FicWad: fresh-picked original and fan fiction

Deep and eerie. It's very powerful the way you tell the story by broadest strokes in such a short space, making each bit speak volumes. The root's details - not just the face and hair but the five-finger leaves, the other name it goes by. The names of Uncle Li, with the boy and then Madam Li short lines after beating the mother. The oblique reference to his mother's future children is perfect...it's easy to read as simply that she shouldn't cry because she'll have more children, and miss the way they know the exact time it takes for another root to grow, and the way they think of future celebrations right afterward. And finally the end, subtle and powerful, tying back into the opening and bringing the story full circle.