maple_leaf raze she told me this story once. she had a friend who lost her son when he was still a child. he would visit her in her dreams. in one of the dreams he spoke to her. "i have to give you something," he said. "it's very important." he handed her a perfect maple leaf. "you have to protect it," he said. "you have to keep it safe." the moment she touched the leaf, it started to fall apart in her hands. the more she tried to save it, the quicker it crumbled. her son kept saying, "you have to protect it, mom. you have to keep it safe." veins fell away. even the base and the petiole. and then there was nothing left. she woke up feeling like she'd lost him a second time. grief shook her body so hard she thought she would break. a few days later she was stripping her bed. she tore the fitted sheet from the mattress, and beneath it she saw a perfect maple leaf. she reached out a trembling hand to touch it. it didn't fall apart. 210831 ... unhinged the name of my neighborhood in seattle the neighborhood is covered in all kinds of japanese maple trees and indigenous maple trees. makes the fall extra beautiful 210831 what's it to you? who go blather from