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The handrails running east curled upward like heliotropic flowers reaching for the sun, and those running west fell like dried stalks.

Back in school I remember learning that plants are “heliotropic,” meaning they grow towards the light.

The site, which was converted from a heliotropic treatment center to a geriatric care facility and later to the Seaside Regional Center, a state institution for people with developmental disabilities, has been vacant since 1996.

In addition to their striking color and size, young sunflowers are heliotropic — meaning they turn to face the sun as they mature.

All around the Opel, the flowers creak on their stems and nod their heliotropic faces as if in some sad accord.