Linden's Flower

EDIT: I was somehow under the impression that we weren't supposed to credit the creator of the image we were assigned, but that wasn't the case. I'm happy to give credit to Leslie Merrit for the featured image I had the pleasure of using for the challenge.

This one was written for Mackenzie Davis' fun and unique ekphrastic challenge:

The bright little thing had simply appeared on a sunny, spring morning two days ago. There, amongst the litter from the trees and the occasional human, it had emerged from a small, green bud that had courageously pushed its way through the rich, dark soil.

It stood in stark contrast to its surroundings in the shady grove. Mosses, dead leaves, sharp, brittle needles and the other inhabitants of the underbrush paled in comparison.

When evening shadows deepened, it curled its translucent sections as if to block out the cool night air. Or, perhaps, it was simply closing its eyes in peaceful slumber. With the break of day, it opened again to display the intricacies within the protective outer folds.

On its first day, a passing bee lit on it and climbed about, then left, seemingly satisfied. A occasional ant crawled over its surface, probing for food, but soon lost interest and returned to searching the ground.

What was the thing's purpose? It seemed only to be a delightful decoration. It provided no shelter or shade. It could barely be seen, so close it was to the ground and yet, once noticed, it instilled an inexplicable fascination. Its color, structure and apparent texture simply demanded attention.

Linden had quietly observed the little thing for those two days. Her youthful curiosity was piqued, but she had been content to simply study it and wonder. On this, the third day, everything had changed.

As the morning sun had made its way across the sky above the forest, it had somehow sent a shaft of light straight through to the forest floor at Linden's base, where the light rarely reached.

In that shaft of light, the bright little thing glowed.

A more mature tree, perhaps, would simply be too preoccupied with sheltering the fauna of the forest and soaking up the sun for its own use, high above. Linden, however, in her early stages of growth, more shrub than tree, suffered no such preoccupation.

Completely enrapt with her new, dazzlingly briliant companion, Linden focused all her will on a single, leafeless shoot at her base. Slowly, carefully, she laid it gently down and inched it forward, determined to feel that soft, delicate shell and connect to that captivating light.

The forest watched, amused.

***