One stem is enough. A small cut-and-frosted glass vase in smoke grey, tall and narrow, sized for a single ranunculus or three. The frosting softens the glass to sea-glass opacity; the cut facets catch what light gets through. Grey enough to sit on any surface, on the windowsill, the desk, the nightstand. For the friend who keeps one stem in every room, the small housewarming, the desk that needs one soft object.