Chasing Lights

Chapter 2: Sunflower Seeds

I was eight years old when my dad came home with a handful of sunflower seeds.

He had been gone for almost the entire season, and I missed him so much that I cried for days until he finally held me in his arms again. That moment felt like coming home, even though he was the one who left for a couple of months.

"I'm here now, Florence. No need to cry," he whispered and picked me up, my arms still tightly wrapped around his torso.

"Bu-bu-but... You will leave again!"

I cried into his neck, but my father simply responded by opening his fist in front of me. "That's why I brought these."

Curiosity got the better of me, and I opened my teary eyes to find about a dozen tiny black spots in my dad's hands. "What is that?" I asked, studying the unknown substance in front of me with furrowed brows.

"Here. I'll show you." He carried me up the stairs and into my room, where a few clay pots filled with soil were waiting on my windowsill. I wondered how they got there, but my father's voice diminished any doubt as he said, "Now, see these?" He held up his hand again, where still a bunch of small black crumbs rested on his skin. "These are sunflower seeds. Take one and put it into your pot, just like this."

I watched with wide eyes how he pressed his fingertips onto the seeds and gently placed one into the soil. Lifting his palm up to my face, he gestured for me to repeat his motion, and even though I had no idea what exactly was happening at that moment, I just did what he asked me to. I took a pinch of the seeds and let one fall into my pot before I placed it next to his own on my windowsill.

"What will happen now?" I asked as Dad swept a bit more soil on top of them.

"Now we wait and shower them with love and water. By the time I leave for next season, these seeds will have turned into tiny sunflowers, and you will be able to see them day and night."

I nodded as if I understood what he was saying, but the message behind his actions was still unclear to me.

"What will I do with them?"

Dad smiled at me, and I felt just how much he appreciated that question as he answered it lovingly, "You will know that no matter where I am, these flowers will grow from the sunlight we live with every single day. It's the same sun I see all around the globe. And whenever you miss me too much, you can just look at these flowers and remember that warmth is always with you, no matter how far away I may seem."

I took a moment to let those words settle, but I still couldn't quite grasp the concept of his message. "But you still won't be with me," I sniffed, and my father responded with a kiss on my head.

"Yes I will. I'm always with you, Sunflower. Don't you ever forget that."