The garden label that said Maybe

Fiction · Original fiction

Every plant in the community garden had a label. When Lina found a seedling she could not identify, she wrote Maybe on its marker. A neighbour laughed, then admitted she did not know either.

People began leaving observations beside it: two new leaves, a bent stem after rain, a taller shape by Friday. Nobody removed the first label.

Later, an experienced gardener identified the plant. Lina wrote its name on a new marker and kept Maybe in the notebook with their observations.

The garden gained no remarkable harvest from that corner. It gained a small habit of asking before announcing. Whenever someone was unsure, they knew where an unused marker and a pencil could be found.