Wild sunflower season

Near my house there is an empty plot of land, belonging to the next-door neighbor. He said that this land is a dowry for his youngest son. When he grows up, has completed his studies, and returns to his hometown to build a career, he and his wife will transfer ownership to him. More than ten years ago, he drove down Ham Rong mountain, cut some wild sunflower branches to plant. When asked why he doesn't plant vegetables or fruit trees, he smiled humorously: "I plant wild sunflowers to save time taking care of them. The leaves are green in the rainy season, the flowers are yellow in the dry season, just thinking about it makes me imagine the unique beauty of a small road next to the street. Besides, I am a person who loves nature, flowers and grass, especially wild sunflowers."

Wild sunflowers glow in the sunlight. **Photo: Thai Binh**

Since then, that land has been filled with the colors of wild sunflowers. In the rainy season, the trees call each other to turn a fresh green, from the time when they are young buds to the time when they are imbued with the color of the sky and the color of the clouds, green as if they have never known green. In the dry season, when the fragrant sunshine spreads golden over the roofs of the streets, mixed with the chill of early winter, the wild sunflowers glow with a new color, the color of sunlight. Perhaps the names of sunflowers signaling sunshine, flower signaling winter have also been called from that time.

But the color of the flower is so strange. It is also yellow, but at different times, with different moods, the wildflowers sing out different notes.

Here is the gentle apricot yellow color mixed with the cool mist. Here is the bright yellow color when welcoming the early morning sunlight, the brilliant yellow at noon, the wistful yellow color in the late afternoon. And in the gentle night with the gentle moonlight, the wild sunflowers are a mesmerizing, intoxicating yellow color. And, I cannot remember how many times I have stood quietly watching the wild sunflowers in the night, like that.

Yesterday morning, leisurely strolling the streets, I was accompanied by memories of the flower seasons. As the car passed Nguyen Trung Truc street, my heart suddenly started to beat faster when I saw a patch of wild sunflowers swaying in the wind. On the tallest branches, a faint yellow color of the flowers could be seen. I quickly pulled the car over to the side of the road, stood there admiring the flowers, the sun, and the blue sky.

So, another season of wild sunflowers, another beautiful season, is coming to my Gia Lai plateau. Suddenly, I remember the verses I wrote years ago: "I wish for the early morning on the street/wild sunflowers holding a dewy flower/like a realm of longing, I dream/of a person immersed in the shape of a flower".

I remember the early mornings, I walked around the small slope next to my house, dew still on my shoulders, smelling the damp earth and young grass in my breath. Wild sunflowers stood on both sides of the road, tilting their heads as if greeting an acquaintance. I suddenly felt my heart soften. I felt like I owed the flowers a word of thanks, because amidst the hustle and bustle of life, the flowers still bloomed, devoted to the earth and sky. Therefore, sometimes when I was most unstable, most resigned, there were always flowers to comfort me, without any words of sadness. To me, wild sunflowers are the purest love, like the dew on my youth, like the days I left Hanoi , chose and loved this land.

Wild sunflowers blooming yellow at the foot of Chu Dang Ya mountain. **Photo: Hong Hanh**

I remember the first days I set foot in Ia Gri. The red dirt road was covered with wild sunflowers on both sides. The children were barefoot and in T-shirts, laughing loudly under the sun. Now that I think back, the most beautiful memories are not far away, but in the clear eyes of the children in the golden season of that year.

This year, during the wild sunflower season, the streets are still as small as ever, only people’s hearts are more uncertain. Every time the flower season comes, I wonder: “Will I still be able to see the wild sunflowers blooming like this next year?” The question seems so random but turns out to be honest. Because of age, because of making a living, because of so many things to worry about, sometimes I forget to stop and admire a field of flowers in my mind.

This afternoon, I suddenly saw wild sunflowers sparkling in the wind. Each petal was like a piece of sunlight at the end of the day, keeping a little warmth for passersby. I suddenly wanted to go to the flower hills, listen to the grass singing, hear the scent of sunlight melting into my hair. Sometimes, just being quiet in a patch of wild sunflowers is enough to feel alive, still in love, still moved by the fragile yet proud beauty of nature.

As I sit down to write these lines, my phone rings with a new message from a friend in Hung Yen: “It’s the season of wild sunflowers, isn’t it? Have you taken the opportunity to make a trip to Chu Dang Ya for an advance check? This flower season, I will definitely not break my promise again…” This promise has been with us for many flower seasons. I know that in that message there is a love that has not yet been named. Like me, I still wait every year, still reply to my friend in the sunset falling through the window: “The wild sunflowers are blooming, my dear. The land and sky of the Central Highlands are as radiant as a golden dream in the cold windy season”.

The season of wild sunflowers has come. The red land is gentle in its familiar yellow color. On every hillside, every slope, flowers still bloom naturally like the smile of a highland girl. As for me, I gather all my ramblings and uncertainties to continue writing in an unfinished memory book. Because who knows, in the middle of the long and wide roads, just remembering the wild sunflowers leaning in the wind, I know I still have a place to return to.

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/mua-da-quy-ve-post570237.html