I planted sunflowers in her yard without telling her. She thought they grew on their own.
Seeds buried at midnight. Blooms in July. She called them a miracle. He never corrected her.
I planted them at midnight.
While she was asleep.
Dug small holes along her fence line.
Dropped in sunflower seeds.
Covered them. Watered them with her garden hose.
She never locked the side gate.
I came back three nights in a row to water.
Always after 11.
Always quiet.
By week two she mentioned something was growing.
Little green things by the fence. I didn't plant those.
I said maybe a bird dropped seeds.
She said maybe.
By June they were two feet tall.
She was amazed.
She called her mother. Sent photos.
Said the universe sent me sunflowers.
I drank my coffee and said nothing.
July. They bloomed.
Six sunflowers taller than her fence.
She stood in her yard looking up at them like a woman who believed in miracles.