Chapter 4

A Chapter by bailish

The rest of the day, Phet didn't know what she was going to do. She knew that if she disobeyed her mother, the consequences at home would be extreme. But if she didn't go to the cave, then the magic of the cave would disappear. And the soldiers there increased the chances that something would go wrong and her mother would find out.

Finally, around noontime, Phet could resist the attraction of the cave no more. She had to take the chance of replenishing the magic. And so, she headed out, looking for the rare flower that she had seen before. She walked all around, but couldn't find any. She noticed the lengthening of the shadows and was just about to give up, when her eyes lit up. Could it be? She started running. Sure enough, she had found a patch of flowers that were exactly like the one she desired.

She started picking up the flowers, placing them one by one in her skirt, which she used as a makeshift basket by holding up her hem. Very carefully, she counted as she went, to make sure that there was no mistake. When she had managed to place exactly 49 flowers, she walked ever so quickly toward the cave, but not so quickly that any would drop. She was so happy, as this would be the completion of the third task, and she could play in the magical cave forever.

But it wasn't meant to be. She hadn't walked for more than a few meters before she froze in her steps. There, standing in front of her, was her mother, on her way home from the fields, staring at her with a glare that meant she wasn't going to get away with anything. Phet's enthusiasm instantly dropped, and the gleam in her eyes dulled.

"What are you doing, Phet?" The sternness of her mother's voice sent a chill up her spine. She didn't know what to say.
"I'm ... just playing, mother."
"And where are you going with those flowers?"
Phet's anxiety rose in her throat. She couldn't tell her the truth, and yet her mother would quickly see through any lie she said. And so she gave the reply that wise children all over the world do in this situation: she stood quietly.

Her mother, seeing through the obvious deceit, grabbed her arm and pulled her towards home. As she did so, Phet dropped her skirt hem and the flowers all fell to the ground. Phet was stunned as she watched the destruction of her dreams, and she cried out. No way would she have enough time to collect 49 flowers again before sunset. Her mother gave her another stern pull, and Phet obediently followed, no longer thinking of what was happening in this world, only that she would be banished from the magical one, the worst punishment that a 5-year-old girl could imagine, much worse than any punishment she could imagine her mother giving her.