A Bright Sunflower

As I climb the gravel trail through the trees, a clearing at the outskirts of our village comes into view. The scene reaches a cliff, where the world disappears save for the setting sun.

"Sunflower!"

I call out to the girl crouched down in her little dress just off the trail. Her small frame is that of a child, one old enough to almost run out of fingers when showing her age. Light brown hair gets caught by the wind sometimes as she carefully digs her hands into the ground. I can see the corner of a pale blue eye in her profile as she works.

When she finally notices me, she turns and stands with a backdrop of beautiful flowers. Reds, purples, and yellows join the light of the setting sun. It all works together to highlight her wide smile.

"Father! Did you have a good day?"

"It was mediocre at best, but now it's great!"

"Goodness, you say that every day!"

I break into a light jog and pull my daughter into my arms.

She has grown so much since we found her all those years ago. Nothing more than an infant discarded by travelers from afar, the child would have surely died if not for being dropped near our gates. I was hesitant at first, with no wife to care for her and being busy with my own duties. It was difficult keeping her close by and well as I worked, sometimes being forced to rely on the kindness of the village. With hardly any time to sleep, the first few years nearly drove me mad. Seeing her now, I could never regret that decision for a day even if I lived another one thousand years.

"The flowers are blooming nicely! You are truly talented!"

"Really!? Yay!"

She jumps up and down at my praise. Having caught the contagion that is her joy, I rub my hand over her head.

"Seriously, well done."

I'm well aware that Sunflower doesn't have my ability to feel the plants' voices, but that doesn't stop her from caring for her garden perfectly. Perhaps her overflowing kindness is reaching down to their very roots.

The soft rustling of the trees is soon interrupted by a rumbling originating from my stomach.

"Alright, best we head back. Otherwise I might take a bite from the next person I see!"

"Ah! One moment!"

Sunflower drops to her knees again and starts digging between the stems.

"I need to say hello to the friends down here!"

After some time, those white fingers reveal the face of a familiar creature. Its hard body peeks up for a moment before drilling back beneath the surface. She strokes the back of the firefly larvae as it disappears.

"Attagirl! We've gotta treat these guys well so they keep the soil fresh."

"I'll feed them a little later tonight. Tonight is corned beef and cabbage, so I'll have some bits for them."

"Woah! We're eating well tonight!"

I take a seat on a stone sitting right at the edge of the cliff. In the distance is another forest and even further beyond are the lights of the city. In this orange sky, I listen to the humbing of my pride and joy as she puts the soil back into place.

"Sunflower."

"Hm?"

"Say you could leave this stale little place behind, what would you dream of becoming?"

Maybe the question comes to mind because the whole world is in view. The choice of a future was never mine to make, but I'm far too old now for lofty dreams. My life began in the fields and it will surely end there as well, but that doesn't need to be her fate.

"If you stay here, you'll probably just be married to one of the other boys and stay in the village forever."

My heart delivers a powerful shock to my brain, almost out of rebellion. I almost collapse down the hill as the words leave my mouth.

"Just the thought of giving you to one of those punks makes me want to send them away in a sack!"

"Hahaha, don't do that!"

She may laugh, but my pain was real. Regardless, she looks up at the patch of stars slowly blanketing over the sky. In those eyes, she must be seeing a world that I'm no longer capable of imagining.

"I would be a songstress!"

"Like…a singer?"

"Yup!"

Sunflower stands and does a little twirl. When she finally faces me, she places one hand on her chest as if feeling a melody in her heart. We've both seen this pose before when a group of traveling musicians happened upon our little town. I knew that her eyes were glowing as she watched, but I had not expected this.

"I will travel to every town and sing! I want all of them to know my name and my song! Then…"

She trots up to me and takes my much larger hands in hers. That beaming smile has a determination that almost takes my breath away.

"Then I can tell everybody all about you and everybody else here!"

"Sunflower…"

Tears well up in my eyes.

I can't imagine how to possibly make this dream come true, but I don't care. I want to see her shine just as she is now. I want the whole world to see it. I want to be able to point amongst the crowds and scream 'that's my girl!'. Her kindness can and will touch their hearts, this I can absolutely confirm.

"If you're going to run off and be famous, then I'd better get myself looking the part!"

"You don't have to change anything!"

"Haha! Already practicing your flattery, eh!"

I pull her into another hug as we laugh. Who could have known that having this girl around would be all it took to fill me with hope for another day?

"But…"

A cheeky grin appears on her face as she looks up at me.

"I wouldn't mind being a wife as well!"

"Huh—wait, don't tell me one of those brats is already making his move!? I'll boil him alive if he is!"

"Hahaha!"

With more warmth in my heart than the summer heat could ever provide, we return to our little home and prepare to fill our stomachs as well. I don't know where the start of her journey is, but nothing can happen without a good meal.