Morning in the Meadow

Nebulae Nyx stepped into Rainbow Meadow as the morning sun painted the flowers in brilliant colors. Her star-speckled robes fluttered in the gentle breeze, and her Milky Way hair sparkled with tiny lights.

"Welcome to our annual Butterfly Counting Contest!" called Mayor Petal, a cheerful woman with curly red hair. She held a bright clipboard and wore a flower-print dress. "Each contestant gets one hour to count butterflies. The winner receives the Golden Net Trophy!"

Nyx watched dozens of orange, blue, and yellow butterflies dance from bloom to bloom. This looked simple enough.

"I accept your challenge," she said with a theatrical bow. Purple energy flickered around her fingertips as excitement built inside her chest.

The Purple Problem

Mayor Petal blew her silver whistle. "Contest begins now!"

Nyx spotted a cluster of bright orange butterflies near some daisies. She pointed at them and whispered, "One, two, three..."

Purple sparks shot from her fingertips. The butterflies vanished instantly.

"Oh no!" Nyx gasped. She tried counting blue butterflies by the roses. More purple energy burst out. Those butterflies disappeared too.

A young baker named Sam walked over, carrying a box of cupcakes for the contest picnic. His brown hair was messy from work, and flour dusted his green apron.

"Hey, where did all the butterflies go?" Sam asked, looking around with confused hazel eyes.

Nyx's hands trembled. Every time she tried to count, her cosmic powers made more butterflies vanish. The beautiful meadow was becoming empty and quiet.