Marigold Flowers

Igashu gets up and steps towards the barn with the painting with marigold flowers. He opens the door and some unknown force pulls him in and straight down into a dark abyss. Igashu screams until he hits the ground and becomes unconscious.

When Igashu opens his eyes, he sees a field of plants. From his angle, he seems to be on a hill. He holds out his hands in front of him and sees plant leaves.

“Morning everybody!,” a plant to the left of Igashu yells out.

Nearby plants replies back, yelling, “Morning!”, and almost in unison the whole field starts singing. Every plant happily swings their bodies left and right.

Igashu’s body stands still for a while, but the melody catches on and Igashu starts clapping and dancing.

They sing and dance throughout the day under the shining sun and blue skies. The song got so intoxicating that Igashu remembered the lyrics and sang and danced with them.

When night comes, everybody falls asleep except Igashu. Igashu looks up at the sky and stares at the stars. He gives out a big sigh.

“What’s wrong, Igashu?,” a plant to the right of Igashu asks, yawning.

“Sorry, did I wake you up?,” Igashu says.

“Kind of, but it’s alright. How come you’re not asleep?,” the plant says.

“I’ve been thinking.. With all the stars in the sky, doesn’t it make you feel small in this world?,” Igashu wonders.

“Yeah, that’s true, but there are numerous stars up there and one of you, so that makes you special,” the plant answers.

“I guess, but like the stars, there are numerous of us in this field. We basically look the same,” Igashu says.

“Hmm.. You got a point there.. Eh.. It’s getting late. We should sleep. Plus, all this thinking won’t get you anywhere anyways,” the plant responds.

“Yeah, you’re probably right..,” Igashu says.

-

When morning arrives, dark clouds cover the skies. The plants link up leaves and start chanting to prepare themselves for the upcoming storm. They wave left and right at a slower pace to pray that the rain won’t wash them away. When the rain arrives, every drop of rain hits them and breaks the chain that holds them together, but regardless of how strong the rain is and how often it hits them, the plants try to link up together to keep strong. The day passes without a ray of sunshine and the exhausted plants knocks out for the rest of the night.

-

When they wake up, the sun is shining brightly. They check their surroundings for damage and once they’re done, they start to rejoice and begin singing. While everybody is singing, Igashu sees a puddle of water next to him and he checks himself. He sees a stem and two leaves. He feels sad like there's something missing in his life and he gives out a sigh.

As time passes, Igashu continues to sing and dance with his brethren to a point where he lost his sense of self and became whole with his fellow plants. It was routine after routine. Every movement was done in unison. Every song was sung as a collective. If one was to find Igashu in the field, it'll be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

When their buds grew and eventually bloomed, they were stunned at how majestic they were and developed a strong sense of pride. Beautiful on the outside and strong within, whether alone or together. They believed that they were a superior species of flowers and that no flower compares to them. However, living in their own bubble, they weren't able to see the true beauty of the world.

-

One day, a couple of ladies notices the field of marigold flowers and stops by. They take pictures with them and pluck a bunch to bring home with them.

“I’ve been chosen! Yay!,” a flower yells excitedly. The other flowers happily wave goodbye and wish the plucked flowers the best.

“Show them who’s the best flower!,” another flower yells.

A hand reaches for Igashu and with a smile on his face, he yells ,”Yes! Yes! They picked me! Take care everyone!”

The ladies cut up the top of a water bottle and place the plucked flowers in it. They put the water bottle in a cup holder and start heading home.

“I wonder where they’re taking us?,” a plucked flower wonders. The plucked flowers excitedly talk amongst themselves.

A lady picks up Igashu to smell him. As she picks him up, he looks outside the window and sees various fields of yellow, pink, blue, and purple flowers. He is in awe of how beautiful other flowers can be.

"Woah, you guys wouldn't believe what I'm looking at right now!," Igashu says excitedly.

"What do you see?," a flower asks.

"Fields of flowers, full of different colors," Igashu says.

"I bet they're not as beautiful as us though," another flower says, snickering.

The other flowers agree and laugh. Igashu looks at them in disbelief and then looks out the window again and it gets him thinking. This world is bigger than we know.

-

Once they arrive home, a lady carries the flowers into the kitchen and puts them in a vase. A mirror is nearby and the flowers admire their beauty so much that it makes them sing. Igashu, feeling a little sad, doesn't participate. The lady notices Igashu drooping. She carries Igashu out the kitchen and into the dining room. On the dining table is a vase full of different flowers. Pink peonies, yellow sunflowers, red roses, and purple larkspurs. She places Igashu in the middle.

"Wow, you look beautiful!," a peony says.

"Thanks! So does everybody here!," Igashu replies.

"Do you want to sing with us? We're trying something out," a rose asks Igashu.

"Don't feel pressured and just jump in when you feel comfortable," says a larkspur.

"Sure!," Igashu yells.

They begin singing and to Igashu's surprise, each of them has different vocal ranges. The peonies sing tenor, the larkspurs sing alto, the roses sing baritone, and the sunflower sings bass.

"Wow!," Igashu says in amazement.

Igashu always wanted to be part of something bigger. He closes his eyes and listens to the other flowers singing. Following the melody, Igashu starts singing. He gets carried away and sings uncontrollably with all his heart that he doesn't even realize the other flowers stop singing. Igashu slowly opens one eye and then the other and he sees all the other flowers staring at him.

"Oops. Sorry," Igashu apologizes.

Igashu's singing astonishes the other flowers and they start clapping.

"You're amazing! We didn't know you sing soprano!," a sunflower says, "Let's give it a go again!"

Igashu smiles, feeling whole, and they all start singing acapella together in harmony.

The lady ponders a little bit and thinks of a better place to put the vase. She walks back into the kitchen and places the vase at the bay window. The sunlight shines on them and rays can be seen around them, making them look like a star. The marigold flowers see and hear them.

"Woah, they sound amazing together!," marigold flower 1 says.

"And they look exquisite!," marigold flower 2 says.

"Wait, is that Igashu?" marigold flower 3 asks.

"They're a masterpiece!," marigold flower 4 says.

"Pretty as a picture!," marigold flower 5 asks.

Just like a performance, all eyes were on them. When they were done singing, the marigolds were clapping and cheering. Igashu and all the other flowers bow and give thanks. Igashu starts shedding tears of happiness. He finally finds where he belongs. He soaks in everything and smiles widely. He bows again, but this time an unknown force pulls him forward. Everything is black around him and Igashu screams at the top of his lungs and becomes unconscious.

When Igashu wakes up, he returns to the place with the white sky and seven barns with the paintings.

- Diversity is a wonderful thing to have in life