Touching story about first love: The Secret of the Dandelion
Once upon a time, there was a boy who loved flowers. Every day, besides going to school, he had another task: watering a dandelion that grew in the corner of the school’s wall. He would then gaze at the dandelion with deep affection, often for a long time as the sun began to set.
At first, neither the teachers nor the students noticed. Gradually, however, people became curious about his unusual behavior. A teacher asked him, “Why do you care so much about that dandelion?” The boy looked at the teacher, then lowered his head and remained silent.
His classmates asked him, “There are so many beautiful flowers in the school’s garden. Why do you water only that one flower?”
The boy looked up at the blue sky and quietly walked away.
People didn’t pay much attention to the boy’s strange behavior. They thought the boy was pitiful because two years ago, he had been diagnosed with leukemia. The doctors said he only had about six months to live. Yet, for some unknown reason, the boy had been fighting death for over a year now. He was in the third grade, but his condition had deteriorated rapidly, as if death was rushing to claim this budding flower before the next summer.
The boy continued attending classes every day, never missing a day of watering the white dandelion in the corner, swaying in the wind.
Then, one day, the boy’s face became pale—almost more transparent than the dandelion in the corner. After school, the boy’s teacher, Ms. Xiaoyao, went to the corner where the dandelion grew. As expected, the boy was there. Concerned, she asked, “Xiaoyu, are you okay?”
The boy slowly lifted his head. His pale complexion startled Ms. Xiaoyao. His eyes filled with tears, and he softly asked, “Teacher… what is love?”
Ms. Xiaoyao was taken aback. She couldn’t understand why this gravely ill little boy was suddenly asking such a question.
However, she decided to give him a simple answer. She gently patted the boy’s head and said, “Love is when two people stay together and never leave each other.” She wasn’t sure if the boy would understand. Seeing the sadness in his eyes, she felt an indescribable sorrow and heartache.
Suddenly, the boy wiped away his tears and smiled at her. “Teacher! Tomorrow, I’ll come to see the dandelion again.” With that, the boy shouldered his small backpack and went home.
From that day on, the boy never returned to school. He had passed away. That pale smile from that afternoon was the last smile he left behind in this world.
Ten years later, Ms. Xiaoyao had become the school principal. One bright afternoon, she was patrolling the school when she suddenly looked down and saw a dandelion in the corner. Memories from ten years ago flooded her mind. She crouched down and carefully examined the unremarkable dandelion.
An idea crossed her mind: perhaps this flower held some secret about the boy. She wasn’t sure if she should do it, but curiosity got the better of her. She began digging around the dandelion. Sure enough, beneath it was a small glass bottle. Ms. Xiaoyao opened the bottle and found a piece of yellowed, wrinkled paper inside. She was shocked as she unfolded it and saw it was filled with dense writing. It was a series of notes exchanged between the boy, Xiaoyu, and a girl named Xiaonuo.
Ms. Xiaoyao remembered Xiaonuo. Both Xiaoyu and Xiaonuo had been her students. Xiaonuo was a gentle and beautiful girl, an excellent student, but she was born deaf. The other students used to exclude and bully her, but Xiaoyu was always willing to help her and play with her. They had a close friendship. Xiaoyu’s family struggled financially due to his medical treatments, and at one point, he couldn’t afford lunch. Xiaonuo gave him all her pocket money—a single one-yuan coin. However, two weeks before Xiaoyu’s death, Xiaonuo was in a car accident. After that, Xiaoyu started spending every day beside that dandelion until his life came to an end.
Ms. Xiaoyao looked at the note. The handwriting was crooked, and the content was simple and childish—mostly small talk about lunch and how they were feeling. Ms. Xiaoyao could hardly believe that they had been communicating this way for two years in such an inconspicuous corner. Finally, near the end of the note, the content changed. Ms. Xiaoyao carefully read the words, which went something like this:
Xiaoyu: “Xiaonuo, what did you have for lunch today?”
Xiaonuo: “Potatoes. How about you?”
Xiaoyu: “Me too, haha.”
Xiaonuo: “My mom told me that if you put a coin in a bottle and make a wish before throwing it into the sea, the wish will come true.”
Xiaoyu: “What would you wish for?”
Xiaonuo: “Xiaoyu, thank you for always staying with me. I want to marry you in the future.”
Xiaoyu: “You’re welcome! We’re good friends, after all.”
Xiaonuo: “I want to marry you in the future. Will you agree?”
Xiaoyu: “I…”
Perhaps the pen ran out of ink, because the note ended there. The next day, Xiaonuo died in the car accident, leaving behind her first love, Xiaoyu. Ms. Xiaoyao suddenly remembered the afternoon when Xiaoyu had asked her about love. She recalled his last smile and its meaning. She carefully put the bottle back where she found it. Just then, she noticed a coin at the bottom of the bottle. She poured it out and found a small piece of paper attached to it. On the paper, in crooked writing, were the words: “I agree…”
Later, Ms. Xiaoyao visited Xiaonuo’s mother to inquire about what had happened. Her mother was deeply saddened and nearly broke down as she recounted the events. She told Ms. Xiaoyao that if Xiaonuo hadn’t been in the car accident that day, they were planning to take her to another city for school.
However, Xiaonuo was strongly opposed to the idea and even ran out of the house, holding a glass bottle with a piece of paper inside. They thought that Xiaonuo just didn’t want to leave her classmates and that she would calm down eventually. But what happened next was something no one could have expected. Xiaonuo, who was born deaf, didn’t hear the loud horn of an oncoming truck. She was hit and thrown five meters away. Even when they arrived, she was already gone, but she was still clutching the glass bottle. When they opened the bottle, they found that it was related to a boy named Xiaoyu, so they gave the bottle to him.
Ms. Xiaoyao hurriedly bid farewell to Xiaonuo’s parents and returned to the school. She found the dandelion once again, dug it up, retrieved the bottle, and pulled out the note. Sure enough, there were a few more lines of small writing on the back that she had missed before. The note read: “Xiaoyu, I’m leaving. If you think of me, just look at the dandelion in the corner, okay? I love you, Xiaoyu.”
Ms. Xiaoyao carefully read the words, which seemed to have been written by Xiaonuo. As she read further, she found a few more lines of messy writing: “Xiaonuo, we will always be together and never part. I used the coin to make a wish: to tell you in person that I love you, Xiaonuo.”
Ms. Xiaoyao stared at the worn-out piece of paper, unable to believe that it held such a heart-wrenching and bittersweet story. She gently buried the glass bottle once again, tears falling drop by drop onto the white dandelion.
Not long after, two new students transferred to the school. One was named Xiaoyu, and the other was named Xiaonuo.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
