Flower Girl isn’t real.

She brings us daisies. She brings us daffodils. She brings us roses. All kinds of beautiful flowers.

But no one has ever seen her. No one knows who she is.

So she does not exist.

She is a fairytale. A bedtime story.

*

When I was five, I saw her.

It was a moonlit night. I couldn’t sleep. I looked out the window.

Maybe I was looking for a shooting star. Maybe for something else. I don’t know anymore.

What I saw was much better. Better than anything I could have hoped for.

We didn’t have a garden. There was a small, gray driveway, but that was all. That night, I saw something colorful down there.

I had never seen any color in our yard. Especially not at night. So I looked closer.

What I saw amazed me. My mouth fell open. My eyes grew wide.

On our doorstep stood a small girl. Even smaller than me. And I was only five, and very small.

But there she stood. She looked older. Not as young as her size would suggest. She looked like a really small adult woman.

I stared, and I stared, and I stared.

That was when she raised her head up. She looked at me. And that look was so intense, I can still remember it today.

I don’t know what color her eyes were. It didn’t matter. Her eyes stared right into my soul.

She winked. I blinked. Then she was gone.

*

The next day, I found a daisy on my pillow. Next to it, there was a small piece of paper. It said:

For being curious.

Flower Girl

Over the next month, our garden began to bloom. Before, there was only gray. Now, there were flowers. Specks of green, red, orange, and pink. All the colors your heart can dream up.

The daisies were my favorite. They sang to me when no one else was near.

They sang of freedom. They sang of the rain they drank. The earth they grew in. The routes their seeds had traveled.

No one believed me when I told the story. My parents said it was a dream. My classmates laughed. My older brother thought I had made up the story.

But I know what I saw. I know it in my heart. I feel it in my soul.

What I saw that night was real. It wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t made up.

Flower Girl is real.

And one day, I will find her.

He was never a positive guy.

From day one, life was hard. Every problem in the world had been thrown at him. He often asked himself if he was fate's personal chew toy.

He had called his dog Fate for that very reason. Her favorite toy was a squeaking cactus. It was her fourth one. That was because the first three cactuses had been ripped apart by Fate's sharp teeth.

Favorite chew toy, indeed.

He was too young to remember the accident. It had happened before he was one. All he knew were the stories other people told him.

His parents had died a quick death.

Nothing could be done to save them.

He barely survived.

His spine was shattered.

He could not remember the accident itself. But he could feel the consequences very well. They haunted him every day. He could not live a single second without being reminded of them. Like a ghost hanging over his head.

And so he lived in that life. In that body that he couldn't move.
But his heart was never in it. He lived to survive. But there was no feeling in it.

No pain. No anger. No joy. No laughter. Just being alive.

Now, he's twenty-two. He still lives with his grandma. The apartment is too small. The money is too little. But they make do.

They survive.

*

Up until he was twelve, Charlie hadn't smiled once. There was no reason to. He lived, and that was enough.

But then it was his twelfth birthday.

The whole day, his grandma had been fidgety. She had walked to the window. She had looked out, sighed, and walked back. She cleaned up the apartment. Walked back to the window.

It went like this for a while.

And then the doorbell rang.

The first thing Charlie heard was quiet sniffing. Then there was a little bark. Then a voice said, "Down, girl!"

A small bundle of fur ran around the corner. It jumped into Charlie's lap. It barked. It licked Charlie's face.

It would take a long time for Fate to be trained. She needed to learn everything Charlie could not do by himself.

But in this moment, there was a puppy sitting in his lap. A puppy who licked his face. A puppy who would cuddle into his blanket. A puppy who loved him without any "buts."

Charlie smiled.

*

When Charlie woke up the next morning, there was an orange flower on his pillow. Next to it was a small note.

To hope. May you never give it up.

Flower Girl

From that day on, whenever he smiled he would find a new flower. They never wilted. They stayed fresh and healthy forever.

And every time he smiled, it got a little easier. His heart became a little lighter.

Now, Charlie has two boxes filled with little notes. His room is as colorful as a rainbow.

*

The girl appears on his doorstep without warning. She rings the doorbell while his grandma is away. So Charlie has to go and open the door himself.

Her mouth is stretched into a wide grin. Her curly brown hair is pulled into a high ponytail. She looks like she can never be anything but happy.

"Hi! So, I heard you got flowers, too! I want to find her. Do you think you can help me?" she asks.

This is how she introduces herself.

After that, they get to talking. She tells him about her life. How she saw Flower Girl when she was five. How no one ever believed her. How she is sure she will find her.

It was something Charlie never thought about. For him, the flowers were a nice reminder. They showed him that there was someone who cared. They told him to laugh more. But he had never, ever thought about the girl behind them.

So he tells the girl about his messages. He shows her the boxes full of notes. The flowers decorating his room.

She is a good listener.

Their life has always been easy.

They grew up well fed. Cared for. Sheltered. Their parents protected them wherever they went.

But sometimes, it was just too much. If everyone you meet, every place you go, is a danger... then what do you do?

Their parents are always scared. For them. For their future. Their friends.

Whatever Jae does, their parents care.

“Jae, where are you going?”

“I’m not sure that’s good for you.”

“But be sure to be back early!”

“Careful, that’s hot.”

They are seventeen now. They can take care of themselves. At least with some things.

Of course, they are grateful to their parents. But there are times when they hate them. When their hate overwhelms them completely.

Their parents are always worried and scared. But that also means they depend on prejudices. Stereotypes.

Jae hates that.

How often have their parents told them not to befriend someone? Because “she is dangerous.” Or “he isn’t a good influence."

How often were they not allowed to do something?

Dogs are dangerous. They can bite. Don’t get too close to that bird. It could hurt you.

But the bird is dying. It is caught in a net. Bound to the rails. Soon, the train will come.

This is the first time they disobey their parents. The first time they do what their parents don’t want them to do.

Jae has grown up sheltered. Protected. Loved. But they have also grown up understanding something.

Not everyone has this. Not everyone has a house. Not everyone has food. Not everyone has someone to protect them. To care.

Jae has all of this and more. And they have more than enough of it.

So they swore to themselves: Whenever someone needs it, they will give them shelter. Warmth. Food.

Because if they have so much of it, then why not share?

The bird survives.

*

Jae doesn’t find their first note on their bed. Their message is given to them by a small bird. Another, larger bird brings a yellow tulip.

Sharing is caring. You did good.

Flower Girl

They smile. Their heart warms a little.

The note finds a space on their wall. The tulip gets its own little vase. Both will soon be joined by many more.

*

The girl says her name is Lola.

She is beautiful. Her eyes glitter golden in the sun.

Everything about her is warm. Her brown skin. Her dimples. Her voice.

Jae stares at her, fascinated.

Flower Girl. That is who she is looking for.

Jae doesn’t really know how Lola heard about their notes. But they tell her all they know.

It isn’t really much. They were always happy when they got a new flower. A new message.

It showed them that what they were doing was right. Good. Helping.

But even when they thought about so much, they had never thought about her.

They had helped so many people. So many animals. But they had completely forgotten about her. The girl who made them help in the first place.