The Secret of Blooming

"The sun's setting fast. You hurry, wanting to get home before dark. But as you stroll past a humble house fringed by lush flowerbeds, you glimpse a line of people in the backyard, facing a privacy fence. With their backs to you, they're ranked like a row of tin soldiers, socially distanced; seven or eight of them, standing at attention. What are they up to? you wonder, slowing your steps. A masked man crossing the yard notices you on the sidewalk. "Come, join us!" he calls with a wave. You hesitate. It's late, and you're not keen on mixing with strangers, especially during a pandemic. But you don't know how to decline the invitation without seeming rude. He beckons again. "You're just in time!" In time for what? you ask yourself. Now you're hooked. You keep your distance as you follow him, adjusting your mask over your nose. The toy soldiers are focused on some weedy plants growing along the wood fence. "Look!" exclaims a girl, no more than a kindergartener. She's pointing at a flower bud. "This ones getting all trembly!" "Maybe it will be the first!" says a woman, probably the girl's mother, or she wouldnt be standing so close. An old lady stretches the tip of her cane toward another bud. "I'm betting on this one," she says. "How about you?" Yes, she means you. Surprised by her question, you lean in to study the bud, perched on a swaying stem as tall as your thigh. Its green sheath is quivering. "Watch now," the old lady says..." Phyllis Cole-Dai shares more in this entrancing real-life Spring tale.

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