.
Over the years, kings and warlords have sent out armies to search of the flower and its fairy. None were ever successful. To this day, none who have searched for them have found the enchanted flower or the powerful fairy that reside in it. There are those who believe that perhaps neither the flower nor the fairy had ever existed to begin with, but everyone knows that all legends and myths start out with some truths in them.