All flowers will bloom-Karina

four

words: 4.3k

You skipped Karina's escorting and went to the level yourself, crouching in the same area you had been working over and immediately putting your hands into the dry and brittle soil, sighing when you remembered that you forgot the water.

You didn't even realize how long you had been there until the sound of metal crashing on the ground next to you came, and there was a watering pail right by you.

"You need this."

You didn't bother to look at her, but you smiled. "Thanks." You saw her nod out of the corner of your eye. You remembered that you couldn't bring life when you felt so submerged in death, so you closed your eyes and took a breath.

Something moved under your hand.

You yanked your hand off of the spot out of pure shock. "Good-"

Karina was closer to you than you realized, hovering over and looking for something that went wrong. "What?"

"Something- something did something!" You breathed out, eyes wide as you blinked at the ground. You stammered out something unintelligible before slamming your hand back down, feeling for the familiar feeling of a root wiggling its way through the earth. You were sure you felt it. "Water," you called for softly, and you felt Karina water the spot, some of it splashing onto your hand. "That's enough, don't drown it."

If you were any less excited about getting the feel of something, you would have laughed about how you just demanded Hades, Goddess of the Dead, to water a single plant that hadn't even sprouted yet. And how she actually listened to you.

You lifted your hand off and bent your face down into the dirt, whispering to the poor thing that was fighting so hard, giving words of encouragement as your heart began to race. You could feel the older goddess hovering over, and though her expression didn't show it, she was just as eager to see if something was coming.

"Come to me," you said, trying your hardest to stay calm despite tour heart racing and threatening to beta out of your chest. You knew that if you got any more excited that it wasn't going to grow correctly. Your hands were shaking as you touched the dirt again, prodding it lightly. "You've got it, seedling. Grow."

Slowly, as slowly as a bated breath finally being released, a small bud clawed its way out of barren ground. The bud was a pure white, and as it grew taller, neither you or Karina were able to speak. When it reached its full height and stopped, you immediately jumped back into conversation with it.

"That's it, flower. You've got it." Your voice shook as you watched the flower react to you, bending ever so slowly to your will and your energy. In a show of silent whispers and shaking hands, you and Karina both witnessed a single flower open up from the inside and show off a gorgeous yellow, a circle that stood out from the pronounced, purely white petals.

It was as silent as the dead.

After a few heavy moments, full of joy and confusion and everything in between, you heard Karina clear her throat, the sound hesitant as she grappled for words. "You... you did it." It was silent for a moment. "You actually did it, Persephone."

You didn't even bother to correct her. "I grew it." You said softly to yourself, eyes fixed right on the singular flower, all by itself and looking quite dismal in comparison to its surroundings, but you couldn't bring yourself to care. "It's alive."

"I can't believe you did it."

You whipped around at her words, a brilliant smile on your face, showing teeth and happiness that could have been seen from miles away. "I did it!" You looked back at the flower, strong and beautiful, astonished by your own strength even though it only showed in one demonstration.