Once upon a time,
there was a girl named Flora.

She truly was beautiful,
with her perfectly tanned skin,
her long brown hair and her eyes,
as green and bright as nature itself.

Flora lived in her own little world,
full of wonders and magic.

She had a very special gift,
a power of nature,
passed from mother to daughter
and rare among all creatures.

Adored by her parents,
Flora was the princess of her very own kingdom
in the great forest,
surrounding her beloved home.

With the goodness of her heart
and an amount of kindness
only she could possess,
she ruled fairly over all her friends,
wether they were human or animal.

She really was a lucky girl, until one day, that was...

Flora was walking through the woods with her mother, Alyssa, and her one-year-old sister, Miele.

"Fowa! Comon! Comon!" Miele yelled. "Fowa come now?"

While she was running as fast as her little legs could carry her,
her older sister was stopping every five seconds to study this flower or to talk to that animal.
She was getting tired of it.

"I'm coming!" The eleven-year-old replied, still deep in thought.

Flora began running towards her sister.

Alyssa couldn't help but smile as she saw her elder daughter running,
only to stop a few short meters later, to look at a patch of flowers.
She couldn't blame her, it was a part of her gift, and it was in Flora's nature to do so.

At this point, Miele had had enough.
She raced back to her sister and dragged her forward.
The young girls fell down and laughed.

All of a sudden, they heard a shriek. They turned around to see their mother lying on the ground, Alyssa had fainted.

Flora was lost on what to do, they were quite far from home, her mother had fainted, and she was alone with her sister, who had begun crying beside her.
She thought for a moment, looking through her options, before making a decision.

Flora turned to her crying sister "Hey, Miele, don't cry, it'll be okay, you'll see..."

Miele sniffed: "Weally?"

Flora smiled "Yes. Now I need you to do something for me. Can you promise me you'll stay right here with mommy, while I go look for help?"

"Okay..."

Flora hurriedly got up, she knew her friends Layla and Bloom lived in the village nearby.
She ran all the way to the village. She did get lucky there, she bumped right into Layla, while she and her parents were shopping at the market.

"You... have... to help me!" She panted

"What's wrong, Flora?" Her friend asked.

"No time to explain, Miele's alone in the woods, mommy fainted, we have to get back there! Now!"

It didn't sit right with Flora to leave her sister behind, but she hadn't had a choice.

Layla caught on, immediately she called out to her parents "Mother, father, come here!"

Noticing their daughter's slightly distraught tone, they came quickly. Flora briefly told them what happened. Layla and her mother went back to the woods with Flora, while Layla's father fetched a doctor.

Thanks to Layla's parents' help, Alyssa got the help she needed, but she was diagnosed with a deathly illness that could not be cured.
Weeks passed, and the house that had once been so alive, grew silent.
Alyssa knew her time was coming to an end.

One day, she called her two daughters to her room. They came quickly, especially Flora, desperate as she was to spend time with her mother, before her inevitable death.
Rollos led his daughters into his and his wife's bedroom, where his wife was laying in her bed.

"Flora... Miele..." Alyssa breathed her daughters' names.

"Mommy..." Flora had tears in her eyes.

"I am afraid my time has passed, I must go soon. Can... can you forgive me?"

"Of course..." Flora let her tears flow freely as she hugged her mother. Her sister's face was a totally different story, Miele had no idea what was going on, but she followed her sister to hug her mother anyway.

Alyssa coughed, took a sharp breath and continued her little speech:

"My dear girls, can you promise me one thing, just one?"

"Anything, mommy." Flora sobbed

"Have courage and treat everyone and everything with the kindness they deserve."

"Courage and kindness, courage and kindness..." Flora chanted "Got it. I promise, mommy."

"Miele pomis too!" Miele added, totally confused.

The whole family joined in a last group hug, before Alyssa died in their arms.