There was a young girl who ran a small stall, filled with baskets of flowers. Taemin walked a little slower when he passed by it because he liked the faintly sweet smell of the blossoms that wafted in the air. It was refreshing at the end of a tiring day. He sometimes even bought some flowers, just a handful of jasmines. They were too tiny to make a bouquet of and the young girl usually sat threading them into garlands and other adornments. He really liked their scent so he put them in a small dish on his bedside table and soon his room wafted with that sweet, beautiful scent.

But one day when he stopped to buy some jasmines he found the girl closing down her stall. She had no flowers and when Taemin asked, she said that she was moving to the next town. Taemin wished her luck and began to walk away only to halt at her call.

She handed him a small pouch that consisted of a sole seed.

"My grandmother had given me this. She used to say that the flower that blooms from this seed is magical of sorts, it blooms into your heart’s desire."

"I cannot take this."

"I am selling it to you if you'd buy it. Even if you don't believe the story behind it, it's a rare wildflower species. It's a sturdy flower and wouldn't require much care."

"But..."

"I have no use of flowers anymore, sir...and I would be grateful for any price that you could give me for it. I chose to make only you this offer because I don't know anyone else who appreciates flowers so well."

Taemin couldn't refuse her offer after she put it like that. And hence he walked home, with a probably overpriced seed he didn't even know what it would grow into.

Taemin bought a small flowerpot the next day and planted the seed the way he remembered from his gardening class in school. He watered it every now and then but it hardly grew. With how busy he got, he forgot to water it at times. He worked a data entry job, just sitting in front of the computer, typing away all day, digitizing physical documents. It was a boring desk job but he made enough to get by. His parents had left him a small house so he didn't have to worry about rent. He hardly had friends. He had drifted apart from all of them. They had either left their quaint town to pursue a more dynamic career in the city or were married and caught up in their new lives. It was only him who had remained stationary in a world that had changed around him drastically. It was peaceful to live like this...but at times it was lonely because he would have a funny incident to describe at the end of the day, but he would have no one to tell and would just sigh, reminiscing the memory, hoping it wouldn't fade from him eventually.

One day he decided to go watch a film out of the blue after work. It had been years since he last saw one at the cinema. When it had ended, he came back from the cinema, looking more dreary than he had been before he decided to go watch a film. It hadn't bothered him before...or maybe it was the genre of the film...but he finally felt conscious of how lonely he was, of how gloomy he seemed...watching a film all alone in a theater full of people, people none of which had come alone. He couldn't remember a single dialogue or face from the movie. All he remembered were how some people cuddled close. How laughter resonated together at the funny parts. How the intermission was full of murmuring and conversation. How the young helped their parents up the stairs into the seats. How children giggled and played, running away from their seats in mid of the movie. How some people joked around, conversing excitedly about the movie as they departed. How some people held hands, whispering to each other as they stayed till the credits ended.

He had bought some beer and he opened a can as he sat in the rocking chair next to his window. He sat cross-legged and rocked slowly, taking small sips, sighing as he let his heart wallow freely. A short while later, as he focussed on the window ahead of him, he finally realized that the flowerpot sitting on the sill...now had an elegant white flower standing amidst short leaves. It looked like a jasmine but it was bigger. He got up and the scent that hit his senses was of jasmines, but sweeter, fresher. He touched the soft bud, a little smile finding its way on his face. He sighed as he turned away from it, finishing off his drink and heading to bed.

It was his day off the next day but Taemin was up at dawn. He poured some cereal for himself and sat in the rocking chair again, remembering that his flower might have bloomed by now. As he had expected, the bud had bloomed and the flower now seemed bigger. He just sat watching it, drowning in thoughts he couldn't really keep track of. As he chewed slowly on the fruit loops that had gone soggy, he noticed the flower move strangely. He ignored it at first, thinking it to be the breeze but it kept moving...like something was moving it. He set his bowl aside and walked to his window sill, shifting the pot so he could have a look at it. Perhaps an insect was caught inside the petals or something-

His eyes widened when he shifted the white petals slightly...because sitting in between wasn't an insect but a little person. He withdrew his hand in panic, blinking and reassuring himself that he had seen wrong. But the flower moved again and he reached out for the petals again, shifting them and freezing in his spot. It indeed was a little person.

Taemin withdrew again, walked away from the window. He walked around the house, his thoughts astray, erratic. He approached the flower again and the little person was now peeking out from between the petals. He just stared at that little head, who was smiling at him innocently.

Taemin shook his head, closing his eyes and when he opened them again, the little face was still there, the smile on his face intact.

