Day 6 of my 2023 drabble-a-day challenge! Here is today’s drabble:

The Last of Grandmother's Roses

The afternoon sun lit the falling petals. I'd watered the roses; dead-headed them, read endless plant-care articles. But by the time grandma died there was only one flower left.

Grandma always said roses needed conversation. I took my cuppa into the garden.

"Hi, Roses. I guess you know about grandma."

I didn't know what to say. I gulped tea.

"Jim says I’m stupid talking to roses. He says a lot of things are stupid, like feeding stray cats. The other day..."

Ten minutes later, I was surprised to find my mug empty. Against the wall, a tiny bud showed pearl-pink.

Anyone who followed my #drabbletober posts last year, and is particularly observant, may have noticed that I am reusing all the same images I used last year. I set up the template for this post some days ago, and wrote today’s story in my head while eating dinner in a Polish restaurant.

I didn’t realise until just now that the image matches the story rather well.

Also, Polish restaurants: bacon in everything. Cabbage? Bacon. Mashed potato? Bacon. It’s bloody brilliant.