The key rule of The Smile and the Flower is this: > **Flowers alone cannot blossom. They must be watered by smiles.** The bush in the school’s flower bank may be heavy with buds (financial contributions), but it only blooms when enough stories have been gifted and received. So the system waits for two thresholds: - **Enough flowers** collected on the bush (the financial target, such as 420 units for a full project). - **Enough smiles** sent and acknowledged (a certain number of stories, drawings, songs or calls). Only when **both** thresholds are reached does **Stage Three** begin. At that moment, the flowers on the bush burst into bloom. In the interface the buds might animate open, or a simple message appears: > The dragon of loneliness has been pushed back. > Your smiles have opened the flowers. > Your school has unlocked a learning gift.