A photo of a portrait I took of Rosie just over a week ago: here she is, happy sitting in her usual spot on the window sill, taking in the southward sun.
Coming back late from class tonight I was shocked to find that she and her blue bonsai pot had disappeared without a trace.
I already knew something was up when I noticed other desecrated plants in the surrounding streets. I spent almost an hour throughly combing the area, searching likely dumping spots and interviewing people. Alas, no sign of Rosie or even fragments of her blue pot. The nearby hotel staff were the only ones to have seen something - a few hours before, some young guys who had tipped over one of their shrubs and ran off.
Maybe it was karma for stealing the bike. Maybe it was just some youths stirred up by the first full moon after the equinox.
Either way it's sad. Rosie was the first plant I ever really made an effort to look after. She had been through several relocations in my absences. One them early on was with a friend who gave her the name which stuck. At one stage on the brink of death, Rosie had fought back with courage, and went on to survive her first long winter of freezing temperatures and feeble sunlight. With the spring weather coming on, she had sprouted many new leaves. I was crossing my fingers that soon she might triumph with the first new blooms of the season.
Alas, at best I hope someone else will be able to witness this moment. At worst I hope she will eventually return to the earth to bloom in another form on another day.
In your memory.
Rosie Rose: circa April 2009 - 29 March 2010.
