The Life of a Lone Flower

There once was a seed—a tiny, single seed—that fell from the top of the hill and into the cracks of the earth, finding its new home within a dark, lonely cave. The only light to reach the depths was from the small opening where the seed made its fall.

It was a small fit for the seed to take root, but all the while, just as cozy as it needed to be. Day by day, the small ray of sun gleamed down on the tiny seed as it grew more and more. At first, there was just the tiniest bit of stem, but out of the blue bloomed the most beautiful Flower.

The gleam of ruby red under the light of the sun, it was a precious sight hidden away from anyone who could ever enjoy it. That didn’t make the Flower any less beautiful, and the Flower was more than okay with that.

The cave eventually welcomed another member into the depths of the darkness. A small egg, swept away by the wind and brought down onto the petals of the Flower. The Flower was surprised. Never before had it seen an egg before. The Flower held up the egg to the sun and covered it during the cold nights.

One day, as the Flower watched the egg that sat upon its petals, the egg started to move ever so slightly. Slowly, the outer shell started to crackle and something pushed through on the inside of the egg. Out from the shell and found its way onto the Flower’s bright petals.

“Hello my sweet thing,” the Flower chimed.

“Are you my mother?” the Caterpillar asked, looking around the dark cave. The light shining down was starting to fade as the sun was beginning to set. Soon the moon would shine down with its cold gaze.

“No, I am not your mother. I am a friend.” The Flower could sense the sadness in the Caterpillar, now more determined to help it out. “I will help you, anything you need and I will try my best.”

“I am very hungry, do you have anything to eat?” the Caterpillar asked, and the Flower had to stop and think. There wasn’t much to eat in the dark cave, and the poor Caterpillar could not eat from the soil like the Flower did.

“I have many leaves and petals that have fallen off, please eat them.” So that’s what the Caterpillar did, and the Flower made sure to drop as many petals as possible. The poor Caterpillar could not leave the cave for food, so the Flower watched day by day as the Caterpillar got bigger from its petals. As the Caterpillar grew, it would look up into the slightest bit of sky that shined down, watching with fascination as the sun and moon went around.

“Have you ever been out there?” The Caterpillar asked as they watched the moonlight.

“No, I have been in here my entire life.” The Flower responded, enjoying the feeling of the moonlight of its petals before it eventually had to leave.

“I want to go out there and see everything there is. I want to watch the sun and moon the entire day, not just through a crack.” The Caterpillar curled up into the Flower’s petals as the moonlight fled away and left the two encased in the darkness. “Do you want to go out there and see the world? I bet it’s more beautiful than anything else in this cave.”

“I do not wish to leave, for this is my home and I am always happy here. I do hope that you leave one day and see the world so that you can find your happiness.” The Flower rocked its petals back and forth ever so slightly to sway the Caterpillar to sleep. The Flower liked having the Caterpillar here but knew that it was not the Caterpillar’s destiny.

The next day, the Flower could tell that something was about to change. The Caterpillar crawled down the Flower’s stem and hung from a leaf. It was a silent couple of days as the Caterpillar stayed in its cocoon, but there was just a beauty to the silence.

Birds chirps, winds blew, a calming wave of constant tranquility.

Just Silence.

It was such a sweet thing.

The Flower never felt lonely being alone but still appreciated the Caterpillar and eagerly awaited its return. A slight crackling came from the cocoon many days later, and much like the day the Caterpillar crawled from its egg, the cocoon broke apart, and out came a newborn creature. Shiny red wings under the gleam of the sun, a beauty much like the Flower. The Butterfly was excited to show off the wings that carried it above the air.

 “Oh, just look at how they flutter! Do you like them?” The Butterfly gleamed, flying around the Flower.

“They are most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Now you can carry yourself around the world and see all there is to see.” The Butterfly came to rest upon the petals of the Flower, curling up close to the center.

“Won’t you come with me? We could see all of the beautiful things together. I can't imagine not sharing all of it with you.”

“I’m sorry, but this cave is my home and I wish to stay. I hope the best for you, you must go out there and live while the sun still shines bright. When the moon comes out and shines on you, remember the time we spent together.” Sadly, the Butterfly said goodbye, and the Flower responded with happiness before the Butterfly’s wings carried it out of the cave and out of sight.

Day by day, the Flower enjoyed the silence as it watched the sun and moon come by. The Butterfly never came back, but the Flower never expected it to. Each path was different, and while they shared the beginning, their ends will twist different ways.

Soon the warmth from the sun became less and less. The light would shine less, and the nights became longer. When the first snowflakes started to fall, the Flower hoped that the Butterfly had seen all the beauty they craved before the winter came.

Faster and faster, the Flower could feel its leaves become weaker, the color of the Flower’s beautiful petals losing its shine under the sunlight. Winter was coming, and the Flower was coming to the end of its path.

But it was alright. The Flower had known all along. Watching the last petal fell under the weight of the cold snow, the Flower remembered the warmth of the Butterfly. All of the happiness the two shared within the depth of the cave, a bond of two and only two.

They were meant to be but not meant to last.