Behold: The lemon. On Wednesday, a San Diego-based writer and podcaster named Mike Sakasegawa was walking home when he saw a lemon rolling down a hill. The lemon trundles over the concrete, barrels through some detritus, and, as of this writing, has been watched by nearly 7 million people. Sakasegawa’s tweet has more than 85,000 retweets and nearly 300,000 favorites. People just fucking love this lemon.
The clip’s length—nearly two minutes—is key to its effectiveness, as are the lemon’s numerous obstacles, which take the form of muddy leaves, parked cars, and foreboding shadows. The Washington Post, among other outlets have sought to unpack the lemon’s appeal, but it’s nothing so complicated—it’s refreshing, is all, to see something so small and vulnerable press forward in spite of so much adversity.
There’s a happy ending here, too, as Sakasegawa returned to the lemon after filming. “I just kind of felt bad,” he told the Post. “I had watched this lemon roll like a champ down this hill. I felt bad that it was sitting in the gutter, that someone might drive over it.”
Now, the lemon has a new home. And a new friend.
What will become of the lemon is up in the air. Maybe Sakasegawa will use it to make some lemonade or garnish a cocktail. Regardless, its citrusy spirit will live on. The Post reports that a literary agent has already reached out to Sakasegawa about turning the lemon’s journey into a children’s book.
For now, however, the lemon is content to sit in Sakasegawa’s garden. Rest easy, lemon; it’s gone now, whatever it was you were running from.