Blossom Girl

Morning

By the time they had eaten breakfast and gotten ready, it was already 10:30. They ran downstairs, Lea excited for the rest of her presents to be revealed. They headed into the kitchen only to find that it was devoid of any people or presents. On the floor a trail of petals had been left leading around the house, the obvious answer was to follow them. It took them through the living room, then the dining room; through the laundry room, and then finally to the garden. It was beautiful. A canopy of pink blossoms and green balloons hung above their heads and underneath lay a pile of presents wrapped in brown paper and sparkly string. Marietta and Nolan stood there with smiles wishing her a Happy Birthday.

Lea did know that Marietta and Nolan enjoyed taking celebrations to the next level, as they did for Ria's Birthday. However, being a joint celebration between Lea's birthday, where she becomes a teenager, and ceremony day, where both Ria and Lea discover there powers: this was double the celebration. Not only were there a pile of presents for Lea which contained both birthday and ceremony gifts, but Ria and some presents as well! All they could both say was thank you, over and over again; gratitude spilling out from them.

After about fifteen seconds of this, Marietta and Nolan intervened, " Alright girls, I think it's time that you actually opened them! Go ahead!". They both dived to the ground to open their presents; both of them neatly unfolding the paper, but still going as fast as possible. Ria unveiled a pile of brand new clothes and textiles supplies, which knowing her would entertain her for a long time! Lea, meanwhile, was swooning over the multitude of fiction books, painting tools and comics that lay in front of her; anticipating every world she can venture to and the things she can paint. Painting for Lea wasn't just a hobby or a pastime, it was a form of self expression and a way to get her imagination into the real world.

Once Ria and Lea had opened and explored their gifts, Marietta brought out a small wooden box. Intricate vines were carved into the wood, each vine blossoming a set of flowers and leaves. "Lea today is obviously your thirteenth birthday, so, we believe that today is the time to give you this." Marietta slotted the delicate box into the palms of Lea; sending a shiver down her spine. "When we adopted you this was passed on to us from the orphanage. They told us that this was with you when you were found, along with a note saying that this was not to be given to you until you turned thirteen." Marietta added. Lea rum her fingers over the bumps in the wood, the box was beautiful. Lost in her thoughts, Ria's comment gave her a shock, "Oooh! What is it?"
"I'm not quite sure yet, actually..."answered Lea, a curious expression crossing over her face.
"Well then... open it!" they all bursted out in unison.
"Ok, Ok!" giggled Lea, already finding a way to unlock it.

As she slid her finger across the edge, the box clicked open, as if by magic. Inside was a marvellous ring, she had never seen anything like this before. The actual body was crafted out of wood with two strands that intertwined. They formed a small gap in the middle in which an unusual green gem sat. "Wow!" Lea gasped with amazement. "Hey, what is it?" Ria asked, trying to get a good look over her shoulder. Lea slid the ring on her index finger. It was perfect.
"It's a ring..." she said, still awestruck. "Wow Lea! It fits you perfectly!" Mentioned Marietta. "It's Gorgeous!" Squealed Ria, scanning her eyes over every inch of it. "Well it is very beautiful but, you should really think of heading off soon, it's nearly time!" Nolan said whilst looking down at his watch.

In unison, Ria and Lea picked up their phones, nervous to see how long was left until the ceremony. All participants were required to be their at 1 O'clock on the 5th of July, they all must be the age of thirteen. Since it was Lea's thirteenth birthday today, she just qualified to be examined. Ria squealed with excitement as they ran inside to grab anything they might need, not forgetting to pick up all the gifts they received. They had a quick tidy, so that the paper wasn't left sprawled around the garden, and brought all of their gifts upstairs, bundled up in their arms. in case they needed them.