Sunflower smiled. She would finally be getting some answers. She followed her mother as they went through the forest, though hidden ways she knew her mother must have taken when she left the tower. They finally got home, and Sunflower suddenly wondered how she would get back inside.

But her mother opened a secret door on the side of the tower, one Sunflower had never known about, and they walked up a dusty staircase that Sunflower also had not known about. They got into the tower through a trapdoor in the floor, and Sunflower wondered how many other secret things in her tower she didn't know about.

"Why did you never tell me about this?" asked Sunflower.

Her mother sighed. "I never told you about it because I thought you would want to leave that way. If I had known about it as a child, I would have left through it."

Sunflower nodded. "Now, tell me about your past. I need to know, Mother."

Her mother asked, "What did he tell you about me?"

Sunflower took a deep breath. "He said he's been looking for you, and that you had gone missing. He said... He said you were his wife, Mother. Is that true?"

Her mother looked worried. "Yes, Sunflower. That is true."

Sunflower gasped. She hadn't expected that answer. She hadn't thought it was true. "Mother, does that mean he's my... father?"

Her mother nodded slowly.

"Mother, why... Why did you run away?"

Her mother frowned. "It wasn't because of him. It was because... Well, I wasn't happy there. I was very sad, because I had just lost my mother, and they... they didn't care."

Sunflower nodded. "Who were they, Mother?"

"They..." Her mother looked tired, and sad. "They are also looking for me."

"How many are they, Mother?"

Her mother frowned. "Way too many. I have to be very careful when I go out."

Then Sunflower had a realization. "The floating lights, Mother. On your birthday. Is it they who send them?"

Mother nodded.

Sunflower frowned. But who would have that many floating lights? And why would they send them for her mother's birthday, if they didn't care?

"Mother," Sunflower asked, "Who are you?"