The afternoon sun slanted through the wooden shutters of the little riverside house where Royston sat cross-legged, quietly enjoying a rare moment of peace. In front of him was a small clay plate filled with fresh lotus seeds, glistening from the river’s cool wash. He loved the subtle sweetness of lotus—soft, nutty, and comforting, almost like nature’s candy. For him, this was a quiet ritual, a time to think, to taste, and to rest.
Royston didn’t know that this quiet moment was about to be turned upside down by Joyce. And the strangest part was—Joyce herself wasn’t even aware of what she was about to do.
Joyce had always been full of energy, sometimes clumsy, sometimes inventive, but always unpredictable. If Royston was the calm lotus pond, Joyce was the splash of a frog jumping right into it without warning. They balanced each other that way, though it sometimes meant that Royston’s peaceful moments got completely rearranged.
On this particular day, Joyce had been rummaging through the small storage shed behind the house. She was looking for fishing nets, but her curiosity kept dragging her from one corner to another. Old bamboo poles, wooden boxes, jars of dried herbs, even a stack of faded festival lanterns—each item pulled her attention like a magnet.
Meanwhile, Royston carefully peeled the soft green skin off a lotus seed. He popped it into his mouth and savored the taste. The crunch was so satisfying that he closed his eyes for a moment. The hum of cicadas filled the background.
And then—
CRASH!
A loud clatter rang out from the shed. Royston’s eyes shot open, the half-chewed lotus still in his mouth. He turned toward the noise just in time to see Joyce stumbling out, her hands cupped around something glowing faintly.
“Royston! Royston!” she called, her voice halfway between excitement and panic.
“What now?” Royston sighed, brushing lotus seed shells off his lap. He had learned that when Joyce said his name like that, trouble—or surprise—was guaranteed.
Joyce ran closer and opened her hands. Inside was a small, delicate object that looked like a lotus bud made of crystal. The sunlight caught it, scattering little beams of rainbow light across the grass.
“Look what I found! Isn’t it beautiful?” Joyce gasped.
Royston blinked, nearly choking on the seed in his mouth. “Where did you… find that?”
“In the shed! It was inside an old wooden box under the nets,” she said innocently. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s amazing. It even feels warm.”
Royston set his plate of lotus aside and stood up slowly. He had heard stories, whispered in the village, about a “lotus jewel” that had been lost generations ago. It was said to bring fortune—or mischief—depending on who held it.
Joyce, however, had no idea. She just thought it was pretty.
Unconsciously, she had done something extraordinary. She had unearthed the very thing people thought had disappeared forever. And she had brought it right to Royston—while he was eating lotus, no less. The coincidence was so uncanny that it almost felt scripted by fate.
Royston rubbed his forehead. “Joyce… do you realize what this is?”
She tilted her head, squinting. “A shiny lotus thing?”
He groaned. “It might be the legendary lotus jewel! People used to say whoever held it would attract unbelievable events. Some good, some… well, chaotic.”
Joyce’s eyes widened. “Really? Then maybe it’s good I found it!” She smiled so brightly that Royston felt his heart soften, even though his brain screamed that this could be dangerous.
At that exact moment, a gust of wind swept across the riverbank, stronger than usual. The jewel glowed brighter in Joyce’s hand. Royston instinctively reached for it, but Joyce pulled back playfully.
“Wait, Royston, don’t be so serious,” she laughed. “It’s just a treasure. Maybe it’s meant for us.”
But then—the unbelievable happened.
The jewel pulsed, and in a blink, the lotus seeds on Royston’s plate began to sprout. Tiny green shoots burst from the shells as if time had sped up a hundredfold. Within seconds, miniature lotus stems and leaves unfolded right before their eyes. Royston stumbled back in shock.
“What… is happening?!” he exclaimed.
Joyce’s mouth fell open, but instead of fear, wonder shone in her expression. “It’s alive! Royston, it’s making the lotus grow instantly!”
The once-quiet afternoon transformed into something magical. The little sprouts spread across the plate, weaving their way toward the ground, rooting into the soil at lightning speed. In mere minutes, tall lotus stalks rose, blooming into large pink and white flowers right beside them. The air filled with a sweet fragrance, and dragonflies appeared as though drawn to the miracle.
Royston could hardly breathe. He had grown up respecting the slow, patient cycle of the lotus. But here, before his very eyes, Joyce had unconsciously turned nature’s rhythm upside down.
He turned to her, his voice trembling. “Joyce… you don’t know what you’ve done. This is… unbelievable.”
Joyce blinked innocently. “I just showed you what I found. I didn’t do anything.”
But that was exactly it—she hadn’t meant to. Yet the surprise she had created was bigger than anything she could have planned.
Soon, neighbors began peeking through the fences, pointing and whispering. Word spread quickly in the village: lotus blooming out of season, right in Royston’s yard. Some thought it was a blessing, others a sign. Royston felt both awe and anxiety, while Joyce skipped happily among the blossoms, touching each one like a child in a candy shop.
“See, Royston?” she said, twirling with laughter. “Isn’t this wonderful? You were eating lotus, and now you have a whole garden of them! Maybe the jewel wanted to give you more.”
Royston sighed deeply. “Joyce, you’ve made a big surprise for me… and for the entire village, too. But I don’t know if this is good or dangerous.”
She placed the glowing jewel into his hand, finally letting him hold it. For a moment, their eyes met—her carefree sparkle against his cautious worry.
Maybe that was the real meaning of the jewel: not just miracles, but balance. Joyce’s unconscious discovery, combined with Royston’s thoughtfulness, had created something neither of them could have imagined.
As the sun dipped lower, painting the sky orange and pink, the lotus blossoms swayed gently in the evening breeze. Villagers gathered, children laughed, and even the elders nodded in quiet wonder.
Royston realized then that sometimes the most unbelievable surprises don’t come from careful planning. Sometimes, they come from the unintentional spark of someone you least expect—someone like Joyce.
And though his lotus-eating had been interrupted, Royston couldn’t deny it: Joyce had given him a moment he would never forget.
A surprise so big, so unbelievable, that it felt like the whole world had bloomed at once.
