a plant enters the supermarket
a plant enters the supermarket without a receipt. the clerk doesn’t stop it. the plant looks at him. he feels seen for the first time by something that is not a customer. in the frozen food aisle, the plant opens its leaves like hands. the clerk takes note with the scanner. the plant absorbs the cold’s humidity. the clerk becomes slightly dehydrated. their connection begins as an involuntary data exchange. the clerk’s badge starts pulsing in a photosynthetic rhythm. the registers record a change in chlorophyll level in the system. the store manager doesn’t understand.
A short story by Federico Federici.