Rooftop Garden in the Year of Drought

The tomato plant on the forty-eighth floor was the last one in Seokju Tower. Everyone in the building knew it. Most of them had knocked on the door at least once.

Three people had keys: the building super, a retired schoolteacher, and a twelve-year-old who had found hers in the elevator two weeks ago.

The schoolteacher put a sign on the rooftop door: COME UP. BRING A SEED IF YOU HAVE ONE. WE'LL FIGURE OUT THE REST.

By the third day, forty-seven people had visited. Some brought seeds from packets they'd been saving. Others brought their hands and their time.