Take away my last, and you have to pay, Add a layer of skin and the letter T, and I bring false life into a carcass, I'm a contender for the most recognizable word in the world, the same or close in every language

I can be twisted or straight, but never confused. Always dressed up for dinner, never refused. Drop me in hot water and I change my attitude.

Velvet cloak unfurls, Thorns guard a sweet scented heart, Love's blush in the vase.

Silent keepers of secrets and treasures, stitched into cloth, where stray coins and lint gather like whispers in a crowded room.

I move through rivers, wires, and days, unseen, yet guiding countless ways.