Short Stories

Sunflower Gold

I always loved watching the sun go down. Tonight was the first night I'd do it in my new house. We moved houses a lot, as we were always trying to find someplace cheaper. We moved to the country from the city as there was a really cheap house for sale. We hoped to make it a permanent home even though the locals had said it was haunted.
I was very nervous about starting at the new school but luckily it was the holidays so there were two whole weeks to relax and get used to my new home. I was also excited about my birthday which was coming up in a few days' time even though I knew I wouldn't get a present.

I looked out over the dark field of sunflowers in front of me. It was a bit creepy because they were all facing me. I shivered, feeling like I was being watched. There was a rustling sound and I saw the shadowy flowers bending towards me so it looked like the entire field was rippling like the sea.
I glanced up at the rusty old wind-chimes hanging above my head, waiting for the wind to play their eerie, metallic music. But there was just silence. I was surprised. Surely a wind strong enough to bend the stalks of hundreds of sunflowers could move a few rusty pieces of metal?

Confused, I stretched my hand out to feel the wind. It must have died down because the cool air was completely still. My heart thudded as the sunflowers kept swaying and I realised that they were moving by themselves!
I backed away, terrified, but stopped with my hand on the doorknob. Curiosity kept me standing there as I watching with amazement, as each of the sunflowers was transformed into a graceful dancer as the sun touched their dim petals. As I stared, the green dancers all raised their drooping heads as one and began to twirl. Sometimes alone, sometimes with a partner, they spun around and around over the quiet grass... until suddenly a door behind me burst open and the dancers froze, once again tall, silent flowers. I groaned as I turned around and saw my parents standing in the doorway, telling me that it was time for dinner.

I didn't mention the sunflowers, but I couldn't stop thinking about them all through dinner. I went to bed early to avoid being asked why I was being so quiet.
That night I dreamt that the sunflowers were coming to life, but not as beautiful green dancers. They were pulling their filthy, tangled roots out of the ground and walking slowly like zombies towards the door... up the stairs... into my room...
I woke up panting.
"They're just flowers," I told myself. "Sunflowers are happy flowers. And they were dancing."
"Dancing to lure you in," muttered a faint voice at the back of my head but I ignored it, lying down again with a thump.

In the morning, both my parents were out working as usual and I sat outside with a drawing pad and pencil. The day crawled by and still there was no sign of movement from the sunflowers.
In the late afternoon when my parents came home, I hardly even noticed their arrival as I was too busy thinking about the sunflowers. I rushed outside as soon as I had the chance because I had just noticed that the field was rippling again. I slammed the creaky, rusty door behind me and turned around. In my hand I clutched a toy camera I had found lying on the footpath. I was determined to get proof of what I was seeing. I raised the camera and pressed the on button. Nothing happened. I felt like crying. Of course it was going to be dead! People didn't just throw working cameras onto the street!

I started to go inside but the door was stuck! I pulled at it uselessly and pounded loudly on the cracked wood and metal, shouting for help. But no one heard me. I could hear the rustling of leaves coming closer and then footsteps on the veranda. I closed my eyes as arms reached to grab me...
and suddenly I felt that I was being twirled around. I slowly opened my eyes. I was alive!
I soon realised that the sunflowers were actually dancing with me and I felt like laughing. They weren't evil after all, they just wanted to spin someone around.
Suddenly all the dancers moved away from me so I was standing in a circle of green and yellow. One sunflower stepped forward. There was a ripping sound and a small tear appeared in the top of its head. As I watched, the rip got longer and longer until the flower's face actually flopped over so it was resting on the ground. The back of its head did the same.
All the other dancers were silent, waiting for me to act. Then a ray of sunlight gleamed on a shiny surface and I gasped as I saw a lump of solid gold glittering between the split sunflower's wilted sides. I bent down and tried to lift it. It wouldn't move. I tried pushing it but nothing happened.

There was another tearing sound and I spun around. All the other flowers were opening themselves up.
"It's all right," I told them. "I have enough gold here to be rich."
But they kept peeling.
"No!" I was panicking now. "You don't have to do that!"
The sunflowers slowed, but didn't stop. The yellow flowers were turning grey.
"Please!" I begged them. "Stop!"
They froze and sank to the ground. The field was like a graveyard now. I started to cry.
The door behind me flew open with a bang and I heard the sound of panting as my parents had finally forced the door open. I turned around. They were staring speechlessly at the huge piece of gold sitting in the grey, dead field. They ran up to it and touched to see if it was real. Their mouths fell open. I decided to keep the sunflowers a secret and quickly made up a story about me seeing it glittering under a pile of dead leaves, which was sort of true.

That night I slept peacefully for once. In my dreams I had had an idea.
A few nights later I was waiting out on the veranda again. It had been a wonderful birthday with a real present, which was a tiny kitten who sat on my knee as we waited for the sunset. I was terrified that my crazy idea wouldn't work. I had sewn all the sunflowers together with thread and needles, which had taken days, but as I had never sewn before I kept pricking myself which after a while made me cry, but eventually I had finished. Now I just had to see if it would work.
The sky was beginning to turn crimson as the sun started to set. We watched the field eagerly even though the kitten probably didn't understand what was going on.

The piles of grey, shrivelled leaves remained still and silent. I sighed despairingly and stood up to go inside. The kitten continued to stare at the dead flowers.
"Come on," I told her, dragging a piece of string along the wood for her to follow. But she didn't move.
"What is it?" I asked impatiently. Then suddenly I saw the colour coming back into the grey field. I gasped. The sunflowers were standing up! In moments they stood alive in front of me. Then they started to twirl. I laughed with relief and jumped down off the veranda to dance with them I spun around with the sunflowers until the sun went down.