which of my favorite plushies are you?

Close your eyes and imagine being stabbed. Where did the blade sink? Choose the nearest approximation.

Back, high between the shoulderblades

Back, low between the shoulderblades

Back, between or in the kidneys

Front, in the heart or solar plexus

Front, in the upper abdomen

Front, in the lower abdomen or genital region

Why were you stabbed?

In retaliation, by someone close to me

In retaliation, by a stranger

I don’t know — it was a senseless crime

There is a fork in the road. You go:

Left

Right

In the wild field, pick a flower:

Chicory, meaning I will wait for you

Amaranth, meaning Unfading

Columbine, meaning Folly

Peony, meaning Bashfulness

Bluebell, meaning Constancy

Poppy, meaning Devotion

Add grass and ferns to your bouquet. Then, pick a flower that doesn’t exist to complete it:

Annagan, meaning Youth

Doveheart, meaning Solace

Alaspic, meaning A hidden place

Sontangne, meaning Not lost—nonetheless found

Grave fern, meaning Serenity

Selyon, meaning Meet me in my dreams

You give this bouquet to:

Yourself

Someone else

Choose a nostalgia:

Yearning for a past you cannot return to

Yearning for a past that did not happen

Yearning for a future that cannot happen

Yearning for a future that is too slow in coming

Yearning for yourself, past or alternate or future

Yearning for a loved one, friend or foe or family

There are no wrong answers; complete the sentence: Love is…

…a heavy thing to carry.

…a plate of fruit, rinded and quartered.

…someone, somewhere I can come home to.

…someone who sees me as I am, even when I can’t see myself.

…hard-won.

…hard-earned.

The bare minimum required for the human body to continue functioning is formed by the following trifecta: brain; heart; one lung. Choose one other organ to keep:

Lastly, choose a place of comfort:

an outdoor hot spring, deep in the mountains; bathing as a gentle rain falls around you

a giant lily-pad, sturdy enough to hold your weight; sleeping there in the late afternoon sun

the kitchen of your first true home; dancing to soft music, alone or with a loved one

dreams you’d half-forgotten, found again in the pages of an old, unfinished journal

the lines of your favorite song, your favorite poem

a hearty dish, and the laughter of the people seated around the table