Why Driveways Have Cracks — Under the garage’s sleepy shadow, Rafi warmed his engine with a hum-hum-hum, trying to roll past the rounded bushes before anyone noticed his shaking bumper. Read the full story →
Under the garage’s sleepy shadow, Rafi warmed his engine with a hum-hum-hum, trying to roll past the rounded bushes before anyone noticed his shaking bumper. He wanted to reach the mailbox at the end of the walk by himself. The morning smelled like damp grass and brick dust, and the bare tree tapped its twigs together like tiny pencils.
Halfway down the drive, a whisper rose from the concrete. “Easy, please.” A pink earthworm slid from a hairline split, shiny as rain. Rafi braked so softly his tires only sighed. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I thought cracks meant something was broken.”
“They mean the ground is breathing,” said the worm. “But the first one is the hardest.” Rafi inched forward while the worm pressed a silver trail into the concrete, making a small crooked path around his tire. Rafi followed it to the mailbox and back, brave in a quiet way. Ever since then, driveways keep their little cracks, so small wheels and smaller worms can find a gentle way through; next time you see the split by Rafi’s tire, can you imagine the hum-hum-hum?
