How He Got The Euphony Bloom

By P Hadassah Joyce Pushpa

I boarded the ship. Its name was the Chosen Ocean 2100.

Oh, how wonderful the sea was! It was a marvelous blue.

The ocean looked sublime.

The water reflected the setting sun and the trees near the shore—it nearly looked like a gigantic flat mirror.

"Oh sea," I muttered. "Don't even think about being rude to me."

I saw many other people board the ship. A while later, it started to move.

I went to the deck, stretched out my arms and said,

"O beautiful ocean! O incredible ocean!!"

Well, I guess some of the people on board stared at me, but I didn't care. It was my first time going on a ship alone.

I watched the sunset for a while and then walked to my cabin.

The cabin had a bed, a table, and a window. It was a big window. Through that window, I could see the blue, open sea.

Ooh! That was cool.

And then I walked into the library.

I saw lots of tables and chairs. The wall was colored a pale green and pale peach. So, calming.

I went and searched the shelves. I picked out a book at last. Its title was 'The Sea's Echo'.

I sat down and started to read the book.

I then stared out of the window.

Just then, a person walked in. He pored over the shelves and picked out a book.

He sat across the room. He then started to read it.

I read the book's title—'Why I Went to the Forest in the Middle of the Night'. Oh! That sounded like a mysterious adventure story.

I glanced around the room. No one was there in the room—just me and the person, who was immersed in reading the book.

I looked at the person. Then the person glanced at me.

A few minutes went by.

The person looked at me again. He then glanced around the room and sighed.

I smiled—only, he didn't see me smile.

We looked at each other for a few minutes.

"I wonder why everyone has left us alone," The person said.

"I wonder so too," I said, putting my book on the table.

"Perhaps they wanted us to talk with each other," The person smiled. He got up and sat on a chair close to me.

"Are you a bookworm?" He said.

"Not so much," I said. "I don't read books that much."

"I read them all the time," he said. "I'm Caspian. And what's your name?"

"I'm Sapphire," I smiled.

"What's a sapphire?" He said, amused.

"A sapphire is a precious gem. It's blue. I'm named after it."

"So interesting!" Caspian said. "And I'm named after a sea—the Caspian Sea."

"Interesting, indeed," I said. Then we both started reading our books again.

A few more minutes went by. Nobody came in.

"Maybe the people on this ship don't like books!" Caspian exclaimed.

"Perhaps," I said.

After a while, I felt that the book was boring. Oh, it certainly was.

Then Caspian and I exclaimed, "I'm bored!" at the same time.

"Oh!" I was surprised. So, we both thought alike...at least about the book.

"Well, then," Caspian sighed, "why don't we head to the cafeteria and eat something?"

"We'd better!" I smiled.

We both went there.

Caspian ordered some extra cheesy pasta. I ordered my favorite—salad and a glass of lemonade.

"Lemonade," Caspian sighed as he stared at the glass.

"Oh! Do you want some, friend?" I asked.

"Oh, no," He replied. "It's-It's just that—I can't drink the lemonade."

"Why?" I asked, intrigued.

"Because, well, I'm allergic to it. If I drink it, I'll catch a cold the next day," Caspian said sadly.

"Um," I thought of something. "Well, this ship is heading to the Tech Grow Island. And it's stopping near the HateSadHope island—there's a flower there that can cure you. It's called the Euphony Bloom."

"I know that," Caspian looked out of the window. "But only two friends can pluck it. If one person tries to, they can't, and, well, I don't know who should come along with me to do that."

"Oh," I said, sad at the thought.

"I can get it next time I go to the HateSadHope island," Caspian said.

And after we ate, Caspian said,

"Let's go and see the view from the ship."

"Yes," I said.

We went to the deck. And we saw a breathtaking view—the sunset!

"Wow!" I exclaimed.

"Wow indeed!" Caspian said.

I took out my notepad and started to draw the sunset.

Caspian then took out a notepad and started to write something.

"What does 'HateSadHope' mean, Caspian?"

Caspian answered,

"Well, Sapphire, it means this:

"'Hate' means that the people who know they have an allergy hate the fact. For me, it's true. I hate the fact that I can't drink or eat food with lemon.

"'Sad' means that the people who know they have an allergy are sad. It's true; I was sad when I remember I can't eat a lemon.

"'Hope' means that the people who have an allergy hope that their allergy will get cured someday. I, too, hope so."

I stared at him in awe. How did he know that?

Caspian looked at me. "I know what you're thinking. I'm a bookworm and I read about the HateSadHope island."

"Ah!" I exclaimed.

_______________

After a while, we ate dinner and headed back to our cabins.

I was still thinking.

'What should I do about Caspian? Should I help him or not? What do I do?'

Then I had an idea.

I could go along with Caspian to the island and help him get the flower. Why not? It's a great idea.

I went out of my room and stared at the sea. It looked glorious in the night.

