“Silly Hands,” Blue said, and Yellow sighed.
“So silly. You’d think they’d learned by now,” she said.
“Learnedwhat?” Levana demanded.
“That youcan’tgo another way. There is onlyoneway!” Blue said angrily.
“Which way is that, since you seem to have all the answers?” March asked, perfectly calm.
“Of course, we have all the answers. We’ve been here since creation,” said Yellow, and she turned her head the other way, and her petals moved so gracefully with her.
“So, help us, then,” Helen said, and she looked paler than most. “Just help us get through.”
“Why in the world would we do that?” Yellow shrieked.
“Because you’re flowers. You’re supposed to begood,” said Levana.
“I’m not supposed to be anything. I am simply me,” said Blue, and with her leaf arms, she actually pushed a few petals to the sides dramatically, like a person would do with their hair.
“So annoying,” Yellow said.
“They go on and on and on…”
“So, help us move on then. You won’t ever have to see us again,” I said, almost accidentally.
The flowers stopped. Looked at me.
“I suppose that would be a good reason,” Blue muttered.
“Itis,” said Russ. “We’ll be out of your petals in no time.”
The flowers turned to one another, flowerhead to flowerhead. I still couldn’t get over the way they moved, the fact that they had eyes and mouths. Voices.
Time’s Teeth, they lookedso real.
“All right, then. We’ll tell you how to unwin: youmustgo through the timewraiths,” Yellow finally said.
We waited a tick.
“That’s… that’s it?” asked Seth.
“You already told us that,” Levana hissed.
“Then you already know,” said Blue. “Go through the timewraiths and unmake the way that brought you up here, unplant what you planted, and all shall be fine.”
“What way?” someone asked, but the flowers were giggling.
They were giggling and waving their leaves as if in a secret gesture, and just before our eyes, their eyes and mouths faded. The sound of them remained only an echo in our heads as the others called for them, begged them to come back, not disappear. Talk to us—give us better advice.
But the flowerheads were just flowerheads within seconds, the flowers just flowers.
We were all alone—with timewraiths waiting in the shadows, that is.
“That’s it, I’m not moving from this place,” said Erith and sat down on the floor. “If they think they can get me to willingly give all my time to a wraith, they have another think coming.”
“Yeah, I’m not going anywhere near those things again,” said Russ, and he shivered visibly.
“But, guys, wehaveto,” said Mimi. “How else are we going to unwin?!”
