A Gentle Greeting

I carefully tiptoed past the living room door and stepped onto the sunlit balcony tiles. In the corner resting inside a ceramic planter, a tiny green shoot was poking up through dark, damp soil. I crouched down beside the smooth rim of the pot, keeping my distance so as not to startle it. Resting on one of the tiny leaves was a glossy, round ladybug. I slowly leaned in and held very still, letting my long ears drape gently while watching its little speckled shell glisten in the morning light.