I then looked to my right. And there Caspian was, looking incredibly sad.

"Caspian," I said. "What are you doing out here now?"

"Well," He sighed. "I don't know what to do. I'm disappointed that I can't get the flower... and I wanted to try to get it on my own, but you know I can't. I need someone to help me out." Caspian looked at the sea.

"Perhaps," He said, "I can get it next time. But now, I can't help being sad."

"Wait," I said. "Maybe I could help you."

Caspian looked at me.

"You will, won't you?" He said.

"I—I will help you," I said. "I'll help you get the Euphony Bloom."

"So, you'll come with me, won't you?" Caspian looked at me.

"Indeed, I will, Caspian," I said.

"That's great!" Caspian exclaimed. "Well then, let's wake up a bit early tomorrow. We've got a flower to catch!"

"And a friend to save!" I said. "That's you, Caspian," I muttered.

And we headed back to our rooms.

___________

The next morning, after we finished eating our breakfast, Caspian said,

"Now are you ready?"

"I sure am!" I replied. "Now let's go."

Fifteen minutes later, someone from the ship cried,

"Land ahead! We're going to reach the HateSadHope island in a few minutes. Whoever wants to go there, you'd better get ready!"

A few minutes later, we arrived at the island.

"Hurray!" I exclaimed.

The island looked magnificent.

We started running. Soon, I saw a green forest.

"That's the Evergreen Forest," Caspian said.

Caspian and I walked into the forest. It was bright and beautiful. It was so green and calming!

The trees were a nice green, and the ground was covered with grass, just like a lawn.

After a while, we reached the end of that forest.

I then saw another forest in front of me, only, all the trees were orange, like the trees in autumn.

"Is that the Autumn Forest?" I said.

"Indeed!" Caspian said.

We walked into the forest.

The forest had trees with orange leaves. For a second, I felt that it was autumn again.

The place that I call my home didn't have snow in the winter or orange trees in the autumn. So, I loved this forest; so much that I didn't want to leave it.

But we had a flower to get and a friend to save. We walked on. Then I saw a hill.

"There it is!" Caspian exclaimed.

There it was indeed. The Euphony Bloom! We finally found it—oh, but it was on the high hill.

"Let's climb that thing together," Caspian said.

We climbed the hill. And at last, there the Euphony Bloom was, right in front of us.

It had red and green petals, with no pollen grains or anything. I wondered how it produces seeds then—if we pluck this flower, how will another flower grow in its place?

Caspian went forward. He paused, and said,

"Sapphire, please help me pull this bloom."

"I will," I said.

And we both went, and pulled the flower together.

"Oh, yes!" I held the bloom in my hand. It was as light as a feather.

"Thank you so much, Sapphire, for helping me," Caspian said. "If it weren't for you, I would have had that allergy for the rest of my life, and I wouldn't have been able to eat a lemon. But now, I can. How do I ever thank you?"

"Oh, it was nothing," I said. "Now let's go back to the ship and cure your allergy."

"Alright!" Caspian said.

We walked down the hill, through the two forests, and finally reached the ship.

We went to Caspian's room.

Caspian brought a glass of water.

I dropped the flower in it. Then Caspian stirred the water with a spoon.

The water turned green first, then it turned red.

"Now go ahead," I said. "Caspian, drink it."

Caspian drank the water. He said,

"Oh, Sapphire, that tasted amazing!"

I smiled. It was to cure all allergies, after all.

Caspian said, "Thank you again, Sapphire. Now I'll go and drink a glass of lemonade—my first one in decades."

We went to the cafeteria—the room with pale green and peach walls.

Caspian ordered a glass of lemonade.

He held up the glass.

"Thanks again, Sapphire," he said. He drank the lemonade slowly.

"That was amazing! I love lemonade! I love lemonade!!" He laughed.

I was glad to see my friend so happy.

Oh, if only every person who has an allergy knew about this. They could pluck the flower, mix it in water, and be cured for good.

'That's what I want to do,' I thought.

I decided that when I reach my destination, I'll tell every single person about the HateSadHope island and the Euphony Bloom. How happy everyone would be.

I went and looked at the sky. It was evening.

I looked at the island. Then I saw a light appear at the top of the hill. I looked closely.

It was a person with wings. The person stared at the sea, and, using his wings, flew up to the clouds.

I turned to go tell Caspian. But I saw him come toward me.

"Did you see that?" He said.

"I did. What is it?"

"I don't know either. It's probably an angel, fairy, or some other sort of creature."

"Let's go and see what it is," I interjected.

"Oh, Sapphire, I'm not going to climb up that hill again," Caspian sighed. "But we will. We'll climb it together, again."

"Oh, thank you, Caspian," I said.

We ran down the ship, through the forests, and started climbing the hill as fast as we could.

While we were climbing, I saw a person with wings plant a seed on top of the hill.

We reached the top. The person with wings saw us.

