The Flower Children

Prologue

It was a gorgeous day in the summer of 2009. A girl and her cousin were laughing as they raced along a footpath away from a long-standing wooden two-story farmhouse. Her younger brother called out after the pair as he stumbled along clumsily behind them as they ran towards a group of trees, which were a distance away from the house. For the girl, it was the perfect day. The sun was out and there was not a single puffy white cloud disturbing the blue sky.

She absolutely adored days when the sky was just a stretch of azure and it was neither too hot nor too cold or too windy or too still. She breathed in the cool, crisp and clean air that came with being in the countryside and valued the lightness that she felt. It was as if she was a balloon, about to be swept off her feet by the light breeze that caressed her face gently as if saying "Don't leave this place just yet."

Her cousin shrieked as she tripped over her feet and fell onto the grass and for a moment the girl, Maia, worried that she was seriously injured but when she looked up and grinned at her mischievously, Maia did not hesitate when she sprinted right past her and shouted out for her brother to run faster so that they would beat their cousin. The three of them finally reached the trees and Maia was very excited when she was crowned the victor, much to the annoyance of her cousin who came in last. "Yay! We beat you Harriet! In your face!" Harriet at that point rolled her eyes and said, "No one likes a sore winner Micah." Micah, who was only seven years old and did not fully understand the concept "sore winner", stuck his tongue out at her and sat on the ground next to his sister who was leaning against a tree and watching the two in merry amusement. "I would have won, if I didn't trip," Harriet said with her nose in the air. Maia smiled and thought about replying to her comment with something witty but settled for simply shaking her head instead. She didn't want to hold too many victories over her cousin's head for it would have been one too many in one day and Harriet was not really the forgiving type.

Harriet turned away and squinted into the distance. Her eyes suddenly went wide and she gasped in surprise and said, "There's a field of flowers! Let's go! It is simply stunning!" So they took off in the direction of the fields until they reached an expansive field filled with a variety of about a million flowers, all different colours ranging from golden yellows to pastel pinks and purples. The sight had definitely taken Maia's breath away. A sweet smell lingered in the air and the group of three dived into the meadow. Micah broke flowers off the stem and gave them to Maia who slipped them into her hair while Harriet lay on the ground amongst the flowers and attempted to make "snow angels" only there was no snow so instead she was making ground angels. Maia watched her with a mild interest and wondered if she was not in the least bit worried about dirtying her clothing. She turned her attention to her brother who was further than he was moments ago. He was crouched over something. Rolling her eyes because Micah always managed to hold some poor insect hostage when he was out in the open, she strolled over to him and called out, "Found a little insect to play with there?"

As she approached him, her smile evaporated and fear held her in its grasp. "Micah?" He completely ignored her and continued to stare at whatever it was on the ground. The closer she came, the more unusual the smell in the air became. It was as if the sweetness of the air became mangled with a foul stench. When she finally reached him, she saw what it was. It looked like it had the form of a human but its limbs were very elongated and thin. On its head was a mass of purple feathery looking leaves that resembled hair? Micah reached out and touched it and it uncurled itself ever so slighty... Maia immediately reached out and grabbed Micah and pulled him towards her. The creature turned its head very slowly and regarded them with blank eyes. Just then, they heard a piercing scream behind them. Harriet. Maia hadn't noticed that she had followed them. She turned to console her frantic cousin but Harriet was long gone, leaving a trail of trampled flowers in her wake while Maia and her brother stayed rooted to their spot. They turned back and the creature was still staring at them. It was a putrid green colour and on half its face was an intricate pattern of silver swirls that were etched into its skin. "Help..." it said in a raspy voice.

"Enchantia...In...Danger...Help my people..." It continued, closing its eyes. Micah broke free from his sisters' protective grip and gently knelt next to the creature. Maia screamed and tried to take him away but he shrugged off her attempts. At that point, the creature shot up into a sitting position and dug its nails into the boy. It spoke in a grave and low voice when it said its next words," You," it said looking directly into the boy's eyes. "You will save my people. If you do not, you will all suffer the consequences. There will be nothing left." Its eyes fluttered and it swayed and collapsed onto the ground, not releasing its grip on the terrified child. Maia pried its dead hands from Micah's arm and once he was free she squeezed him tightly and they walked away. "What was that thing?" she wondered out loud and to her surprise her brother replied with, "A Flower Child."  She stopped and asked how he knew and he replied that the creature had told him. "Ludicrous!" she spat. "That did not happen. It must have been the heat. We imagined it." They both turned back and noticed that the creature was no longer there. She eyed her brother and noticed a glittering below his sleeve.

It was the arm that "It" had grabbed. Imprinted on Micah's skin was a marking similar to the one they saw on the creature's face. She looked at her brother who looked back at her with a mixture of fear and apprehension while the rustling of leaves sounded across the meadow. The day indeed was still perfect, it was still neither too hot, nor too cold or too windy or too still, however, after the incidence with the creature in the field, life became all too strange for Maia and Micah.

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So this is the essay I was talking about, just to give you guys a little context so you understand what I'm talking about in the next few chapters. We might start off slow, just so you can get a feel for what Maia and Micah go through on the daily and then we'll get into the action 😌.

xoxo
Wen 🌸

Don't forget the commentary, and sharing and what nots.