A Fragile Leaf

I squeezed right through the crack beneath the patio door! Wheee, the outside world! Free as a bird, look at me go! Hahaha! I marched across the rough red bricks and spotted a giant, crispy brown maple leaf. A pirate ship! I leaped onto the center with both feet, but—snap! It crumbled right in half beneath my weight. Oh no. It was having such a quiet afternoon nap, and I completely ruined its spine. I am terrible. Sigh. I knelt on the gritty stone, carefully nudging the dry fragments back together like a puzzle, murmuring apologies while the breeze rustled the garden grass.