Oradera judged for enough time for his vision to fade before she felt comfortable enough to take her fairy form once again. Slowly she approached him from behind.
"Hello," she said quietly.
Startled, he spun around only to be greeted by a big, blurry mass of color.
"Oh, hello there," he answered with squinted eyes. "Im Bunk," he continued as he offered his hand in introduction, "and Im sorry to say, but it seems my vision is fading and I can barely see you. I fear I must be more tired than I thought!"
"And I am Oradera. Oradera Vu," she
replied as she accepted his hand formally,"
and the reason why your vision is fading
is because of that Oradera floweryou just smelled, not weariness. For as beautiful as that flower is, it must
only be admired from a distance because once inhaled, it will cause blindness . . ."
"Blindness?!? I'm blind? he cried as he dropped to his knees. "But why weren't there any signs warning me of this and why would such a dangerous thing like that exist anyway? And now I'm blind?"
"The first thing we have to do," suggested Oradera while getting on her knees as well, "is to remain calm. I didn't mean to frighten you," she added in a comforting tone.
"Oh . . . but I'm blind" gulped Bunk.
"Now, if I remember correctly, this blindness you are experiencing is only temporary. You see, the Oradera flower only blooms every twenty years, so in order for it to live a full life, it must keep any possible harm such as our selves away from it. It doesn't mean to bother us. And if you had approached the flower a little slower you would have FELT the flowers warning signs to stay away."
"Oh," said Bunk again, "well, how long do you think this will last?"
"I heard it could be days," responded Oradera.
"Days?" echoed Bunk. "But I am from Uforbia, which is days away. How will I make it home?"
After looking at him with great amusement, Oradera casually replied, "you seem bright enough, Im sure you can find your way. But . . ." she said with a dramatic pause, "but of course I'll help you!"
"But of course!" Bunk repeated as he jumped to his feet while offering her a helping hand.
"Now if you'll just tell me in which direction this Uforbia lies, I will gladly see you get there," assured Oradera.
"Well . . . only on one condition - if you can answer me this: Are you, the fairy Oradera, as beautiful as the flower for which you share the same name?"
"Fair enough," shrugged Oradera, "and I will tell you this: your heart will be the first to know!" And as she grabbed him by the hand, she patted it firmly and concluded, "so until then my good fairy Bunk, shall we begin?"