"Aah!" He shrieked. He spread out his wings, and was about to fly when—

"Wait," Caspian said. "We're nice people. We don't mean any harm. We aren't bad people, and won't steal or destroy anything."

The person with wings paused, and said, "Oh, you won't do anything bad, will you?"

"No, we won't!" I replied. "I'm Sapphire, and this is my friend Caspian."

"Who are you?" Caspian said.

"Oh," The person with wings said. "I'm a Zephyr. My name is Mistral."

"You're a what?" Caspian said.

"I'm a Zephyr. Zephyrs are creatures with wings," Mistral smiled. "Just like me. But remember that Zephyrs aren't fairies and that fairies aren't Zephyrs."

"Alright!" I said. "Anyway, what were you doing? What seed did you plant?"

"I'm glad you asked that," Mistral said. "We Zephyrs plant the Euphony Bloom here. When one person plucks a flower, a Zephyr plants a seed here. It'll soon grow into another flower, and another person comes by and plucks it... and so on it goes."

"Where do you get the seeds from?" I interjected.

"We manufacture the seeds in our home. Our home's up there, on the clouds," Mistral said.

"Can you show it to us?" Caspian said.

"Sure, why not?" Mistral smiled. "Come."

Then Mistral spread out his wings, and hovered in the air. He held our hands and said,

"O thou power of the west wind, take us to our abode in the clouds."

A bright light appeared. Then, I saw that we were standing on the clouds.

There was a huge castle in front of us. And in front of the castle, there was a signboard that read, 'Zephyrs aren't fairies; fairies aren't Zephyrs.'

"This is our home," Mistral said.

"Wonderful!" I exclaimed. This castle was a hundred, no; thousand times better than the castles I've read about in stories. And this castle was the home of the Zephyrs.

Mistral took us in.

There were a lot of Zephyrs running around the room. They looked like they were busy. I observed that they held bottles in their hands. I was confused.

"You're probably wondering why they're carrying those bottles," Mistral smiled. "Come; I'll show you why."

Mistral then said, "O thou power of the north wind, reveal thine path."

Then a staircase appeared in front of us.

We climbed the staircase.

We entered a room. It had pale blue walls, and, oh, there was a huge blue machine-like thing in front of us. It had a huge pot on the right side.

"This is where we manufacture the seeds of the Euphony Bloom," Mistral said.

A Zephyr came forward and poured a bottle of purple liquid into the big pot. Another Zephyr came and poured four bottles of liquid. They had orange, red, green, and yellow colored liquid in them.

Mistral went and pushed a button.

A few seconds later, bowls of seeds came out from the other side of the machine.

"I can't believe this is happening," Caspian said.

"Well, did you like our home?" Mistral said.

"No, I didn't like it; I loved it!" I smiled.

"Well, now I'm going to show you where we manufacture all the other seeds," Mistral said.

"You manufacture other seeds?" I asked, surprised.

"Yes," Mistral said. "Some are The Chocolate Flower; the Stardust Bloom; the Crevice Clone Blossom, and many more."

"Wait, Sapphire!" Caspian said. "We completely forgot about our ship. It might leave anytime!"

Then I heard the sound of a horn. That meant the ship was about to leave.

"Oh, no!" I said. "How will we get down there in time?"

"Don't worry," Mistral smiled. "I know exactly what to do."

"O thou power of the East wind," Mistral said, "take these, and use thine power to bring them where they came from."

A big blue light appeared. I saw that we were back on the island again, near the ship.

"Well, thank you so much, Mistral, for showing us your home," Caspian said.

"Anytime, dear friends!" Mistral smiled. "I'll show you the other manufacturing machines the next time you're here."

"Oh; then, goodbye, Mistral!" I said.

"Goodbye!" Caspian smiled.

"Goodbye, dear friends!" Mistral said. "And may the wind be good to you!"

I and Caspian went onto the ship.

The ship started to move.

We waved to Mistral.

Mistral smiled. He spread out his wings and flew up to the clouds, where he and his friends would make more seeds to help sick, sad people.

A day later, the ship reached the TechGrow Island.

I and Caspian got down from the ship.

I looked at all the skyscrapers on the island.

Now Caspian was going to work in the TechTime Office, where he would be a security engineer. I was going to work in a different block of the same office as a software developer.

I loved the time that I and Caspian spent together, and we were on the same island and Office anyway, so we might see each other, only, not so often.

I looked at Caspian and said, "We will go to the HateSadHope Island again, won't we?"

"Of course!" Caspian said.

"Goodbye, Caspian," I said.

"Goodbye, Sapphire," Caspian said.

We walked to our new homes on the island.

And that was one of the best journeys I've had in my life, ever.

Perhaps I'll see a Zephyr again—do tell me if you ever see a Zephyr again. They're tall, wear colorful robes, have colorful wings, and when they smile, their face glows.

By P Hadassah Joyce Pushpa