For two weeks, nothing.
The night was long. But the sunflowers had only just begun.
But as she looked at the child's face — lit up for the first time in her life by something that was not a screen or a lamp — Oriko realized something. Himawari Wa Yoru Ni Saku
Oriko smiled.
By the end of the month, the entire sub-level was a forest of glowing sunflowers, their soft radiance filtering up through the grating, spilling into the lower corridors. People began to notice. At first, they were afraid — the arcology had taught them to fear anything that grew without permission. But fear turned to curiosity, and curiosity to wonder. For two weeks, nothing
On the twenty-first night, it bloomed.
The next night, it had grown six inches. But as she looked at the child's face
Oriko watched from the shadows.
The light spread.