A Dropped Fern Leaf

A curled water-fern leaf drifted over the slate shelf, circling in a slow eddy before tangling right against my front face. The little translucent slime reached out, tapping it with a curious nudge, but the current threatened to sweep the delicate sprig into the lower channel. I did not rush. Shifting my weight slightly, I lowered my front edge to pin the stem securely against the wet bedrock. The leaf flattened beneath my corner, spreading its green fronds across the clear water. Within my hollow core, an amber glow hummed to life, projecting warm, pixelated light through the translucent veins until the little slime happily nestled against the warm, grounded stem.