The complexity of the leaftode (leafus arachnidias) has astonished the scientific community since its discovery in 1957. Half-human, half-arachnid, the leaftode has enjoyed a resurgence these past twelve hundred years. Some point to the melting ice caps, others the demise of ancient Greece. This orange-red, bristly invertebrate makes its home among the sheltering leaves and branches of the oak, the linden and the chanticleer pear. These tiny beings, nomads of the arboreal, romp and play with a ferocity becoming noble warriors of the realm. Slip-hopping from leaf to leaf, the joyful leaftode shimmies with mammalian ecstasy amidst its signature cries of munny-CHEEP!, munny-CHEEP! in the early spring when temperatures begin to hover above sixty-seven degrees (F). Leaftodes, due to the hybridic nature of the species, chiefly feed off the discarded waste of homo sapiens. They also crave, in the colder months, tree wax, shoelaces and hard plastic. Because reading material is hard to come by, what with the logistics of transport and the vagaries of atmospheric conditions in its home range of the Midwestern United States (the leaftode DOES reside in the out-of-doors), the intellectual acumen of this 5-legged, dual-sectioned species leaves (pun intended) much to be desired. But it would be a grave mistake (pun, redux) to ever hold that against them.
(An earlier version was previously published on author's blog, 2019)
