Oh wow. Oh wow. You've done a really amazing job here. It's so fascinating (and so painful) for me to read this, to see what it would have been like if Oz had survived and Giles had "died." Unlike Giles, Oz tries so hard to keep on living, which I think is exactly right for his character.

Oz imagines the roots taking hold of Giles’ words and drawing them up from the paper, bringing them (Giles) back to life under the California sun. He pictures Giles’ odd script working its way up the spring green stems and decorating the deep yellow petals, each flower a mute record of Giles’ life.

Beautiful.

it smells antifreeze sweet

I love this metaphor enormously. The sweetness that is also poison.

Thank you so much for a wonderful, wonderful Remix!