Asakiyume mita

Patricia Russo writes weird, wonderful things, full of heart. "The Placeholder" is a flash piece about planting a stray seed.

I love it on its own merits, and what it's saying isn't the same as what "Semper Vivens" is saying, but there are some harmonies:

What his heart wanted was to lick the leaf that was touching his lip and then bite it, chew it slowly, taste it thoroughly, swallow it, and then the next one on the stem, and the next. Even if they tasted bad. Even if they made him sick. Even if they transformed him in a way he didn’t, not yet, entirely want.

There are all kinds of other lovelinesses in this story though--the curl of your body around a cat, half-remembered lullabies--and this story is short and free to read. Enjoy!