The Oo Flower (Part One)

"What's this papa?" Anouk asked her father, Adrianus upon receiving a peculiar present from him. It looked like a flower bulb, but it bore no colours. Anouk gently played with the flower bulb in her tiny hands. It looked more like a crystal that was made to look like a flower bulb than one, but the texture was the same as that of the other flower bulbs she had been planting in her tiny garden. As she sat next to her father on the family sofa in front of the fireplace, she studied the clear flower bulb with a look of curiousity. The living room was quiet for a few seconds as Adrianus watched his daughter studied the flower bulb with a gentle smile on his face. 

Flower bulb - imagine it clear like a crystal

"My sweet Anouk, this is the bulb of the Oo flower," Adrianus started to explain to his six year old daughter. Anouk looked confused. She had never heard of a flower called Oo before. Adrianus continued to explain, "Remember my flower? The one near the fireplace?", Adrianus pointed towards the mantel shelf of the fireplace beckoning Anouk to look at a flower covered with a glass cloche as she nodded as an answer to her father. The flower resembled that of a rhododendron, but the petals were fiery red that gradually turned into vibrant yellow towards the tip with the stalk and leaves jade green in colour.

Glass cloche with flower (setting is something like this)

Rhododendron flower

"That is an Oo flower. It is a rare flower that blossoms when it is gifted to someone else. It will grow as the owner grows. So now, this is your Oo flower. It will grow as you grow," Adrianus explained as simply as he could so that Anouk understood what he is trying to convey. Anouk's eyes lit up as she excitedly got up to her feet.

"I'm going to go plant this now!" Anouk said cheerfully with a huge smile on her face. Adrianus chuckled at his daughter's enthusiasm, but stopped her before she stepped outside. "It's cold tonight. We can plant it tomorrow morning together. For now, it's bed time." Anouk was slightly disappointed, but the thought of planting the Oo flower together with her father the next day was making her overwhelmingly happy. "Okay!" Anouk replied with the same amount of enthusiasm. Adrianus kept the bulb back into a small box from which he kept it before and brought Anouk to her bedroom. He watched her brush her teeth, wash her face, hands and feet; and finally tucked her in her bed. 

"Papa? Can you tell me a bedtime story about how you met Mama again?" Anouk asked politely as she gently tugged on her father's sleeves. "Why, of course my dear. I love talking about your mother," Adrianus replied. Just as quietly the day started, the day ended just as quietly.  

The next morning, Anouk woke up and immediately bathed and clothed herself. By the time Adrianus was done fixing up breakfast for both of them, Anouk was all ready to face what the day might bring. "Anouk, breakfast time!" Adrianus called for his daughter. Anouk came running outside her room to the kitchen. She was wearing her favourite blue summer dress.

Blue summer dress (the closest to my imagination)

"Look at my little girl! Not so little anymore, I 'm afraid. Why, just look at you! You bathed, you clothed yourself and combed your hair! You are practically a young lady now!," Adrianus complimented Anouk. "Thank you papa!" Anouk replied as she gave her father a hug. She seated herself on her usual spot across from her father and waited for him to seat himself. As soon as he did, they each said a silent prayer and started eating breakfast. It was a quiet breakfast just as any other day. They would sometimes engage in small talk about their plans for the day and make jokes as they eat accompanied by the sound of birds singing their morning song. When they were done, it was almost time to plant the Oo flower bulb Anouk received the night before. As Adrianus cleaned up, Anouk went outside to tend to her tiny garden. Her flowers were blossoming and her flower bulbs were sprouting. Just as she was done, Adrianus came out with a small flower pot which was the exact size as the flower pot for his Oo flower.

"I got this yesterday for your Oo flower. So we have matching pots." Adrianus said said with a warm smile as he handed the flower pot to his daughter. "It's perfect! Thank you papa!" Anouk said and gave Adrianus a peck on his left cheek. She took the flower pot and placed a heapful of soil in it. 

