Capillary Draw

I pried open the rusted latch of a cracked greenhouse sash, stepping over mossy glass shards onto the damp potting bench. Between two encrusted terracotta pots sat a desiccated poppy capsule, its crown brittle and tightly sealed against decay. Rather than crush the husk, I introduced a drop of dark elderberry reagent to its porous severed stem using a glass dropper. Capillary action took hold immediately, the fibrous wall darkening as it drew the fluid upward against gravity. When the moisture reached the capsule's ribs, a seam split with a faint snap, releasing a dark seed onto the zinc tray. Even dormant matter yields when offered the proper catalyst.