"Lapidary Night"

[sergebroom]

"Hawkins paid for perfection only: the unblemished beryl rose, the symmetrical ruby anemone, the pure silver tracery of veins through an emerald leaf. Or insects: moths, spiders, butterflies, so delicate that too often they shattered in the collecting."

I'm currently reading Marta Randall's book "Collected Stories" and the above is from her tale "Lapidary Nights", about a planet where, on some nights, some of life gets turned into precious stone. Recommended.