For the festive days, I brought home a bouquet of lilies, mostly in tight buds. I love lilies, they are feminine and fragrant. Within a day, several flowers began to open, filling home with a subtle, elusive scent. The day after Christmas, sunlight streamed into the room illuminating the blossoms. The lilies bloomed with such dramatic fervor: petals flung wide open, the stamens vividly exposed, and fragrance intensified to a crescendo. One particular bud caught my attention. It had begun to s...