Book #2

Two Suns

I remember her instructions.
I am made for greatness.
I will become like her. Humble in stature, delicate in beauty, tasteful in scent. Evergreen and perennial. I will grow. Time, I recall, time is the key.

Mother taught us few things before we split. Few things as they were were vital.

You must be patient, she said. We are steady things. The ones at the top are strange beasts to our slowness. The ones at the bottom have no choice but to be even faster than them. We can afford to be patient and only patient.
It will take many days before you might see the world like this again, she said. Remember it and embrace it. It will be your only image for those days to come.
Seasons longer, she warned gently, will it be until you might be like me. Do not look forward to it. Look to each day previous. Create yourself until you are better than I.
The wind and the rain and the sun are your friends. She encouraged us, make friends with them quickly. Some may see it as lack of fortune that we cannot stand without them or hunker down from them. It is bad speaking on their behalf - we are fortunate enough to be able to survive in sync with them. Let them guide you.
Finally, she said, instinct is your strongest force. Follow it. You will know what to do. Where you fall, you will know greatness, if only you learn from it. Root yourself where the elements are strong, where you can find a place for yourself.
Follow the light.

That was long ago.
Today I poked my head out and saw how bright the world was. I was afraid to be scared. She said to trust the light. I will chase after it to know for myself.
My neighbors waved shy welcomes to me. I waved good morning back. The tall one seemed anxious and tired. He is expecting someone else in his home soon. They haven't come yet.
My roommates were quiet today. They were rowdy the past few days, maybe they're just toning it down finally.
I've been drinking a lot of water recently. The roomies said it was a kind of mineral water. I like it. It tastes strangely good.

Everything is going well. I'm still very young, but I think back to my mother. Did she go through early life like this? Was she estranged so violently from her family? Forced into lines, packed into rooms, and thrown into the world with no choice to her location? Did she know the dim white sun and the bright yellow one that clicks when the world goes dark? Did she know the strange soil of buried corpses? Did she wonder in her youth if the burning smell was normal? If the cool winds were the odd ones?
Sometimes I wonder. But I will know in time. Soon it will be dark again. I can tell, the dim sun is getting dimmer. My neighbors are settling in.

I think mother would be proud of me. It is not easy to be lavender. Many of us don't survive to see the outside again. My mother was lucky. I hope I will be lucky too. And I hope the tall neighbor will be lucky too, and especially the new ones about to germinate in his house.
Maybe he has already stretched himself too thin to see them grow up. My mother gave me good advice. I will take it slow and appreciate what I have. Maybe I will give my seeds the same advice.
But it will have to wait. I am still just a little lavender seedling. Just a sprout. I still have a lot of growing to do.