Taemin was sure he was seeing things...maybe it was the remnant alcohol in his system. So he turned away, deciding to ignore what he saw but words pierced his mind.

"I am real. Not your hallucination."

Taemin turned around, wide-eyed.

"Yes, I can hear what you think. We communicate through our minds, not our voice. My voice would not be audible to you, anyways."

Taemin freaked out. He pushed the pot behind so he could close his window and turned away, his forehead wrinkling in tension at the bizarre person that had shot up from the strange flower.

Just my mind playing games because of the story I heard about the seed. Taemin thought to himself and decided to sleep a while more, hoping to sleep off the alcohol that was probably causing him to hallucinate.

Taemin had slept well into the afternoon, the whole morning scene was forgotten as he stepped out for a long walk to the town's diner for a proper meal. He was in no mood to cook so he got back with an extra serving packed for dinner. He put it in the refrigerator and when he glanced at his unfinished cereal in the sink, he was finally reminded of the flowerpot. He walked to his window and slowly opened it, convinced that he wouldn't see anything strange now that he was fully sober, well rested and well fed. But the flower had bloomed completely, the petals had spread apart beautifully and in the middle, a little man sat, dozing off, his head propped in his arms.

Taemin was agape, his eyes fixed on that little figure. He had only seen the head at first because the petals had been clustered around him. He was tiny but he was a grown man, not much older than himself if he had been...bigger. He was dressed pretty normally- a shirt, pants, boots. The air around him glistened slightly...something like glittering dust surrounding him. Taemin staggered back, colliding into his rocking chair, the sound making the little guy wake up. Taemin was panicking and not really thinking. He was about to push his shutters close but words pierced his head again.

"Wait!"

Taemin halted.

"You planted the seed, I can't leave unless I grant you a wish."

As if reading his thoughts, the little man's words invaded Taemin's mind again, "I am a sprite. I take the form of a seed in nature and when planted I grow as a flower, a flower the planter finds beautiful. The flower blooms and wilts and I return to a seed. I can only take my sprite form if the planter has a pure heart. And when my sprite form is released, I can only return to dormancy when I grant my planter a wish."

"You still don't believe me," The sprite's words flitted in Taemin's mind.

Taemin staggered behind, closing the shutters and walking back, dropping into his couch. He shook his head, switching on the TV and increasing the volume, trying to distract himself. Of course, he was still seeing things. There were no such beings as sprites or spirits-

Taemin flinched when he saw the little guy on his coffee table, soft, glittering wings fading into the air as he stepped closer, folding his arms.

"I don't really care if you believe me or not. Just make a wish and I will be gone."

He was so little but Taemin could make out how annoyed his expression was, how patient he was reluctantly being.

"I have no wish." Taemin softly replied, still unsure if what he was doing was sane.

"Then I guess I will have to wait around until you have one." He relaxed a bit, looking around, "The human world sure has changed since the last time I was here." As he turned, his eyes found the TV and he grew engrossed, awed and slowly flopped down onto the table, watching the programme Taemin had put on.

“Can’t you just grant any wish of your choice?” Taemin asked, “You can leave then.”

“I was warned to never force a wish upon my planter.”

“But why?”

“The price of that wish to be granted is my existence.”

Taemin sighed, hesitantly thinking of something he could wish for.

The sprite turned, smirking, “Think harder, Taemin.”

Taemin grumbled, “Shut up.”

He was a harmless presence, Taemin assured himself, as he let him fly around and scrutinize everything with interest. Taemin was getting ready for work and when he was done, he began to head towards the door. He closed the door behind him quietly, not wanting the sprite to follow him out. He was still unsure whether to believe if his existence was real or not... he knew, he could feel that he was real... but he just did not want to accept it. Magic? Fairies? Myths? They had always been nothing but stories. It was overwhelming to realize that all that was perhaps real. That there was another world existing alongside the one he lived in.

He crossed the bridge towards the bus stop, got on his bus, sat in his usual seat and leaned against the window, pressing his forehead against the cold glass. He sighed, letting his breath fog up the glass and his eyes casually drifted below, before they widened, finding a little head peeking out from the pocket of his coat.

His shock almost left him verbally but he suppressed it. Reluctantly, he reached out for the sprite but he was quicker and flew out of his pocket. He sat down on the little protrusion of the window, smiling innocently. It was probably because he knew what Taemin was thinking at that moment.

"Let me make most of my time in this age. No one can see me except you, anyways."

Taemin sighed in defeat and returned to leaning against the window, making sure to keep his eyes only on the passing scenery.

Can't you just stay in my pocket? Taemin thought in annoyance, watching the sprite circle around the many cubicles in his office.

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