Afternoon Tea with a Bouquet

On her way home from work, she bends over to water the little flowers in their pots, her face bathed in a gentle glow. She picks a few sprigs of baby's breath and says, "Flowers and plants can bring peace of mind." Sometimes she thinks of the lucky bamboo she picked up by the roadside. She thought it was withering, but after half a day in a glass bottle, it was standing tall and vigorous. Now its roots are like little silver fish, and it sits beside her computer, gleaming green. These small, unremarkable joys sing and dance through life. What makes life worth holding on to, it turns out, has never been grand things, but the fragrance of a flower, a handful of greenery picked up along the way, and those moments that quietly soften your heart.