rose petal returned

Yesterday we visited the Shrine of the Bab and the Shrine of Abdu'l-Baha. In both shrines the room where the actual resting place is adjoins a room where you can sit and pray or meditate and there is a threshold between them that is decorated with carpets, cloths, flowers and usually rose petals or jasmin flowers. Lillian knows now that she shouldn't touch the things on the threshold, comes and sits with me near the threshold for a little bit when we go in. Yesterday the threshold of the Shrine of Abdu'l-Baha had very large very dark velvety red petals on it and she pointed to them and whispered "What are those?". I really try never to speak to her in the shrines, but I whispered "rose petals" to her, hoping that she wouldn't want to play with them. As we were leaving we stopped near the back and I held her and whispered a prayer to her, because someone had asked her to say a prayer for him on the way down. Then I noticed that there was one of the petals on the carpet, and pointed it out to her, thinking that it would be okay for her to take that one, because it was already off the threshold. She picked it up and whispered "put it back" and then walked up to the threshold and placed it carefully among the others and then came back to me and we went out. I found it very touching, though it is hard for me to say why. Maybe it shows a sense of the sacredness of the place and the care that goes into creating the fitting atmosphere.