Ilios’ Bouquet

On this particularly breezy summer day, Ilios was on his way into the meadow adjacent to the woods that housed his village. He was barely paying attention to where he was going, as he had been there a hundred times. This time, however, was special. This time, he was going to pick the most magnificent flowers he could find to present them to his sister. She had just given to a beautiful baby girl a week prior. Ilios had been too caught up with work, otherwise he would have had a bouquet ready for her. He supposed it was still better to give her one now than not at all. 

As he reached the meadow, he stopped at the edge of the woods, standing in the shadows. He gazed warily around the meadow for a few minutes, making sure there were no human poachers there. It infuriated him that the humans hunted his kind like animals. That was why he trained so hard, so that he could protect his village and those he loved. 

Deciding that the coast was clear, he slowly stepped out into the sun, instantly overcome by the sweet scent of thousands of flowers. He breathed in deeply, closing his eyes and smiling. He loved visiting the meadow- it relaxed him. He then began scanning the flowers for those he would add to the bouquet. As he walked around, he was careful not to step on any flowers, as it would be sad to end a flower's life prematurely. 

He spent a total of 3 hours wandering around, and each time he chose a flower, he would whisper his thanks to the flowers for their sacrifice to his culture before he plucked them from the ground. He ultimately decided on  lilies, to represent the snow of the north, marigolds, to represent the vibrant nature of the south, jasmine, to represent the culture of the west, and the hardest for him to find, black petunias, to represent the absence of nature in the east. 

After he had found the perfect flowers, he smiled, putting them in the basket strapped to his back. He then began his short journey back to the village, excited to present them to his sister. He hoped she would like them.