Life Cycle of a Blossom

What you are about to see is a series of time-lapsed photographs, recording the life cycle of a Christmas Cactus blossom.
This is a rare and beautiful sighting. It took much patience and dedication to capture these early moments of the blossom's life.
The photographer was truly committed to their cause, spending mind-numbing months of solitude in their hideout, in order to preserve these precious moments for the viewing pleasure of others...not unlike those heroes who brought us the first filming of a Snow Leopard on Planet Earth.
How the anticipation must have built when the blossom began to open up!
Petal by petal, the beauty is unwrapped...
At last! The glorious bloom is revealed! Oh the splendor! The filmy petals! The delicate stamen! The vibrant hue of pink! Life is worth living again! The photographer has forgotten the long, silent days behind the lens, and now only rejoices in the present beauty. The cost is as nothing.
But all good things come to an end.
Such is life.

Wow, that is depressing.