how things go

when i moved into my new place the previous tenant, a german guy named Toor, left me three plants. they sit on one of my windowsills, all in a row, gathering sunlight. they are all different species but the names of those species remains a mystery to me. i just know they look different. that one is sort of bushy, with long thin leaves. one is sort of typical looking, with larger, wide leaves that shoot up and dont hang. and the other looks like a small tree.

im not sure what kind of care should be provided to them, so i just give them water every time i think of it. this could be twice a week or once every two weeks, depending on how many times i glance in their direction. Toor didnt leave me any instructions about their care. he just left me a note saying i could do with them as i will. he really didnt care for them either way.


the middle one, the typical looking one, gives one of my cats great joy. sophie, the girl, likes to gnaw on its leaves and stalks. she has practically devoured the entire thing, leaving only two nearly lifeless blades hanging from their stems. in the bottom of the pot a collection of dead stalks jutting up with nothing blooming from them. both blades are fraught with holes where the life has wasted away. brown holes like burns that eat at what green is left. ugly spots of decay. constant reminders of neglect and abuse. it is shameful but that is life, or the end thereof, no?

id like to revive my plants, the bushy one has browned a lot. half its leaves hang dry and untended. the other, the tree looking one, stands tall but listless. im not sure the typical one can be saved. i think its a goner. i will water them but im not sure that will help at this stage. i feel ive diseased them, through my own disregard, murdered them. its unfortunate, and i wish things were different, but the truth is, my plants are dead or dying.