A Sunflower for the Practical

Evangeline cupped the yellow flower in her hand. She hated her name, so long, and hard to spell, it had taken her 3 years to say her own name right. Evangeline was not like most mortals, maybe that was why she had been given a complicated name, because that’s what she was, complicating. Evangeline studied the soft petals of the sunflower, her skin a shade off from purple, leaning towards blue. Sometimes she wished she could be like other mortals, more creatures of thought, then passion. Which said a lot about Evangeline’s people. 

Evangeline raised her eye, looking around the field, she found it ironic that sunflowers grew under the light of Ether lamps. The intricate iron and copper workings of this structure supported a giant light, that floated near the top of the dome, and shed light similar to sunlight, but more blue. It was duller than the average Ether lamp. Evangeline looked back down at the sunflower, then she ate it. Not like a carnivore! She didn’t messily shove the whole thing in her mouth. Evangeline was above such acts of untamed hunger, unlike some of her kind.

She carefully plucked off its petals, and laid them on her tongue, where she savored the taste of a sunflower. She didn’t taste like other mortals, she tasted color. She resisted scrunching her face at the sourness that was yellow, and then a warm more honey kind of flavor (at least what she guessed honey tasted like). Then she swallowed it, it left a milky aftertaste. She ate all of the pedals, and felt the Ether energy within build. 

“Are you done ma’am?” A polite voice asked. Evangeline turned, and opened her eyes, the bliss of yellow fading. The gardener was mortal, but not an Ether-being, like Evangeline. She was human with skin tanned dark from working under the Ether light. 

“Yes, I am finished, thankyou.” Evangeline thanked the gardener, who was giving her a curious look.

“You’re not like others that have come to me looking for Ether.” The gardener said, accepting payment from Evangeline, it came in the form of a brown pouch.

“No, I am not. I apologize for the actions of my kind, we can come off as aggressive.” Evangeline said, picking up her coat, from where she had folded and placed it on a nearby bench.

“Before you go, if you don’t mind, could you re-spark my Ether metal?” The gardener asked, with a pleading smile, and needy eyes. Evangeline sighed at the improper terminology. “Ether metal” didn’t exist, what did exist was a connection between Ether energy and metal. 

Ether technology had come along with the Ether species, and Evangeline didn’t blame the humans for not knowing more about the technology they relied upon so heavily. She understood how blind the humans were to Ether. They couldn’t feel the energy under their feet. Evangeline followed the gardener to the metal pillars that surrounded the open aired platform garden. The pillars arched to form an open-aired metal dome above the garden, the lamp hung a few feet from the top off the dome. Evangline laid a hand on the pillar, it was carved intricately with vines, to encourage Ether energy, and it did help. No one knew why shaping metal into plant-like shapes allowed for better travel of Ether energy, not even Evangeline’s people. Evangeline felt the Ether flowing through the metal beam. It was weaker then it should be, the ground realizing that the metal was not a plant. All Ether came from the ground, it gave plants their energy to grow, and in some cases, metal to make lights work.

She felt the metal roots of the structure, and with her limited Ether manipulating abilities, convinced the ground that this metal beam, was a plant needing nutrients. Unlike most Ether acts, this was easy, pulling Ether from the ground when you already had good roots was a piece of cake. Ether gave itself up to the metal roots, and the Ether light at the top of the structure shone a bit more true, almost like sunlight, but still too blue. 

The gardener could feel none of the transaction that just took place between Evangeline and the ground, all she saw was Evangeline touching the metal beam, and her light got brighter. Therefore, it must be “Ether metal”. Evangeline shook her head as she let go of the beam, her awareness of the ground fading. 

“Thankyou kindly ma’am, that should last me a whole year before I need it tuned up again.”

“Not quite, it will only last a day, if we don’t get the other pillars.” Evangeline said, walking to the next pillar. She could have tried to extend her consciousness to support the whole structure and reconnect them all at once, but that would undoubtedly cost her the Ether energy she had just eaten. So she went to all 6 pillars, tolerating 6 over inflated thank you’s, and praises of her abilities. 

If only she knew what Evangeline wouldn’t do to be a human, or even a lesser mortal species. Anything to get away from the Ether species. It’s not that she didn’t like the Ether, she found the Ether abilities very useful, but the way everybody looked at her! She wanted to be able to walk down the street, and not have people bow to her, or in the more unpleasant cases, scoff. 

Evangeline left the gardener, continuing her walk through town. The town was all underground, but with all of the Ether lamps, you couldn’t tell. The giant chasm they all lived in fit the Ether species just fine. Though the Ether species could manipulate, and hold certain amounts of Ether, they couldn’t live on the surface.

This was not a mystery. Like a moth drawn to a flame, the blazing yellow Ether of the sun would completely override/overwhelm their Ether sensitive minds. In direct sunlight an Ether dependent creature would burst into flames by the power consumed.

So Ether species stayed underground, eating plant life to restock the Ether within them. Evangeline was once again reminded of the irony that she had just eaten a sunflower.

Then the ground shook. Evangeline stumbled on the path, but kept her balance. The Ether lamps all around the cavern grew impossibly bright before finally exploding! What was happening? Evangeline felt it, the brightness above. She felt Earth’s Ether cower before the brightness of the sun. The cavern ceiling broke. Evangeline looked down, shielding her eyes. Sunlight hit her. 

The Ether of the sunflower quivered within. Evangeline shook, keeping her eyes shut, as she curled up on the ground. The taste of yellow came to her tongue unprovoked. The Sun’s Ether forced its way in, becoming every aspect of Evangeline. Evangeline coughed, but kept her eyes closed. Her skin absorbed the Ether, becoming bright, and burning. The last thing she remembered tasting was the bitter-sweet of the Sun, that could have almost been the same yellow as a sunflower.