"Now, Anouk. An Oo flower is a flower that thrives on mana. You don't need the right amount of soil or even sunlight for it to grow. It will grow as you grow. So what you need here is just enough soil to cover the whole flower bulb" Anouk nodded and halved the soil. She then proceeded to make a hole in the middle and placed the bulb inside before covering it with more soil. Adrianus passed Anouk her watering can which she took and watered the flower bulb with. 

"Now, I just have to wait for 3-4 months for it to sprout!" Anouk said enthusiastically. Adrianus chuckled at Anouk's remark. "My sweet, an Oo flower only takes a day to sprout." Shocked, Anouk exclaimed excitedly, "REALLY?! OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD! I CAN'T WAIT!" 

Just as how peaceful the day started, that was how peaceful the day ended. Who would have thought that a month later, war broke out between two kingdoms of  Luchten. The kingdoms of Zonnen and Manen had a disagreement and both had requested reinforcements from the kingdom of Sterren. King Canes Venatici, the Thirteenth Ruler of Sterren refused to partake in the war and instead offered to become the mediator of the two kingdoms. King Soleil of Zonnen and Queen Kuu of Manen agreed on the condition that both kingdoms obliged to all the conditions set by all three kingdoms with King Canes Venatici as the mediator for the treaty. 

As a high ranking official of Sterren, Sir Adrianus Aldert was sent with his troops acting as the messenger of Sterren to receive the conditions of Zonnen and Manen for the treaty. Ilse Aldert, Anouk's paternal aunt stayed with her as per Adrianus' request. 

Anouk, I promise I'll come back. It's just a treaty. It's safer than being the king's guards. Besides, I can always use some of my Inferniate powers on the enemies. In the time I am gone, have a close watch at your Oo flower. You'll notice your flower will start having some colours. And you won't be alone sweetheart. Your aunt will be with you here in our house. So you won't have to leave your beautiful garden. Take care of yourself for me, okay Pumpkin? Papa will be back as soon as the threat is gone. I love you Anouk Lara.

Those were Adrianus' last words before he left almost three weeks ago. The treaty was going well according to the high ranking officials of Sterren, so things were looking bright. Then, the devastating news came. A few days after the treaty was signed by the kingdoms of Zonnen and Manen, Adrianus and his troop was ambushed by a ruthless gang of bandits called Duivel. There was only one survivor, Meese. He managed to escape with one of the three copies of the treaty while the others laid their lives on the line protecting him.

"I'm sorry Ilse. I couldn't do anything. We did not expect an ambush from Duivel. I am so sorry. I wish there was something I could've done to save him. To save all of them!" Meese was on his knees, drenched in his tears and begging for Illse's and Anouk's forgiveness for a matter that was not his fault. Before Ilse could say anything, Anouk gave Meese the warmest hug her little body could offer. 

"Uncle Meese, it's not your fault. I'm sure papa or uncle Liam or uncle Ruben or uncle Timo or any of them don't want you crying over them. You brought the treaty back safely to Sterren right? I'm sure they're smiling from the heavens," tears streamed down Anouk's face, but her face still bore a smile. Meese who was already overwhelmed with emotions returned the little girl's hug, joined by Ilse. They stayed just like that for a few minutes. Sobbing quietly amidst the sound of the fire crackling in the fireplace. 

Tears streaming down her face, but she still smiled

"Anouk sweetheart, are you sure you will be alright living in this house?" Ilse asked Anouk for the umpteenth time. "Yes, aunt Ilse. This is where my mama gave birth to me, cared for me till her last dying breath and where my papa raised me the best he can on his own. Besides, my garden is here. I want to be here. I want to live my life here alongside the memories of my parents," Anouk replied her aunt. Ilse gave in and decided to live in with Anouk until she reaches the age where she can care for herself. "Aunt Ilse, would you like to see my Oo flower?" Anouk suddenly asked. "Yes, I would love to Anouk dearest."

