"Go on," Maddy said, her voice unusually soft as she stood behind him. "Pluck it, Johnn. It's yours."
But Maddy knew it wasn't just a simple flower or a completed contract. As she watched him, the "predator" within her went silent, replaced by a rare, grounded observation of the human spirit. For Johnn, this was the culmination of a lifelong haunting.
Ever since his mother was killed, he had been a boy wandering through a dark, deadly forest in his mind. He had become an adventurer for this exact moment—to find the miracle that had arrived too late for his own family. Now, seeing the blinding white petals of the Light Bloom… a flower Maddy had literally woven out of her own light and intent, Johnn's knees finally gave out.
He collapsed in the dirt, his hands trembling inches away from the glowing stem. Large, heavy tears carved tracks through the grime on his face.
