The Firefly Clock

The rainbow seeds still showed only bare soil, and Theo, who had promised just one watering a night, wished they would bloom right now. A cloud of fireflies drifted over the patch, blinking like a slow, kind clock.

Lumi said good things often arrive one glow at a time, not all at once. Theo watched the fireflies light and fade, light and fade, and matched his breath to their gentle rhythm. It was the most patient he had ever been, and he almost liked it.

Just before bedtime, a single green sprout lifted its head from the patch. The friends cheered in whispers. Theo, who once stamped at the river, smiled at how one small glow of green had been worth the wait, and the night hummed with fireflies.