For a while I just stood staring, my tiredness replaced by a sharp, nervous alertness. Every shadow in the room felt hostile as I tried to decide whether to run,
scream, or poke it with something from a safe distance. I zoomed in with my phone camera, half expecting it to suddenly twitch. Instead, it remained eerily still, as if mocking my panic.
Only after I forced myself closer did the truth slowly emerge. The “legs” weren’t legs at all, but fragile roots. That terrifying creature was just a sprouting seed that had somehow ended up in
Continued on the next page
