Echoes of the Nightbloom

Chapter 5: A Miracle and a Map

Lara Valdez ran through Veridia with a joy that made her chest ache. The ground beneath her feet glowed faintly, like moonlight caught in sand, and the air smelled of warm stone and distant forests. Trees with silver leaves whispered in the wind, rivers shimmered like liquid crystal, and the sky above rippled with color—neither dawn nor dusk, but a light entirely its own.

Then she heard a voice, calm and deliberate, cutting through the serenity.

“Elara.”

She spun, expecting to see someone, but the space was empty. Annoyance pricked her. Really? Now? In a place like this?

Still, a thrill ran through her. She reached out to touch the glowing river, felt the cool shimmer under her fingertips, and then—

Her eyes snapped open.

Sunlight hit her face. The pencil she’d been clutching in her half-sleeped hands was now in her lap, and a piece of paper lay in front of her. Mountains, rivers, and silver-leafed trees sprawled across the page. Every detail precise, every line deliberate—despite the fact that Lara had never drawn anything beyond stick figures.She leaned back against the bed frame, the paper trembling slightly in her hands. Her pulse thundered in her ears as she stared at the drawing, at the lines and details she had no memory of choosing, no memory of learning how to make.

“How… what… when did I even do this?” she whispered, more to herself than to the quiet room.

The question had barely formed when a sharp, insistent sound sliced through the haze in her head. The alarm. Loud. Unforgiving. A reminder that whatever strange, impossible thing had just happened didn’t matter to the world outside her bedroom.

Time was moving forward whether she understood it or not.

Lara dragged in a breath, pushed herself upright, and glanced once more at the drawing before setting it aside. Whatever this was—stress, imagination—it would have to wait.

The day was already demanding her attention

---

By 7:57 a.m., she arrived at Nexus Prime, three minutes early. The lobby hummed with quiet efficiency. Lara straightened her blazer, gritted her teeth, and prepared herself for the battlefield of the office.

“Ms. Valdez,” Kyle Thorne said the moment she stepped inside his office. “I need you to duplicate the Q3 quarterly file, laminate it, cut it to exactly 3.5 inches, and have it signed by all five department heads. Ten minutes. No fewer. No excuses.”

Lara blinked, then muttered under her breath, “You mean… perform miracles?”

Kyle raised an eyebrow. “Precisely.”

“Alright, world,” she said, mock solemnity dripping from her voice. “Prepare to be dazzled by the most unqualified miracle of my life.”

She sprinted to the supply room, gathering laminators, rulers, and folders with the flair of a heist movie.

“Miss Valdez, lovely morning,” a coworker greeted as she passed by.

Lara grinned. “Lovely only for the self-proclaimed saint sitting in the CEO’s chair,” she quipped.

By the time she returned with the finished folder, the miracle was complete. Kyle didn’t comment—just the faintest twitch at the corner of his mouth, the kind Lara couldn't notice even if she tried.

---

Later, at home, Lara collapsed on the couch, staring at the drawing again. Iris peered over from the kitchen door, eyebrows raised.

“That’s… incredible,” Iris said carefully. “I mean, who drew you that—?”

“I don’t know,” Lara admitted, eyes wide. “It’s like I was… somewhere else. And I saw it. Every detail. I’ve never drawn anything like this before.”

" You did that? that's crazy" never knew you had a secret talent.

Iris didn’t press further, but her gaze lingered thoughtfully. Instead, she asked, “So… birthday plans? You turning another year older soon”

Lara groaned dramatically. “I don’t even want to think about it. Maybe a small get-together. Nothing crazy. Just… normal human fun.”

Iris smiled, ruffling Lara’s hair. “Normal human fun. One would think you aren’t normal with that statement. You owe me the first piece of cake, anyway.”

“Funny you should say that,” Lara said with a sigh. “Don’t be surprised if you see a mermaid on my bed tomorrow instead of me. And you are going nowhere near my first piece of cake—that’s my favorite part.”

“Ugh, fine. But we should invite your hot boss though. It would be fun,” Iris teased, tugging on Lara’s leg to pull herself onto the couch.

Lara smacked her on the back of the head. “Ouch! What was that for?”

“I said nothing crazy,” Iris replied innocently.

“That’s the perfect definition of crazy. But… well, you can do that if you’re planning my funeral,” Lara said, standing to check if she could grab something to eat. She screamed from the kitchen, half-serious, half-exasperated.

"IRIS!"