Mio was cutting up a fruit to eat when she heard a very excited voice call out to her from outside of her home.

“Mio! Miovadi, get out here! Something amazing has happened!”

The delight in the voice was palpable and was like a leash around the young prentice. “Naka? What is it?” Mio rushed to wipe her hands clean on a towel before she hurried out to meet her neighboring sister.

The Elarian outside was not that much older than Mio was, and wore the largest grin that Mio had ever seen. “You will not believe this! It is simply amazing and wonderful and crazy! I know you will call me crazy, but it is all true! It really is!”

Mio looked around for a sign of the source of the excitement and sighed with amusement. “Naka, please take a breath before you faint. Will you ever tell me what it is that has you so worked up?”

Naka waved her hands and bounced on her toes. “Oh! Yes! I was walking to pick up some more arrows from the fletcher, right? Everyone seemed to be in town today talking all about Esena and her newest blossom. There is a blossom plump and ready to burst, and she has chosen a mother.”

“She has ‘chosen’ a mother? So this little one is not responding to a prayer?” Mio shook her head again. Most blossoms came from prayers anymore, but anything could happen. “Who has she chosen, then?”

Naka squirmed with delight. “It is you!”

Mio cocked her head. “I do not know anyone named Yu. Is she new from Yael?” She couldn’t remember having met anyone with that name. That would be quite the honor to be fresh from the old home and get granted a youngling of the new home.

Naka laughed. “It is not a name, you silly. I meant, it is you!” She jabbed a finger at Mio’s chest. “You, Miovadi, are going to be a mother!”

Mio’s stomach sank. “That is not possible. Naka, you must have heard wrong. You should go back and check with-“

Naka shook her head wildly. “No, no, no! That is exactly what I heard. I had to ask because I could not believe my ears! Come on, come to the tree and meet your daughter! She will surely know that you are there. She will be able to grow up with your sister and it will be adorable! The elders are going to send someone for you soon anyway, so you might as well meet them there and save them the trouble.”

Mio felt her pulse begin to race, vision going distant while she was pulled along by her arm. “Naka, you have to have made a mistake. The elders made a mistake!” Her legs could barely keep up with her friend’s pace, and her thought process was even further behind. She was sure that she could still see the inside of her home from how hard it was to keep up. There was simply no way! What was she going to do? How could she possibly raise a child of her own? …Could Esena possibly consider her worthy of one?

The pair approached a couple other older teens, who grinned brightly and presented a small bundle wrapped with large leaves and a blanket... “Naka! Mio! She bloomed already! Mio, come meet your baby!”

She was definitely not ready! Why had the baby waited so long to chose her? This was completely last moment and gave her no time to prepare. Her palms were sweating and her heart was pounding against her ribs. A shaking hand reached forward to pull the blanket aside… her eyes widened and her jaw dropped with confusion. The piercing laughter of the sisters in front of her made her flinch backward.

“She looks just like you, Mio. Wanna hold her?” The girl holding the bundle held it up a little higher, the blanket dropping to fully reveal the rock that it had been wrapped around. Each of the sisters was shrieking with delight, reveling in their little trick. “Oh, Mio! Your face! If only you could see your face! I can not believe you fell for that!”

The gears jerked and clunked in Mio’s mind, working hard to figure out what was happening. It.. had all been fake! The adrenaline swept over her, and she let out a shriek of irritation along with a smack to Naka’s arm. “You scared me to pieces!” she gasped out, bending to brace her hands onto her knees and regain her breath. She was still panting when she finally looked up and pointed to one of the others. “Besides, she looks so much more like you.”

( word count: 788 )