The flower in the crater had grown.
What began as a single golden bloom had spread into a small garden, its petals shimmering with the same warm light that had once filled the Wellspring. Lena visited it every morning, kneeling beside the flowers, listening to their silent song. They didn't speak. They didn't need to. Their presence was enough.
Lyra found her there on the seventy-second day since the Wellspring's fall.
"You've been coming here longer each day," Lyra said.
"I feel closer to her here. To the Wellspring. To everything she gave us."
"She's not gone. She's just changed."
"I know. But I still miss her."
---
The garden grew.
It spread beyond the crater, into the fields, along the riverbanks. Golden flowers bloomed everywhere, their light soft and warm. People who touched
