~I believe that junk food tastes so good because it's bad for you~
"What the...who the..."
Darren couldn't believe his eyes. From out of nowhere was a lady clad head-to-toe in peachy orange. Her complexion was like Daniel's - fair but slightly tanned. There was a tulip-shaped crown on her head, and tulip bangles on her arms...she was wearing a flowing peach dress with a leafy green collar...on her feet were flip-flops, of the same peachy-orange colour. She was more on the plump side, but she wasn't fat. Her eyes were dark blue, and her short hair was reddish brown, styled into something reminiscent of a China Doll.
"Oh, good day, sir," greeted the girl, who couldn't be over 20 years old. "How are you today?"
"Just fine, I think," replied Darren, who was still in a slight state of surprise. "My name's Darren...what's yours?"
"Oh, mine's Tulipa Praestans," answered the girl, whose cheeks were gradually turning a shade of orange. "You can call me Tulip though!"
"You mean...YOU were that tulip flower?!" asked a very dumbfounded Darren. Tulip nodded in affirmation. "But how did you change?"
"Magic, duh..." replied Tulip, who took a seat on the grass. "How else?"
"Yeah, but how did you get that magic?" continued a half-dazed Darren. "And why?" Tulip looked around and pulled Darren to the ground, placing him next to her.
"Actually, Darren...I'm not very sure..." confessed Tulip, talking softly into Darren's ear. "I just remember changing every so often into human form. To tell the truth, I'm not sure if I'm actually human!"
"What do you mean?" asked Darren.
"Since when do humans become flowers?" replied Tulip. "Hey, are you by any chance a plant too?"
"Not really," replied Darren. "But I am a member of Savage Garden."
"Savage Garden? What's that? Another forest?" asked an interested Tulip. Darren just laughed.
"Not quite - we're more musical rather than botanical!" replied Darren, his fingers playing around with the grass. "Me and my friend Daniel are a musical duo named Savage Garden. We write, record and sell our music and perform it live. That's our job basically - to entertain people with our music."
"Wow, sounds cool," said Tulip in awe. "Are you famous?"
"I guess you could say that," answered Darren. He noticed that Tulip was trying to stifle a giggle. "Why, what's so funny?"
"Nothing, but did you notice that the tulip is a flower for fame?" asked Tulip. Darren was surprised.
"Really? How strange..." said Darren. "Tulips are my favourite flowers!" Tulip began to blush, her already orange cheeks turning oranger and oranger.
"Are you saying that just because of me?" asked Tulip shyly.
"Not really - I've always loved tulips," said Darren. "It's just strange that tulips mean fame, and I'm famous..."
"Even more stranger considering you're looking at a human tulip," continued Tulip. Darren gave her a strange look, which prompted her to change the subject. "Hey Darren, are you hungry?"
"I guess so - I only had coffee for breakfast," replied Darren.
"Oh good, coz I have some strawberries I can't seem to finish," said Tulip, lowering her crown. Inside the crown were some fresh strawberries. "Want some?" Darren agreed and shared the strawberries with Tulip.
"Where did all these fruit come from?" asked Darren when they've finished all the strawberries.
"I just wish for them!" explained Tulip. "For example, if I wanted a banana right now, I just think of one, and hey presto! A banana in my crown!" Sure enough, there it was - a perfectly ripe banana lying confortably in Tulip's crown. "Want it?"
"No thanks," said Darren. "I think I've had enough fruit for so far!" Darren actually was a bit hungry, but he was too shy to ask from Tulip. "Can you conjure up any other food in there?"
"Just fruit actually - which is kinda boring," replied Tulip. "I'm trying to get some of that coffee you mentioned...it smells good, and I want some!"
"How'd you know how it smells?" asked Darren.
"Just figured," replied Tulip, shrugging. "I don't think anyone would want to eat anything smelly, would they?" Darren shook his head.
"Well, better not get too much once you've found them," said Darren half-jokingly, "or you will never get a chance to sleep!"
"I don't need to sleep," replied Tulip. "Flowers never sleep - but I am getting a bit tired!"
"TIRED?" asked Darren. "You didn't do much work! Well, not much by the looks of it..."
"Changing form and wishing for fruit uses up a lot of energy - that's why I eat a lot," explained Tulip. "Still I get tired...sigh..." I know how you feel, thought Darren silently as he toyed around with the grass. But then again I don't change into florals. He and Tulip kept still and silent as they sat on the grass, absorbing the sunrays and the view.
"Hey, Darren, can I show you around?" asked Tulip, breaking the silence.
"Sure, why not?" replied Darren. Both stood up and walked hand-in-hand through the vast forest, Tulip telling Darren everything about it and Darren listening intently. Darren thought the forest was just trees but to his amazement he saw hills, ponds, lakes, shrubs, waterfalls, creeks, meadows...it seems that everywhere Darren looked there was flourishes of nature sprouting from its fertile soil. It was breathtakingly beautiful.
"Wow..." said Darren in awe. "This is beautiful...more than any park could have...you're really lucky to be living here..."
"Yeah, well, it gets boring at times, what with anyone barely around, and nobody coming to visit," sighed Tulip. Darren was bewildered.
"Nobody ever came here before?" asked Darren.
"You're the first I've seen," replied Tulip. "Although I think I'm not the only human flower around here...I mean, this place does have its fair share of fairies and pixies and what-not, but you're the first visitor."
"Fairies? Pixies? They exist?" asked Darren, getting a bit confused. He was trying to imagine little fairies flying through the forest, sprinkling magic dust...
"They're real...I've seen them, they're really tiny and the pixies don't seem to like the light a lot," replied Tulip nonchalantly, as though changing into flowers and seeing pixies were the most common things in life. "Probably the cause of my magic. What else could explain it?" Darren had to agree with her somewhat.
"Well, I better change back," said Tulip when she and Darren reached the foot of a hill. "See you later."
"Wait!" yelled Darren. "Can't you stay as you are?"
"Stay any longer as human and I'll wilt," explained Tulip. Her hands were slowly turning into leaves. "It's better for me to change into flower form now. I'm sorry, Darren. Goodbye." Before Darren could stop here, Tulip had already become her namesake...a peachy orange tulip lying on the grass. Darren kneeled down, picked up the flower and smelt it. Mmm...smells good... he thought. Better keep this before she gets trampled on. He kept the tulip in his breast pocket and walked to the top of the hill to get the sunshine.
