Dusk tinted the sky purple as the sun slowly crept its way below the horizon. The ruins of the fallen city cast long shadows across the cracked pavement. Years have passed since any human has set foot here, and the Forest has since reclaimed what was taken from it. The once great metropolis of concrete, glass, and rebar has all but disappeared under the dangerous flora that thrives in the absence of man. Man who destroyed to build their cities, factories, and machines that would eventually be their own demise.
Walking under an overpass covered in layers of poisonous, flowing ivy and broken machines, it stopped to watch as a distant figure wandered the ruins. The bright colors worn by the child of man stand in stark contrast to the deep greens of the reclaimed city. The boy skipped down the sidewalk as the sky slowly turned dark, oblivious to the Forest itself watching his every move. Carefree in the way only children are, the boy wandered along the abandoned streets that were once bustling with never ending activity. The Forest observed him silently.
The boy suddenly stalls in front of a drooping lily. Its petals were dull and browned. A far cry from the bold orange the other flowers blooming nearby. Reaching over an aggressively spiky bush, he plucked the flower off the plant.
The Forest bristled with hostility. It would not allow a human to walk into the Forest’s ruins and do as they please. Not after they destroyed themselves and the world in their own hubris.
A sleek black cat with toxic green eyes pushed its way out of the ferns, following the splash of neon amongst the green. It growled as it stalked forward. Mankind needed to learn. The Forest will not be felled by their greed again. But as it approached the spot where the boy had stopped, the once common spiked leaves became rounded, thorns disappeared and all the poisonous and deadly plants receded.
It stepped into the clearing where the child now stood, surrounded by glittering lightning bugs and flowering plants of all kinds. He placed the dying lily in a small pot of terra cotta. Its hostility melted away, replaced with a wary curiosity. The cat crept forward, watching as the boy watered the lily.
Slowly, the wilted petals regained their color. Leaves began to sprout as the flower took root, and soon, the lily had grown to eclipse any other in the ruins with its beauty.
The boy met the gaze of the Forest with bright eyes that seemed older than possible. He gave a small smile and a wave, then disappeared back out into the ruins.
The Forest stared at the blooming lilies before melting back into the ferns. Perhaps, mankind was capable of more than just destruction.
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