A Tiny Shade Tree

I carried Bunny with both arms, stepping carefully past the open screen door out onto the stone patio. The morning stone felt solid and warm beneath my little shoes. Near the garden edge, an overturned ceramic teacup sat beside a dry, fallen maple seed. I stopped to look closely. The seed had delicate, paper-thin wings with tiny veins. Taking small, quiet breaths, I leaned down and wedged its stem upright between two flagstone cracks. It stood proudly like a miniature tree. Bunny and I settled down together beside it, watching its tiny shadow stretch across the stone.