A Garden Stepping Stone

Taking careful steps down from the brick threshold, my boots met the crushed gravel of the garden path. Right beside the stone border, I discovered a fallen terracotta saucer tucked under a hosta leaf, holding a puddle of clear rainwater. Two smooth gray pebbles and a dry twig lay nearby. With patient nudges of my mitts, I eased the twig across the rim of the saucer, then balanced one flat pebble right atop it like a tiny viewing perch over the water. Resting my round boots firmly against the cool clay edge, I paused to watch the ripples settle into a calm, glassy mirror.