A place in the sun
Once upon a time, in a clearing, there grew a Sunflower, which kept worrying about being unloved by the Sun. Whenever it attempted to run towards the Sun, the latter would always move away. No matter how often the Sunflower shifted places, it couldn’t catch the Sun’s rays. Again and again it tried, but nothing came of it. All-in-all, it’s not easy for a plant to keep running from one spot to another, what with the whole business of pulling one’s roots out of the ground alone takes a lot of time. However, it seemed to the Sunflower that the Sun was ignoring it on purpose. So, it finally stopped running around the garden and stood still, its head hung dejectedly.
Meanwhile, the Sun was going about its daily tasks, warming the garden and the flowers, filling the soil and everything else that came into view with life-giving rays. The plants, the insects, the animals — even Mother Earth herself — everyone was basking in its light. And, for awhile, the Sun really did forget about the Sunflower. Truth be told, this was perfectly understandable, since plants don’t usually run hither and thither, the Sun simply thought that the garden was filled with about a hundred of ordinary, still-standing sunflowers.
And then, suddenly, the Sun realized that it hadn’t seen the Sunflower for far too long. Had it fallen ill? The Sun decided to ask around — had anyone met the Sunflower lately? Where was it hiding? Was something wrong with it? No one could give an answer, since the Sunflower had never been too close with any of the garden’s other inhabitants. It never offended anyone, never pushed anyone aside, so — everyone grew accustomed to it being around, yet remaining unnoticed. Now, everyone in the garden had the feeling that they’d seen the Sunflower only a few moments ago. Yet, the search brought no results. Finally, the garden’s residents asked the birds if they could help them find the Sunflower. Chirping, the birds began to circle over the garden and, soon enough — they found it.
The Sunflower was now growing next to a large Oak. Although concealed in the Oak’s shade, it had managed to become almost as tall as the tree’s highest branches. The Sunflower’s head looked huge and perfectly round — so filled with thoughts and doubts that the stem seemed ready to break under their weight. No wonder the Sunflower was so hard to find — everybody was looking for someone short and weedy. The Sunflower appeared downright desolate — not like its usual self, barely holding back tears. The Oak kept trying to talk sense into it. Finally, it said: «Remember, Sunflower — every living thing has its own place in the Sun..
The Sun loves us all. It warms and nurtures us. It has enough light and warmth for everyone — although no one can withstand direct sunlight for too long. You had better leave your hiding and resume your place in the garden, where the Sun can reach you. Look at yourself, you have grown so tall! You will definitely find a sunny spot of your own! And your huge head is sure to catch lots of sunrays!»
So was the Centuries-Old Oak saying to the crestfallen Sunflower, just before the birds noticed it and summoned the Sun.
“Why are you hiding from me, my friend? I have grown so used to greeting you in the mornings. You even look like me, you have rays of your own.”
The Sunflower lifted its head and unfurled all of its petals and leaves, revealing the seeds that were ripening on its head, seeds of prosperity and joy, of luck and lust for life, of everything that children of the Sun bring to the world.
But, you never even notice me, — the Sunflower whispered, though sounding more confident now.
“Well, how am I supposed to notice you, if you keep hiding? Come on, get out into the clearing and take your place under the Sun. By the way, Wind, why is it that we only have one Sunflower in the garden? Spread those seeds around — let there be little suns everywhere! It’ll make things so much more livelier and colorful!
The Wind picked up the Sunflower’s seeds and scattered them all over the world. Soon, sunflowers had appeared in almost every garden — so joyful, so like the Sun itself and, most importantly, growing so close together. Even though they weren’t moving from place to place anymore, they were very sociable and greeted the Sun each morning, taking sunbaths and enjoying life, the days and the weather. The sunflowers continue to grow in many gardens to this day, reminding us that everything has its own place in the Sun.
About the author:
Olga Dyachenko, was born on 10th of August, 1980, in the town of Krasnodar.
Educated at the Kuban State Agrarian University (Accounting and Finance Faculty). By profession, she is an economist specializing in Accounting, Economic Analysis and Audit. Since 2006 Olga has lived and worked in St. Petersburg. Presently, she is a CFO/co-founder of her own St. Petersburg-based accounting firm. Olga is a regular literary contributor to Prose.ru since 27.12.2015 (posting under a pen name). A member of the Russian Writers’ Union since 06.06.2016 Nominated for the Writer of the Year award in 2015, 2016. Her works were published in The Czech Star, The Three Wishes and Edge of Cities. Olga also had publications in the 2016 Moscow International Book Exhibition-Fair catalog.
