contest entry

Soft flowers were glimmering beneath Soleil’s feet like so many stars. The field around her was a constellation, a blanket of diamondine blooms on a duvet of velvet grass.

A breeze passed through it, catching her hair in delicate glowing streamers.

It caught something else, too.
To herself, she sang. Soft, but firmly, boldly. The wind echoed it across the meadow, sharing it indiscriminately with every blade of grass.

The flowers seemed to love it, admire it, adore it. Reaching towards her like begging children. “Oh, shh,” She said, pausing, letting them sag away from her, disappointed. “You all will get an even amount of my wonderful song. Okay? No pushing, or shoving or any rudeness.”

Like whispers, each petal and leaf settled back into proper positions, obedient. Yet still tense, far too excited for what she was going to give them.

“Good,” said Soleil. “Very good. Now, let’s try that again, okay?”

Clearing her throat, she tried again. From the beginning.

Stronger, much bolder, much braver. It didn’t need the wind to travel, her voice projecting from her mere force of will.

The words didn’t mean anything to people who were not plants. Complex and simple, formless and flowing. Like petals on a breeze. Elegant, delicate, broadcasted across the surrounding area and to each living thing that wish to hear it.

The flowers swayed and shifted with each vowel, a sea of eager dancers, of eager, loving worshippers. A glittering ballroom dance anchored in place. 

One began to bloom further. It shifted, growing larger and thicker and stronger with excitement. It lost petals and gained leaves, branches dancing to the music, blossoming then bearing fruit. Another followed its example; then another, then another. Trees of all sorts grew, bearing ripe fruits glowing like gems in their boughs- Soleil’s excited smile could not be contained.

The music continued to flow from her lips, the other flowers who had not been so quick blooming into shimmering ferns, pulsing vines, thick undergrowth of all kinds, twining between her toes and the branches of those taller.

Soleil had grown a forest, and it was a beautiful one. It stretched far and wide, moving in waves like an ocean, rustling leaves within sounding like one. Getting lost within it would not be scary nor would it be boring, as the light from within it was as within a home, or a city street. Each tree and plant was unique, as though each was so inspired by her song as to choose a new self.

Her song stopped, and the forest seemed to grow tense, as though waiting for more on pins and needles-

“That’s it for now,” she said, nodding. She would have to make another song for them, eventually.

The forest relaxed, settling down from the excitement it had shared with her.

The peace was only disturbed by the whisper of wind through leaves, or perhaps the sound of the plants taking amongst themselves.

She took a step to the closest of the trees, careful not to crush the velvet moss freshly grown, and reached up- while the tree reached down, eager to please her.

A fruit, round and floral, landed in her hand. It was oblong, red ‘petals’ fading each to glowing peach. It was beautiful and elegant, like it was pretending to still be a flower.

She peeled one ‘petal’ from the fruit, and put it in her mouth.

It was sweet, tangy, delicious. It held juice in each petal, like fat little pockets, and by squishing a petal between her lips, it burst forth with flavor.

She ate this fruit until she was a mess, sticky glowing pink staining her chin. Then she moved to the next- This was round, and hard, and heavy landing in her hands.

It was green, dully, along a thin seam all around its circumference. As though it contained a glowing something- which, upon shaking, could be deduced to be more juices held firmly inside.

How to crack it open? She wondered, pursing her lips.

Sitting cross-legged beneath the tree that had gifted it to her, she pondered this hard fruit’s ediblity. Maybe the tree had pranked her, and wanted to puzzle her? It would not be the first time a plant had played a harmless trick on her, and she was sure it wouldn’t be the last.

Her question was answered when a sumea, attracted by the commotion and feast, knocked a matching fruit to the ground. It landed on a rock, cracking neatly along the seam, and spilled the neon green liquids from within.

As the sumea licked up its rightful meal, Soleil nodded to herself. She needed a rock as well. She searched the ground for a few moments before coming on a small, thin rock.

She cracked the fruit open, so one half of the shell would catch the juice, and drank-

Ugh! It was sour, enough for her face to twist and lips to pucker. It would taste much better with something to balance it out...

She had an epiphany. The previous fruit had been almost too sweet- maybe she could cut the petals and mix the two fruits together?

The rest of her night was that, mixing fruit together in her makeshift bowl, tasting them, pouring them out if they didn’t taste good. An army of Sumea and other small creatures slowly formed to lap up whatever she tossed or deemed disgusting, eager to enjoy any free meal.

Eventually, Soleil’s stomach was full, and she was tired. Finding a nice place to rest, on the gnarled roots of a fruitless tree, she slumbered.

And without her, the plants shared the song amongst themselves, secretly. Growing and blooming. Becoming sour and sweet, Savory and strange.

The Creatures of the forest shared what Pakkeli, Pakaasu, Pavesi could do- make food! Bring food!

(Though they would be mistaken, as once the People of kotiin learned what drinks were best, they no longer dumped whatever wasn’t good, and the creatures resorted to sometimes rummaging through garbage, as most creatures do.)