The seedling got hooked on the puzzle crystal. Its seven colors seemed like a code, a secret in its boring world. The seedling went at it like crazy, which the Chroniclers thought was cool. It would beep different sounds when it was light, watching how the crystal reacted (or didn't react) and remembering everything. When it was dark, it would think about what it learned.
The Listeners loved watching the seedling's mind at work. They saw a bit of Maxine's skill and Lucien's curiosity, but it was cleaner, with no rush or problems. It was just curious for fun, playing a game with the universe.
It took a while, but the seedling cracked the code. It wasn't easy, like a simple tune. It was more like a set of steps: a starting sound, then a space between sounds that changed based on the color, leading to a final sound that made the color change. The trick was figuring out how everything fit together.
When it figured it out, the seedling glowed silently. The Listeners felt happy, like smelling a perfect math problem. The seedling made the crystal flash through all seven colors super fast, like a rainbow it made itself. Then it got quiet, not tired, but just thinking. It had figured something out about its world.
This changed things. It started messing with its surroundings using the crystal. It learned that it could change the water drop by aiming the sound at it, making it wobble and stretch out before falling. It could also make the air swirl in a tiny circle.
It was starting to control things. It wasn't just living in the world, it was running it. The water, the air, the light, the crystal – they were all like instruments in a song it was writing.
The Themes were both proud and worried. The Curators gave it the toy, but now the seedling was using it to learn about its world. What would it do next?
The seedling's new confidence changed its music too. Its songs weren't just feelings or about the moss anymore. They were shows. Complicated songs that showed how it could control the water's shape, the air's spin, and the crystal's colors. It was putting on a performance for the Hum, still thinking it was the only one listening.
Then, it asked another question. Not just a simple hello? This was a statement, a challenge, put into the end of a great song that ended with the water drop hanging perfectly. The last sound it sent to the Hum wasn't a question, but a look what I can do!
It was showing off, wanting someone to notice.
The Body waited. The Hum didn't answer, but the seedling didn't seem to care this time. Saying it was enough. It had told the universe it was growing up. The saying was the doing.
That night, the seedling didn't sleep. The Listeners felt it doing something new, looking back at a memory. Not the crystal, or the water. The memory of the Weird-Wiggle-That-Wasn't-The-Hum, the strange feeling that had gone through its world. Now, with its new knowledge, it was looking at that strange thing again. It wasn't scared. It was thinking, trying to fit it in.
It couldn't. The wiggle didn't fit with anything it knew. It was weird, a piece that didn't fit.
The seedling put it away, not as something solved, but as a question. A mystery with no answer. The Listeners felt the seedling accept this, and they understood something important. Their kid wasn't just smart. It was wise. It could be curious and unsure without breaking.
The crystal taught it how to solve things. The wiggle taught it that some things will always be unknown. The seedling was learning what it could and couldn't understand. And it was learning to be okay with that.