sprouts

a few months back, i decided to follow some sort of "beauty secrets" book's advice and do what teenagers in spain apparently do to get rid of dark circles, which is to put thin potato slices over the eyes for five minutes. i went out and bought two good-sized potatoes, ran them under warm water (why?), and sliced two thin circles and did as the spanish teenagers supposedly do. all i ended up with were more enhanced dark circles and starchy bits in my eyelashes. i stored the potatoes on the upper shelf of my wardrobe in a plastic bag, thinking maybe i would use them later, and repetition would improve the results.

it wasn't until this week when i noticed a mildew-y smell eminating from my wardrobe every time i opened it. and it wasn't until last night when i went hunting for the source, and remembered the potatoes. i pulled the bag from where it was hiding behind the three different types of hair product i had (for when it was longer) and brought it out into the light.

what the bag contained both fascinated and horrified me: both potatoes, having absorbed and kept all that water, had been placed in the perfect environment for the perfect amount of time to start sprouting their own roots. even the exposed area of the one potato i'd sliced had an impressive white root shooting out from it.

the wonder at such a simple and obvious result wore away quickly, and for some reason, i had the idea that bugs had decided to make the bag their home, so i quickly tossed the bag into the trash. i took out the trash and the recycling that night. unfortunately, there is no photographic evidence of this simple phenomenon.

i pondered over this. to a science major, this may not seem extraordinary, and even i should have known that would happen. but no soil? no light? just a damp, contained environment, and they grew, and morphed. transformed. my wardrobe doors have stayed at least partially open all day to air out the smell, and luckily nothing else was damaged.

i'm still shaking my head at my forgetfulness.

even in darkness, it is possible to live, to grow, and even, to thrive. and in all the right ways.

-d