I. Smiles in the Documentary
The premiere of the documentary Year by Year Towards the Sun was held at Grandma Ah's farm. An open-air screening venue was set up amidst a vast field of golden sunflowers, and "Light Gap" partners from across the country gathered here—Xiaotang brought students from her university's psychology club; Ah Hua and the mountain children carried freshly picked sunflowers; Xiaoxia pushed a cart loaded with the newly published Light Gap Collection; and volunteers from the post-disaster reconstruction area brought sunflower heads grown by Xiaoyu.
On the screen, familiar faces appeared one after another: Lin Xiao staring blankly at the plane tree in her rented room, Su Yang looking awkward as he delivered porridge, Grandma Ah's rough hands weaving straw hats, Xiaotang bustling about in the "Sunshine Station", Ah Hua focusing on sorting letters, and Xiaoyu beaming as he held a young seedling...
Many people in the audience were moved to tears when the footage showed mountain children running through the sunflower fields. After the premiere, a corporate representative approached Lin Xiao and said, "We'd like to sponsor the national tour of your documentary and help build sunflower plantations in more places, so this light can reach further."
II. Xiaoyu's Reply
When the documentary toured the post-disaster reconstruction area, Xiaoyu was already a junior high school student. He wrote a letter to Lin Xiao, enclosing a photo—in it, he stood in front of a newly built building, beside a thriving sunflower field, holding an admission letter: "Teacher Lin Xiao, I got into the key middle school in the county! I never forgot what you said and took good care of the sunflowers all this time. Now they're taller than me. When I grow up, I want to be a psychologist and help more people who've been through hardship get out of the darkness!"
Looking at the letter, Lin Xiao smiled as she recalled planting seeds with Xiaoyu years ago. She wrote back and sent him a set of introductory psychology books and a straw hat embroidered by Grandma Ah: "Looking forward to your good news—we'll be waiting for you in the sunflower fields."
III. New Family of "Light Gap"
That winter, the "Light Gap" team welcomed a group of new volunteers. Among them was Lao Zhou, a middle-aged man who shook Lin Xiao's hand and said, "My daughter struggled with depression before. She gradually got better after reading your books and watching your documentary. Now she's married with a child, and she specially asked me to be a volunteer, saying we should pass on this warmth."
More and more volunteers like Lao Zhou joined in—they included family members of recovered patients, recent graduates, retired teachers, and caring people from all walks of life. Together, they expanded "Light Gap" services to more areas: providing psychological care for the elderly, building stress relief platforms for working professionals, and organizing integration activities for people with disabilities...
Watching the growing team, Lin Xiao said to Su Yang with emotion, "At first, I just wanted to get out of my own trouble. I never imagined I'd bring together so many like-minded people." Su Yang smiled and pointed out the window, "You see, a single sunflower can't make a sea of flowers, but thousands upon thousands can light up the whole field."
IV. Eternal Sunflowers
Another deep winter arrived. At Grandma Ah's farm, the sunflowers had been harvested, their stalks dry but still standing tall and upright. Lin Xiao and her friends were dividing the newly harvested sunflower seeds into small packages to send to "Light Gap" sites across the country.
Grandma Ah sat in a wicker chair, still weaving straw hats. She looked up at everyone with a gratified expression and said, "Plant these seeds this year, and they'll bloom into a new field next year. It's the same with people's hearts—plant a seed of hope, and it will bloom in time."
Lin Xiao picked up a packet of seeds and gently placed it beside Grandma Ah. Her eyes drifted to the plane tree in the distance—over the years, it had grown lush and vigorous. Even in winter, one could see it gathering strength, ready to sprout again when spring came.
"We'll plant more sunflowers here next spring," Lin Xiao said with a smile.
"Good! Plant them every year, and turn towards the sun every year," Grandma Ah replied, laughing. The straw hat in her hands glowed warmly in the sun, and the embroidered sunflower on it seemed ready to bloom.