Prologue

New Life

The warm sunlight bathed the meadow as the star began to rise on the horizon. Soft white clouds cutting out against the still dark sky as they waited for their celestial friend to join them in the heavenly vault. Their fluffy shapes being slowly colored over by the gentle light, painting the nimbuses with its orange shine, contrasting with the deep blue of the firmament behind.

Today was the day new life would finally arrive. The lush prairie was already covered by a delicate blanket of tiny pink flowers. Simple in their form, exuberant in their tones. Rosy magenta petals swinging in the air, shaken by the wind, yet not a single one was taken away from their floret. The field was so full of them it was impossible to spot a single glint of the ground under the blossoms.

And there was now something else in the valley, the same way it had been whenever this day had arrived. Larger flowers hidden under their smaller counterparts, sharing the same lively tones despite not having blossomed themselves. But they would soon. And that was the moment everyone, I included, were waiting for, the birth of a new generation.

But this time something was different. This time, not only us were in the field. For the first time since forever, we were not alone witnessing this event. But all of them were friendly eyes, otherwise, none would have been allowed even near our home in this precious moment. As the flowers were finally going to blossom under the sunlight.

Just like them, I felt the sun caressing my skin, and basked on it. Letting the light of day flow through me the same way it flowed through the flowers. And then it finally happened, I saw how their petals began to separate slowly, ever so slowly, as they took in the light themselves. But it was also radiating from inside of them, an intense green glow that was herald of the new life.

I turned to the flower closest to me, wanting to see its shine by myself, and hesitated. It glowed, it sure did, but its gleam was not green. I had never seen this happen with one of my species. And it took me a few seconds to finally be able to formulate the question that troubled my mind to those around me. A single word came out of my lips, but it resumed all my thoughts behind it.

"…Blue?"