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Hesitantly she reaches out to touch the dusty bud
her fingertip hovers, trembling,
before lightly brushing a curled velvet petal.
Her breath catches as her mere touch
causes it to disintegrate into motes of rust-colored specks.
Her hand closes as if to capture each miniscule piece,
each one a symbol of a treasured memory, a soft word,
a bittersweet moment suspended in time.
Her...
