Mud clung to my boots like old expectations
Grass brushed my ankles with accidental tenderness
The river whispered in accents I had forgotten
Future shaped itself in ripples
A flower broke through silt
vivid against the gray—
a promise rising from unlikely soil
I leaned closer humbled
The water carried reflections I didn’t recognize—
versions of me I might yet become
They waved fearless encouraging
My breath steadied
When I stepped away
I felt taller
as if roots had formed under my feet
Future had already begun blooming