A Trip in the Botanical Gardens

Nature, October Stories, Prompts by Lita Kurth, Surprise 1 Minute
Photo by Dawn Brown on Pexels.com

Alice shook stones from her sandal. They sprayed across the ground, barely missing a stripey monarch caterpillar. “I’m sorry,” Alice said reflexively.

“You should be.” The caterpillar inched onto Alice’s other sandal. “Give me a lift. It’s the least you could do after nearly squishing me.”

“What?”

The caterpillar said, “Botanical garden; milkweeds, please.”

What were the odds? Zero, the odds were zero. The milkweeds waved pink heads in the wind. A few released their silky seeds. Alice felt stones in her sandals. No, in her sneakers, she was wearing sneakers. The patterned sunlight colored her calm. No caterpillars, nowhere.

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Published by Monica McHenney

Monica lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two foster dogs. She taught parents how to raise their toddlers for twenty-five years before retiring in 2015 to write. The secret to toddlers is to make sure you get enough sleep. Monica hasn't found the secret to writing, yet, but is diligently working at it. See links to her on-line stories on the publications page.

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