“That’s how we made the lake,” Bugz said. “It was carved out of the landscape during a serious fire-breathing, lightning-crashing scrap they had a few years ago.” Bugz wiped water from her eyes. “All the craters filled up with groundwater. And voilà. Lake of the Torches.”

The Thunderbird took them flying low over the hills and treetops. Bugz and Feng squinted in the face of the tremendous air current streaming over the bird’s back.

“Show me something cool.”

“Like what?” Bugz asked.

“I don’t know, more flowers.”

Bugz closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, she turned to examine their flight path. A giant wave of flowers was closing in on them. It looked like a tsunami whose crest was about to envelop the Thunderbird. The bird looked back over its wings nervously. Soon the wave of flowers crashed up against it, but rather than dragging it to the earth, the flower tide pushed the Thunderbird forward, higher and faster. The bird squawked and flapped its wings in surprise. Bugz and Feng roared with laughter, deep belly laughs that came half from the bird’s reaction and half from the feeling in the pits of their stomachs, like the feeling you’d get on a rollercoaster. The bird squawked until it steadied itself and learned to ride the wave. Eventually, it shook its head as though clearing its thoughts.

“Awww,” Bugz said, petting the Thunderbird’s head. “Did I scare you? I’m sorry.” As she tried to reassure the bird, it looked away, like a child angry with its mother. “Aww, don’t be mad…because that was nothing compared to this!”

A train of animals on the ground ran along below Bugz, Feng, and the Thunderbird. This pack of creatures could only watch in awe as the wave of flowers suddenly spiraled high into the sky. The seemingly endless trail traced a giant loop-de-loop before tightening rapidly into a smaller corkscrew shape. The Thunderbird jumped off the wave and banked sharply to the right, abandoning Bugz and Feng who landed on the flower tsunami and continued riding it by themselves.

“Guess she’s had enough,” Feng said, looking behind them.

“I guess so.” Bugz smiled. She glanced down at the slim waist of her ’Versona. Shame crept back into her heart, into her mind. She examined the beauty all around her, the flora propelling her toward the heavens, the fauna running devotedly behind her on the ground, the boy she liked riding shotgun. In her mind, she knew she should be filled with joy. Yet something held her back. It weighed on her and prevented her from breaking into a full-on, teeth-baring, eye-squinting smile. Instead, she looked to Feng, and back to her waist. What the heck is wrong with me?