The Midnight Gardener
It was about a week after Halloween, and my yard was finally looking normal again—no more scattered candy wrappers or leftover decorations. But as I went out to check on the garden one morning, I noticed something odd: a small patch of fresh roses planted neatly by my back fence. I hadn’t planted them, and nobody in my family was into gardening. It was strange, but I shrugged it off, thinking maybe a neighbor was trying to be nice.
The next day, I found daisies by the side gate, then a lavender bush by the patio. It was starting to feel less like a friendly gesture and more like someone was planting an entire garden in my yard without asking. Over the next few days, more and more flowers appeared, all neatly arranged in little clusters. By the fifth morning, I was determined to figure out who was behind it.
That night, I stayed up late, watching from my living room window that faced the yard. Around midnight, I saw a shadowy figure slip quietly through my gate, kneeling by the freshly dug soil. They moved carefully, planting flowers as though it was their own yard. The person was dressed in a dark hoodie and jeans, their face obscured as they worked quickly but methodically.
Just as I was about to open the door and confront them, they froze, as if sensing they were being watched. Slowly, they lifted their head and looked directly toward my window, even though the lights were off, and I was standing in the shadows. My heart pounded, and I froze, unsure of what to do.
The figure stood up, brushing the dirt off their hands, and without a word, they turned and walked out of the gate, vanishing into the darkness. When I finally found the courage to go outside, I saw they’d left behind a small note attached to a rose stem in the dirt.
The note read, “For those who care for what grows quietly.”
Over the next few days, no more flowers appeared, and I never saw the midnight gardener again. But each time I looked out at the roses, daisies, and lavender in my garden, I wondered who they were—and why they chose my yard.
