The sun’s rays fell upon her face giving her a halo. She was laying in a field of purple asters, her mind was calm, an emptiness. It was unlike the days where her thoughts were a storm of grief and agony. No, today it was a clear lake without a ripple in sight. 

Before the flowers were planted, it was an old church. The church was built during the colonization era, leaving it tainted with pain and a sick beauty. For years it was a place of unspeakable horror, until one day, it burned to the ground. A poetic gift from nature, justice for those who were tortured by its very existence. 

The girl’s family bought the charred, haunted land. They had moved from the north to the south, not really knowing the past of the church. However, as it came to light as all things do, they began to plant flowers. 

Each year as the old flowers withered away, they planted new ones. As the history of the land became forgotten, their fields grew and grew. The flowers gave life to the place of death. 

As she thought of the past her mind became a storm. The hateful past of the church always brought her back to her own past. The things she’d experienced left her oftentimes numb to her surroundings. In the middle of the asters, she felt not her pain, but her joy for life. Her love of beauty and recovery. 

She felt the wind rise and the petals of the gentle flowers begin to quiver under their weight. That’s why she loved them because she understood what it meant to be gentle. She too was once gentle like the asters. 

When she was younger, she wished upon the stars to bring her love. They must have misheard because they didn’t bring her love. They gave her lessons though. Lessons of wolves in sheep’s clothing, of those whose mission is self-satisfaction at the cost of others. 

She learned early that love cannot be wished for, but must be discovered. As she healed from the wounds of those who sought to burn her, she began to love herself.  

Suddenly the clouds obscured the sun, and rain began to fall upon the girl’s face. Still, she laid in the flowers and let her mind become clear again. She began to fill her clear lake with happiness and love. 

As she fell into a contented mindset, she slowly began to drift off with the rain blanketing her. She felt like a flower, the only way to grow was to experience both the rain and the sun. She’d grown through the past and will continue to grow. 

“DAISY!” a young male voice yelled from across the field. “What are you doing? It’s pouring out here!” 

She smiled, slowly sitting up, “I’m growing with the flowers, duh.” 

“Come on, let’s go watch a movie.” 

She started her walk back to the house, dancing and twirling around, enjoying the moment. “I’m coming, I promise. Would hate to keep you waiting.” 

Before entering the house, she turned once more and looked at the field of asters, “thank you for all you have taught me.”