Flowers

King Williams II who was the 12^th king of the Union village had a daughter called Flora II. She got her name from Flora the First. Flora was a pretty and intelligent girl who loves to learn more about the things around her and beyond. Curiosity was her strength, and this habit of hers gave her a chance to learn more about her family line.

Long ago in the land of Union, flowers were used to express feeling and spread love. People expressed their feelings based on the type of flower they had and how the flower looked at the moment. However, this moment of joy suddenly came to an end and what had been a blessing and entertaining for a long time, became a nightmare.

The people of the Union village were always united. They helped each other and supported themselves. The only thing they wished for was to grow a garden of flowers on their own. The people in the union village never saw a physical flower nor felt the touch of a flower. All they knew about flowers was nothing beyond the pictures left behind by their ancestors and stories about the impact flower had on them. Furthermore, the story they knew was not the whole story because no one ever told them the main reason why they could not grow flowers.

Flora, who has always wanted to know things beyond her surrounding, asked her dad if she could go to the central city for some time and learn new things. She was allowed to go but her stay could not exceed four weeks.

During her stay in the city, Flora learned a lot about flowers and new things she never had the privilege to see. She experienced a new style of living, communication, and connecting with others. People were not always together as there were in the village. People had different jobs they could do. People used money for everything they wanted to have. It was strange to her because in the village, people often trade something for what they wanted and did not always have to use money.

After her returned from the city, Flora asked her dad about why the people in their village does not grow flowers and why people do not know the whole story behind the mystery of no flower planting.

A hundred years ago, Flora the First and some villagers got a disease which its source was later confirmed to be flowers. When King William the First, the sixth king of this village ruled, people expressed themselves daily using flowers. There was no specified meaning for a flower, but the people gave meaning to the flowers when handing it over to someone. On Flora’s 15^th birthday, she received lots of love through flowers from villagers. However, no one knew that the flowers during that season could make people sick. People who touched and smelled the flowers during that period, were sick. Some sicknesses lead to death. Flora the First and other villagers passed away due to the flower sickness. The king, in his anger, prohibited flower gardening in homes. No one was allowed to grow flowers of any kind. Pictures of flowers drawn by the villagers were the only information left about flowers. Due to the death of many people, the villagers mourned for about a year. When everything got back to normal, the queen discovered that she was pregnant at the age of 59. This news brought joy to everyone. The baby brought hope to the kingdom since there was not any heir to take over the throne after Flora the First passed away.

Flora was impressed about the story behind the mystery of no flower planting. She learned a lot about flowers in the city and wanted to educate her people about it. But she wanted to know and have a clearer understanding about what happened in the past before she moved forward with her plans.

The first flower she fell in love with was “Sweet Pea Flower”. Though the meaning was not as great as the flower, she loved it because she was ready to say goodbye to her past and make her community move forward. She loved daffodil flowers for what it looked and what it symbolized. The daffodil flower was a symbol of what she wanted to do in life at the moment. She wanted to start over again. She wanted a new beginning. The looks and fragrance of the Camellia flower attracted her. Above all the flowers she had the privileged to see and learned about, Sweet pea, Daffodil, and Camellia flowers were the flowers that really attracted her and made her want to educate her people.

For the first time in the lives of the Union natives, they felt the touch of flower. They could smell it, play with it, and do what ever they wanted to do with it. Their dream to have flowers around them came true. They did not only get to have flowers with them, but they also learned about flowers. They learned the language of flowers and how to share their love using it. They learned about the side effects of flowers. Even though they looked pretty, it cloud be harmful to the environment if people have no idea about what it could possibly do. What once brought joy brought disaster. But this time, the Union community believed that this joy would last forever. They believed that their ancestors had bad memories about flowers because they did not have the knowledge about how flowers really worked and how it could impact their lives.

Union village changed dramatically within three years. People had the opportunity to know more about what happened in the outside world. They built their community with the great ideas they obtained from the outside world other than theirs. Throughout everything, the union villagers learned that knowledge is important and is profitable in everything we do in life. Moving forward was not as easy as the villagers thought, but they went through everything because they wanted to build a better future for the future generations and not let them live in ignorance as they did.