Stars that Bloom at Midnight

*The flower mentioned is the Kadupul Flowers or Queen of the Night which only blooms around midnight and withers before dawn. The flowers die even faster when picked. This short lifespan is the main reason the flower is endangered.*

A girl ran through the forest, brambles catching on her dress pale blue dress as tears streamed down her cheeks. The moon looked down on her through the branches of the trees, it was almost at its peak, its moonlight making her tears glow like drops of liquid silver. Finally the moon reached the middle of the sky, standing in the glory of the stars, an eternal beacon in the night. The girl stumbled to a stop as a flower began to slowly unfurl its pointed white petals, the moonlight made it glow like a star that had fallen into the bush the flower grew on She looked up as more began to bloom in a trail leading further into the forest. Wiping away her tears the girl silently moved forward through the trees, following the path of stars to a small clearing in which stood a great oak tree. It's gnarled branches reaching up towards the moon as if it wished to hug it. A soft sound floated from the tree's branches, a song of the smell of the forest at midnight, the frost creeping over the ground and the blissful silence of the stars. The girl moved forward, stepping beneath the branches of the tree, the music stopped abruptly and she looked up into a sun tanned face. Pointed ears peeked out of the elf's white hair and a violin hung in his limp hand, part way to his shoulder, his over slender hand propped the bow in his lap. He looked startled at the girl and hurriedly jumped from the tree, she followed holding a hand out, beseeching him to stop. The elf froze and looked at her with his black eyes. “Will you play for me?” The girl asked, lowering her hand slowly, afraid of startling him again. He hesitated as she backed away a step before he brought his violin up to his shoulder and with one more cautious look at the girl, the elf started to play. He played the song through, not taking his dark eyes off the girl who watched him in silence. With the sound of the final note the path of flowers began to shed their petals. The moon was leaving its position at the centre of the sky, sliding slowly away. The girl turned away from the flowers and back to the elf, but he was gone not even dents in the grass marked his departure. The girl stood there until the flowers were nothing but withered stalks, their petals littering the ground. She walked slowly out of the trees, unsure of what had happened as the ethereal music continued to play in her head, a taunting copy that made her yearn for the real song played from the violin in the hand of the elf.

The next night the girl lay restless in her bed until the moon was near its peak. She walked slowly out the door and towards the forest, remembering the sweet melody the elf had played for her. Once she was in the trees the moon hit its peak and flowers began to bloom in a trail once more. Excitement rose in her chest and the girl rushed along the path to the clearing in which stood the great oak, still reaching for the moon. She slowed as she heard the music rising from the branches of the tree. The girl walked forward, taking a seat on one of the roots that laced the ground around the tree. This time the elf only looked down at her for a moment, a small smile on his face, he looked back to the violin and continued playing. All too soon the last note rang out through the clearing and the flowers began to whither away and the moon started its journey to the west. The elf jumped down from the tree and bowed to the girl and stepped into a ray of moonlight that shot through the oak's branches. The girl leapt to her feet as the elf vanished. With the notes ringing in her ears the girl followed the withered flowers back out of the trees.

Every midnight the girl followed the path of flowers through the trees and into the clearing where she sat beneath the oak and listened to the elf's music. But one night the girl fell asleep and didn't come to the clearing in the woods. The next day she walked to the forest, pausing as she came across a trail of the white flowers stamped into the ground their leaves dark with bruising. Out of worry she turned and fled away from the trees, back to her home. Every night she came to the forest and found a new trail of the flowers, stamped into the dirt and dead. One night she finally decided to follow the fallen flowers, she felt sick looking at the delicate, crushed blooms littering the ground as she remembered the star like flowers they should be. The girl stepped into the clearing and froze. The elf sat on the roots of the tree holding a sword against the light of the moon. Crushed flowers lay around him, the violin was discarded on the far side of the clearing as though it had been thrown. The elf looked up at the girl and his lips curled back in a snarl as he rose from his seat and stepped towards her. She backed away a step wondering if she should run. “You decided to come back did you?” The elf spat as though the words were poison in his mouth.

“What happened?” The girl asked trying to keep the tremor out of her voice.

“You.” The elf lunged forward bringing his sword down in an arc towards her head. The girl flung her arms up to protect her face. She braced herself for the feeling of steel slicing into her flesh, but it never came. Carefully she lowered her arms, the blade had stopped mere cementers from her. She looked past the deadly elven steel and into the eyes of the elf. Tears were falling down his cheeks as he looked into her eyes. “I thought you liked my music,” he whispered, his eyes not leaving hers. “But you didn't come back to listen...” The elf lowered the blade and stepped back. He turned and walked towards a beam of moonlight, but the girl grabbed his white shirt, pulling him to a stop. He looked back at her with black, pained eyes. Silently the girl reached down and picked up a crushed bloom from the path she had followed. Carefully she pressed it into his hand, not breaking eye contact. “Will you play for me?” she asked letting go of his shirt. He looked at the flower that hung limp in his hand as the girl moved towards the violin. It was surrounded by even more crushed flowers. She picked it up and moved towards the elf. But he was gone already. She looked down at the violin and the flowers still on it and sighed, remembering the music and the sweet sent of the flowers leading her to the clearing where an elf played in the branches. The girl knew there would be no more elven music waiting for her in a clearing surrounded by flowers that only bloomed at midnight. She took the violin with its dead flowers and walked back home, heart in her boots.

Moonlight filtered through the window as a woman started out at the city lights twinkling like stars under the full moon. With a sigh the woman turned and walked towards her dresser. An old violin lay along it, she carefully picked it up and lifted it to her shoulder. It smelled of a flower she hadn't smelt in years and of oak. Raising the bow the woman started playing, for a moment she stood in a clearing surrounded by stars in the form of flowers where an elf sat in the branches of a great oak, smiling at her as he played on his violin. The woman opened her eyes and the moment was gone, gazing out the window something on the sill caught her eye. A white flower that glowed in the moonlight like a star lay there, making the room smell of its almost holy scent. She walked towards it and gazed out the window. A path of the flowers ran along the street outside her house and towards a park. The woman hurried down the stairs, violin and bow waving in her hand as she rushed down the flower littered street and towards the trees. The air shimmered around her as she stepped into the park and she was back in the clearing, the flowers growing along bushes and trees in a path. She stopped to take in their sent before she walked on, joy rising in her stomach like butterflies being shaken from their tree. A great oak stood in the clearing, white flowers shimmering in its branches. It didn't reach for the moon anymore, it didn't need to because it had the stars in its leaves. An elf stood in the centre of the clearing clutching a violin. A white flower was pinned to his white shirt and he smiled hesitantly when he saw her. The elf bowed to her and proffered a white flower. “Will you play with me?” The woman asked smiling and raising the violin. The elf smiled a confident smile this time and brought the violin to his shoulder.

A flower that looks like the stars waited on the woman's window sill every full moon and the air around a great oak in a forest far from the city flowed with the sound of violins and the scent of Kadupul Flowers.