The Man and the Sunflower Field

 He sat on a hill overlooking a breathtaking field of sunflowers. He loved this spot, and he came every day. He would sit for hours under an old maple tree, admiring the view. Sometimes he would cry, because the world he saw didn't deserve this. It didn't deserve the pure field of beautiful flowers he saw everyday. It didn't deserve the peaceful rabbits running around and not knowing death or war. It didn't deserve the birds singing with plague in the world.

When he first gazed upon this field, his legs gave out and he lied there till the sun was gone and the moon was high in the night sky. He laid there listening to the crickets and watching the fireflies light up the night sky. Not long after, he began making the trek to visit everyday. He always considered it to be the best part of his day. That is, until he missed a day.

It was a gruesome battle. The mighty sunflowers were trampled underfoot as they kingdoms collided. The attacking soldiers were quickly overwhelmed and slaughtered. Once they were all dead, the defending soldiers returned home leaving the bodies to rot in the field.

When he arrived the next day, he fell to his knees and started crying. The field afterwards was no longer the beautiful, breathtaking scene he grew to love. All the flowers were crushed, and no birds were singing. Bodies were everywhere and blood coated everything. Small carcasses of rabbits crushed by the hundreds of soldiers marching to fight. The old maple tree was on fire with the ashes drifting through the wind. He once more thought the world didn't deserve beautiful things, and was sad. Yet, he returned home determined.

The next day, he brought a shovel. One by one, he started burying the bodies. This took a while, but he was very determined. Once he was done, he started planting sunflowers across the vast field making sure each seedling was given water and care to survive. He nurtured each flower to maturity. Lastly, was the tree. He noticed that there was still some alive and brought it back from the brink of death. He knew he wouldn't live long enough to see the result of his hard work, but he continued nevertheless. He continued to make the daily trip to the field. He continued even when his back hurt and when his hair grew white. He continued to sit under the tree until one day he didn't get back up.

Decades later, the tree grew mighty and strong once more. The tree embraced him and cared for him. Centuries later, a small boy with little freckles took the same path he made and sat under the tree he sat at. He stayed until the sun went down and the moon rose high in the night sky. He stayed watching the lightning bugs and falling asleep to the crickets. Just like the man before him. And just like him, he came every day. And just like him, he missed a day.