EPILOGUE - One week later...
Within a matter of weeks, Madam Rossetti Florists had become the quite the go-to place for flowers in the tri-city area. Residents of Promethean and Thunder Cities (and even a few of the Lightningburghers) flocked to see the flower shop that had, almost overnight, become a full-blown greenhouse/arboritum.
Maria Rossetti was a completely different person. While before she had been a bit stressed, she seemed to be so much happier. Granted, the money lining her pockets was certainly a contributing factor... and there was no doubt in either her or Flor's mind that the newfound Audrey was the cause.
After Audrey's arrival last week, Flor's job had doubled: she was now both a part-time floral arranger and Audrey's full-time babysitter. It hadn't taken either Flor or Maria to notice that Audrey's problem wasn't that she didn't speak English or Spanish or Italian... but simply that she could not speak at all. Rather than wonder about this, Flor had done what her mother had done to get all of her children to learn English when they were young - she nurtured Audrey on a steady diet of public television.
Through the daily viewings of "Sesame Street" and "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood," Flor was astonished at how quickly Audrey had begun to master the English language. Within two days, she was already piecing together full sentences, learning basic math skills, and even showing aptitude with writing as well.
After that, Flor had brought her a stack of books and was amazed at how quickly Audrey had taken to reading them. Starting with Curious George to The Cat in the Hat, Audrey read each with relish, often finishing them very quickly and wanting even more to do. Flor and Maria were both completely flabbergasted at her progress.
"She must be gifted..." Maria said one day, watching as Flor stared intently at an episode of "Pokemon" on a children's television network.
"You're joking, right?" Flor said, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" Rossetti asked, swapping a sprig of baby's breath for another rose.
"Well, it'd be one thing if we were talking about a one- or two-year-old... but at her age?" Flor asked. "I just assumed she was making up for lost time..."
"Well, to learn so much in just a week's time... that's rare," Rossetti said, nodding.
"True," Flor said. "Personally, I'm more impressed with her horticultural skills..."
Maria beamed as she glanced over at a wall filled with what, for all she knew, were new breeds of flowers. Whenever she would get bored with watching television or reading, Audrey would wander out into the flower shop and... well, it was almost as though she were... playing with the flowers. She would take a couple of flowers - say, a tulip and a daisy - and, within a few minutes, would have created an entirely new breed. Maria's favorite was her cross-pollination of the orchid and the tiger lily, which Rossetti had made into a corsage that she wore constantly.
"She is gifted," Maria said, looking over at Audrey, sitting cross-legged on the floor. Her mouth was agape as the Bulbasaur on the screen sent several vines toward an unsuspecting Ekans in order to whip it. The young lady clapped her hands ecstatically. "No doubt in my mind," Rossetti finished, turning back toward the front of the store as the door chimed.
"Welcome to Madame Rossetti's!" she sang. "How may I help you, sir?"
The next thing Rossetti knew, there was a large metallic cylinder hovering inches from her face.
"Gimme all the money in the register!" the man holding the gun said. "You," he yelled at Flor, "on the ground with the other one!"
Flor immediately complied, dropping to the floor without so much as a rebuttal. Audrey, who had been, up to this moment, enraptured with the world of Pokemon, looked confusedly over at Flor, lying prostrate next to her, and then looked back up, taking in the form of the mugger. Her eyes widened.
"Stay where you are!" the man yelled at her, his gun still aimed at Mrs. Rossetti's head. "Stay there or I kill her!"
Flor looked up, as though worried that Audrey might try something, but she did not. Instead, she merely closed her eyes and began rocking back and forth on the ground.
At the till, Maria looked down at her curiously. "C'mon, lady!" the mugger shouted, jerking her back to reality. "Let's see the green!"
At that moment, two vines from opposite sides of the store shot towards the man, grabbing his arms and pulling them apart, the gun staying where it was and dropping harmlessly to the countertop. Before the mugger could say anything, a vine shot from behind him, wrapping his head - and most notably, his mouth - in its greenery, while two more vines entangled his legs, lifting him into the air, his body forming a large 'X' in the middle of the store.
His eyes wide and irate, the now would-be mugger thrashed a bit, tugging with all his might at the vines that entangled him. His strength was even causing a couple of the vines to tear a bit... that is, until they spontaneously produced thorns, which dug into the man's flesh. After a few muffled screams, the man stopped struggling, his eyes wide with fear.
Flor and Maria, both agape, gazed in awe at the suspended man... then back at Audrey, whose eyes were now opened and looking sternly at the mugger. "Well," she said quietly, "he said he wanted to see the green..."
"That," Maria stammered, "that... Audrey, that was amazing!"
"Seriously!" Flor said, rising to her feet. "How did you... do that?"
Audrey shrugged, shaking her head. Then, silently, she turned back toward the TV.
Even after the police had been called, all Flor and Maria could do was just look at Audrey in awe. Neither of them had ever seen anything like it before...
