OXYGEN: POSITIVE PLANT SERIES

ONE

Rhi loved the way dirt felt between her fingers, caring for delicate seedlings until they bloom. She loved watching things thrive, like her own little earth she could care for and watch over. The endless days in with the scalding sun freckling her skin. At least she had something pretty to show for it.

But it was a cold morning, and Rhi stood leaning against the railing of the balcony counting how many times the traffic lights would change to yellow. As the wind blew strands of her hair all over the place, she glanced nonchalantly at her digital alarm clock through the sliding doors and into her apartment.

5:27. Three more minutes.

She was usually up at 5:30, but on this specific day, Rhi woke up at five exactly. She had no idea who or what drew her up from slumber but she believed that the universe was telling her something. There was something she had to see at this very moment. Something that was worth waking up earlier than she normally would. So she got up. And waited.

Her toes were frozen solid. Even digging them in the toasty soil did nothing to keep her warm. The icy February wind blew on her bare shoulders. She shivered.

Her skin glowed under the light of the rising sun and her long black hair hung lose and cascaded down her back, all the way to the dimples at the bottom of her spine. She was a phantom of delight. It seemed that the universe wanted the sun to shine solely on her and her splendor.

From the eleventh floor, Rhi could see the suns first rays peeking out from behind the horizon and the lonely street below. It reminded her of an artery. The way the black road and the white markings indicated blood flow and the sidewalk acted, as it's thick muscular walls.

But something interrupted that perfect vessel. It was a man.

She couldn't see his face but she could tell he was dark skinned. He wore a grey hoodie, with the hood up, and black sweats. He stopped and dug around his pockets for a while. From the height she was at, Rhi could not see the joint and lighter he pulled out. But she could see the flame flicker on, and the slight illumination at the end of the joint.

For some reason, she found herself attracted to this man. Not in any emotional or sexual way, but something about him ignited something in her. As seeing an old friend, long forgotten, and triggered the same feeling. A thought bothered her.

He exhaled and her head swam.

He continued his journey, the fumes surrounding his head and it trailed off behind him disappearing into a silvery wisp of nothing.

And her alarm went off.

Drawing herself out of her thoughts of this mysterious man, she spun around slowly and walked over to turn that dreadful beeping off. Her cat wailed.

"I know Venus, it sounds like a disco for the antichrist."

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Baruch was tired, worn and his chest burned. Every step he took drained his exhausted muscles of all energy. He looked grizzled and a dejected. Twenty two year old going on thirty. But it was his expression that would make you want to stay five meters away. Sour, overpowered, like a rusted nail hanging from a rotting piece of wood. He had the look of a man who just didn't give a shit anymore. Not to mention the fact that he was blazed off his ass.

Most of the money he earned came from dealing, but it wasn't enough. He was able to scrabble up a used phone and find a place he could stay for twenty bucks a month. But weed doesn't come cheap. So he ended up joining a cleaning company working for one of those plush fashion companies to get a little extra money on the side.