Image #10

Lily didn’t just *like* colors; she *loved* them with her whole heart! Red of a juicy apple, blue of the deepest ocean, yellow of sunshine – they all made her smile. But her very favourite thing was finding *new* colours.

One sunny afternoon, Lily was exploring her garden, which she secretly believed was full of hidden magic. She held her special “Sparkle Stone” – a smooth, iridescent pebble she’d found by the stream. Suddenly, the Sparkle Stone pulsed with a warm glow, then started to vibrate. *Buzz-buzz-buzz!* It tugged her gently towards the biggest, oldest oak tree in the garden.

“What is it, Sparkle Stone?” she whispered.

As she got closer, a tiny, shimmering door, no bigger than her hand, appeared on the tree trunk where there had been none before. It was painted with swirling patterns of colours she’d never seen: shimmering lime-gold, bubbly plum-orange, and a colour that was like a happy sigh. On the door, faintly glowing, were the numbers “1” and “0”.

“Scene Ten!” the Sparkle Stone seemed to hum.

Lily took a deep breath, tapped the door with her stone, and watched as it slowly, magically swung open.

A swirl of glittery mist, smelling faintly of blueberries and sunshine, spilled out. Lily peered inside and gasped.

It was a world made entirely of joyful colours!

A river of liquid sunshine flowed through the middle, its banks lined with trees that had leaves like giant, shimmering disco balls. Little creatures, shaped like fluffy, multi-coloured marshmallows, bounced along the banks, giggling. The sky wasn’t blue, but a swirling, delicious blend of cotton-candy pink, lemonade yellow, and grape purple. And the clouds? They looked exactly like giant, fluffy pieces of popcorn!

“Wow!” Lily whispered, stepping through the door. The air itself felt fizzy with happiness.

She giggled as she slid down a rainbow slide that appeared just for her, landing softly in a pool of squishy, glowing moss. A friendly marshmallow-creature bounced over and offered her a tiny, star-shaped fruit that tasted like fizzy raspberries and whispers.

The singing blossoms hummed cheerful tunes as she skipped past, and the ground under her feet sparkled with every step, leaving little trails of stardust. She even saw a flock of butterflies with wings made of transparent, shimmering jelly!

Lily spent what felt like hours playing in “Scene Ten.” She rode on the back of a giant, lazy glow-worm, helped the marshmallow-creatures build a tower of shimmering pebbles, and even tasted a piece of popcorn cloud – it popped gently in her mouth and tasted like blueberry pie!

Finally, the Sparkle Stone gave a gentle *thrum*, reminding her it was time to go. With a happy sigh, Lily waved goodbye to her new friends. She stepped back through the tiny door, which winked shut behind her, blending perfectly back into the old oak tree.

Lily skipped back towards her house, her heart feeling like a bouncy, colourful balloon. The garden looked the same, but to Lily, it was now filled with the secret knowledge of Scene Ten. She knew, deep down, that whenever she needed a burst of magical color, her Sparkle Stone would glow, and Scene Ten would be waiting.