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My sister's sunflowers
Where can I get 200 hundred sunflowers? Will it be enough? Should I buy them all? My sister’s boyfriend asked frantically in every flower store. You see, I barely understand this thing about sunflowers and why she loved them so much. She is 8 years older than me. Wise enough to considered her as my mom but young enough to considered her as my friend. Nevertheless, my sister always stood by me. We shared practically everything. Except this weird interest for sunflowers. So, what about this flowers? Every morning I woke up beside her bed to the sight of an exquisite vase holding a single, yet magnificent sunflower. It was replaced constantly, for there was at least one fresh sunflower somewhere in my house. Flowers, specially roses are always given as a gifts. I don’t think I have met anyone else who appreciates the beauty of flowers and genuinely buys them for themselves. This compulsion caught the attention of others. Eventually, people started giving her sunflowers, whether it was a special occasion or not.. Whether it was valentines, Christmas, or her birthday, it was 100% guaranteed she would be receiving a lovely bouquet of sunflowers. Or at least just one. Sunflowers where kind of her thing and for years we settled for that. I don’t think my sister ever considered that throughout the years, another human being was following her steps. I have always looked up to my sister. I can easily notice the day she uses a new toothbrush. I can tell the difference whenever she is upset or just hungry and longing for McDonalds. But, I never understood why sunflowers.
Sometimes I picture my sister perfectly content lying in a field of sunflowers. Little do we know of the battle withheld inside her body. She was diagnosed with arthritis and lupus when she turned 19 years old. Both, autoimmune diseases. How curious it is that it is easier to notice her fondness for sunflowers rather than her disease. It took time to discovered this was the mystery behind the sunflower in the exquisite white vase that was beside her bed. The sunflower might have started as a reminder but it turned out to be a reflection of herself. The sunflower stands out from the rest. It is strong, tall, splendid yet humble. Most important of all, the sunflower has the capacity of rotating towards the sun. Otherwise, it wouldn’t survive. Every day, regardless of the pain, my sister rotated toward the sun fixed on positive thoughts just like a sunflower.
