Before boarding the carriage, Rumina requested five minutes. She returned to her room alone, grabbed the pot of dry dirt from the windowsill, and tucked it securely under her unbandaged arm. The elderly nurse in the gray veil watched her from the doorway, not asking a single question.
"Those seeds didn't sprout," the nurse finally noted. It was easily the longest sentence she had ever spoken to her.
"I know," Rumina replied. "I planted them too deep. And there wasn't enough light." She weighed the pot in her hands for a moment. "My brother has a garden. I'm going to replant them there."
The nurse offered a single nod and stepped aside.
The hospital carriage had no windows, so Rumina counted the turns instead.
