Seven to Ten Days

I crawled boots-first into my horizontal terracotta pot as the garden grew cold and still. Leaving my four pebbles to stand guard around the saucer outside, I settled onto the dry magnolia leaf floor and tapped my blue phone awake. By its soft screen light, I flipped over the morning glory seed packet to read the tiny printed sentences on the back. My gloved thumb followed each straight line until I reached the care notes: the seed needs seven to ten quiet days under the dark soil before a green shoot appears. Knowing exactly how long to wait made the night silence feel steady and patient.