As promised in last Monday’s post, I’m back today with my own version of the “birth of sunflowers.” I hope you remembered and found time to write your own story. If so, provide a link to your story in the comments below. I’m excited to see what you came up with!
Sun-Lin and the Birth of Sunflowers
By Chandra Lynn
For my son who believes beauty should not require death.
Sun-Lin was a free spirit trapped in a body that was too fragile to let her fly free. Despite her name, she could not play in the sun like the other children. She could only watch from a veiled window. She was born with a rare disorder that made the direct sunlight intolerable. But oh, how she loved the sun and longed to be held by its rays and kissed by its warmth!
Every day Sun-Lin sat by the window, longing to be like the other children, squealing with delight as they romped through the grass, played stick ball or hide and seek. But Sun-Lin was always in good spirits because the children visited her frequently and related their exploits with such detail that she felt she was among them as they played.
One day Sun-Lin fell gravely ill. She was going to die. Nothing was going to change this. Just before sunrise (what she believed was) the morning of her death, Sun-Lin spoke bravely in a whisper to her doting parents. “Today, I say good-bye to you.” Her parents gasped! “I have one request,” she continued, “that we sit in the garden as the sun rises that I might finally bask in the sun.”
Her parents wrapped her carefully, placed on her lap a few colored pencils and a drawing pad, and wheeled her into the garden. The garden was breathtaking, filled with brilliant flowers of all sorts—zinnias, roses, hyacinth, lilacs, hibiscus, daisies, poppies, tulips, and so much more.
As Sun-Lin sat quietly, all the neighborhood children came to say goodbye. They prayed for her as only the little ones who know nothing of doubt and hopelessness can. They hugged her for as long as their attention allowed. Then, one by one, each child left but not before shedding tears. These tears fell on blades of grass and the tips of the flower petals and glistened in the sun.
Sun-Lin watched as the sun climbed high in the sky, and she thought perhaps she would try to draw the sun in all its shining glory. As she drew she thought about her life, how good it was, and how much everyone loved her. Before long, the sun began to descend and Sun-Lin’s heart leapt at the prospect of witnessing a sunrise and a sunset. Just after sunset, a little sad that this would be her last, she shed tears for the first time. Her tears flowed freely and gathered on blades of grass and flower petals and rested with those of the dear children who had visited her throughout the day. Night fell and she soon fell into a deep, restful sleep. Instead of moving her to her bed, Sun-Lin’s parents slept beside her in the garden.
When she awakened, strangely, instead of feeling weaker she felt stronger than she had felt in days. As she wondered about this, she noticed the strangest thing at her feet: the sheet of paper that held her drawing had fallen to the ground, and near it a strange flower she had not seen in the garden, grew and opened before her eyes. “A sun flower!” she exclaimed. For the flower looked just like her drawing of the sun, with the additions of a thick, long stem and a large brown center filled with seeds.
Sun-Lin did not die that day or the next or even the next. For the brilliant drawing had captured the rays of the setting sun and danced in the night wind. As it danced about the flowers and grass, it collected Sun-Lin’s tears and the tears of the children who loved her. The magic of the sun, of innocence, and the sweetness of dreams gifted us what became known as the sunflower.
Sun-Lin lived a long life–for the Sun’s gift was beyond its beauty. Physicians soon discovered the healing powers of the sunflower, so Sun-Lin’s mind and body were nourished a long time on the petals and the seeds of the flower that looked liked the sun and followed it just as Sun-Lin had.
To this day, the tall and regal sunflower follows the sun with deep devotion. In gratitude it provides nutrition and healing for all the little ones who love to dance and play in the sun.
