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Elias entered the shop with the city’s frantic pace still thrumming in his veins. He had spent ten hours staring at blue light, and his head felt like it was wrapped in tight wire.

That evening, Elias boiled water and dropped five blossoms into a clear glass mug. At first, they bobbed on the surface, lonely and grey. But as the heat took hold, the magic began. The water turned a soft, glowing amber. The tight buds unfurled, stretching their petals like tiny underwater stars returning to life.

He weighed a handful of the dried blossoms into a paper bag. The petals were brittle, a pale cream color that promised nothing until Elias reached home.

Mr. Lin didn’t reach for medicine. Instead, he pulled out a glass jar filled with what looked like shriveled, golden buttons. "Chrysanthemum," the old man whispered. "The flower that remembers the sun."

"I need something to help me see again," Elias said, leaning against the counter.

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