Anouk brought her aunt Ilse to her little garden. "Papa told me my Oo flower will start showing some colours in about three weeks time. I woke up this morning and voila!" Anouk held up her Oo flower for her aunt to see. "My goodness! Your Oo flower is growing so fast sweetie! It looks like... hmm... One of your flowers you showed me before," Ilse remarked. She was trying to recall the name of the flower Anouk showed her some time ago.

"You remembered! Yes, it kinda looks like my budding chrysanthemum! I can see some shades of very light blue on some of the petals," Anouk said excitedly. "YES! That's the one!" Ilse replied with equal enthusiasm and continued, "I'm sure your Oo flower will be very beautiful." 

"Just like papa's?" Anouk asked innocently. "If not more," Ilse replied. Anouk smiled and kept her Oo flower close with her other small potted flowers. "You are an amazing young lady, my dear Anouk Lara," Ilse said as she gave her niece a big warm hug. 

"Aunt Ilse, do you think I'll get my mama's power or my papa's?" Anouk asked her aunt out of the blue. "We will know once you start developing them," Ilse replied with a smile before grabbing hold of Anouk's right hand and both of them headed inside. 

A couple of years passed and at the young age of eight, Anouk unlocked her Floralorial powers. "Anouk sweetie. In Lachten, everyone has a potential to develop powers of  four different types. They are Floralorial which responds to the element Earth, Inferniate to Fire, Windevento to Air and Aquavai to Water. This is predetermined by which powers you inherit from your parents. Some may even inherit both. But this is very rare. It's as rare as Floralorial users in Lachten. Even more so a powerful one like you and your mama. Your mama had the same powers and she was the most powerful Floralorial in the whole of Lachten before she got sick. I may not be able to teach you how to use Floralorial techniques and spells, but I can teach you how to control your mana and powers," Ilse explained meticulously to Anouk so that the eight year old understood that having powers meant big responsibilities. 

"Okay aunty," Anouk replied while nodding as a sign she understood. Talented Anouk mastered her powers in no time at all. Her powers allowed her to grow whatever she planted at a faster rate, she could enchant crops to make them taste more delicious and change the soil's properties and moisture to suit her plants' needs. The amazing quality of her crops and flowers lead to Anouk and Ilse opening up a stand at the local marketplace. Ilse quit painting to sell Anouk's produces. Life was peaceful and they were content with life as it was. 

One night, Anouk woke up from her sleep. She had been waking up in the middle of the night quite often ever since Adrianus died four years ago. They never did recover any of the troop's corpses, but knowing how merciless the Duivel was, the troop members were considered dead. Anouk slowly made her way towards the living room. She took a wooden stool and placed it right in front of the fireplace, carefully stepped on the stool and stared at Adrianus' Oo flower on the mantel shelf that was at the same spot as it was years ago.

"Papa, it's been 4 years. My flower is not growing much. There are some colours now, but it's still a long way to go until it becomes like yours. Your flower is so beautiful. It's my favourite till this day... Papa... I miss you. I wish you were here for my tenth birthday," Anouk silently mumbled to herself.

 

To be continued...

Hey guys! I intended to write to short story, but it's becoming too long for one post. So I'm dividing it into two parts (hopefully just two!). Hope you guys like it so far. Do leave constructive criticisms if you have any coz I know my story writing sucks since I'm very rusty. If you have problems deciding how to pronounce some of the names here, use Google translate and the language Dutch 🤭. Oh, except for the rulers names and the powers. Canes Venatici is the name of a constellation, Soleil is French for sun and Kuu is Estonian for moon. Floralorial and Inferniate are taken from The Sims 4: Realm of Magic while Windevento and Aquavai are made up by me 😂. 

How to pronounce Oo: Oo as in "look". I actually modified to spelling to my liking. I will reveal why I chose such a weird name for a flower in the next part. HAHAHA 😂

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the pictures. All were obtained online.

This is Erna signing out! Tutt... Tutt...