At the morning meeting, colleagues stared aghast as shoots and tiny leaves burst through her skin.

By afternoon, the rewilding took hold – two huge fronds erupting from her back, unfurling winglike.

That night, she burst into a thousand floating seeds and allowed herself to drift away upon the moonlit breeze.

Mathew Gostelow (he/him) is a writer in Birmingham, UK. His strange tales have been published by Lucent Dreaming, Janus Literary, Ghastling, Ellipsis, Stanchion, Roi Fainéant, and others. He was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2022 and has won prizes from Bag of Bones Press and Beagle North. Follow him on Twitter at @MatGost.