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Lopa had the gentlest eyes and a heart full of questions. She often wandered to the edge of the magic lake, where flowers bloomed endlessly, of different colours each more breathtaking than the last. But instead of feeling wonder, Lopa felt small.

She would look at the first bloom and sigh, “I wish I was sturdy like that.”
She’d stare at the second bloom and think, “I wish I was delicate, soft and sensual like that.”

One day, with tears silently brimming, Lopa asked the lake,
“Why am I not as beautiful? Why do I always feel like I'm not enough?”

From the heart of the lake, a lotus stirred. It was not the brightest, nor the tallest, but it pulsed with an ancient wisdom. Its petals glowed softly as it spoke,
“When comparison steals the joy of being, you forget the miracle of your own bloom. Focus on yourself. Do what you love in the best way you know how, until you fall in love with who you are.”

Lopa blinked, startled.
“How can I fall in love with myself?” she asked.

The lotus smiled. “The moment you love and trust yourself, you’ll realize each flower blooms in its own way. Their fragrance isn’t meant to compete, it’s meant to harmonize. Your essence cannot be compared. It simply is.”

Lopa sat in stillness for a long time. She let the silence hold her, the water reflect her, and the lotus guide her.

The next day, she didn’t look for different blooms. She didn’t measure her steps against others. She danced the way she wanted to, grazed where her heart led her, and sang to the stars in her own soft voice.

Seasons passed, and one morning, the forest stirred with awe. In a quiet clearing by the lake, a single blossom bloomed, vibrant and colorful with golden and silver edges, wild yet graceful. The fragrance that filled the air was unlike any other.

It was Lopa.

She had bloomed.

Not like the others, but like herself.