Chapter 6

As I wheeled my suitcase out of the airport, I felt the humid, salty sea breeze on my face. I rented an older apartment by the seaside. The landlady was an elderly woman with a head of gray hair. She handed me the keys with a smile, saying, "This apartment is a good one. Everyone who has lived here has seen their life take a lucky turn." Inside, I stared at the faded wallpaper where crooked sunflower stickers clung to the wall. Suddenly, I remembered how Mom loved to grow sunflowers on her windowsill. "Sunflowers are wonderful. They always turn toward the sun. Even when they fall, they can get back up by themselves again," she had said. Tears suddenly welled up in my eyes without warning. I hurriedly turned away to wipe them, only to notice the elderly woman leaning against the door jamb, holding a pot with a sprouting sunflower in her wrinkled hands. "The previous tenant left this." With a warm smile, she shoved the pot into my arms. "It looks like it was meant for you." …