by Sean Adami
The animate plant said, “I am Plant.”
Andrew said, “Okay then . . . Plant . Where are you taking me?”
Plant said, “To my home where my plant folk live.”
Andrew thought, how could there be a plant with human-like qualities? I gotta think more like Harriet. Taking a slight pause in his thinking, Andrew thought, ughh . . . Harriet. Maybe I made a mistake. Andrew knew it was too late for that.
Plant said, “It may take awhile. Rest.”
Considering he almost fell to his death, Andrew didn’t want to take his chances on resting. Andrew told himself, just ride with it . . . and don’t rest.
The bee continued flying throughout majority of daylight. Andrew, who was seamlessly zoning out, was touched on the shoulder by Plant.
Plant said, “We are here.”
Looking to his right, Andrew was baffled. A whole new biome presented itself to him. It was a biome of shifting tectonic plates. Different areas of terrain were slowly ascending while other areas were slowly sinking. Each sector of shifting land had decently-sized trees that blossomed different colored flower petals. A humongous thick yellow flower with three huge petals stretched hundreds of feet across, covering majority of the biome. On the huge flower were the animate plants, sitting and conversing with their group. The yellow flower covered the moving tectonic plates, causing the petals to slightly bend gradually. Partially decomposed, the flower revealed small brown spots on its petals. A subtle purple fog surrounded the flower. Off into the distance were small water springs, bursting water molecules into the atmosphere.
Andrew said jokingly, “This looks like one big banana peel.”
Plant asked, “Banana?”
Andrew said, “Nevermind,” as the dopamine bee landed on the tip of the big yellow flower petal. Making a big leap off the bee’s back, Plant waited for Andrew to follow.
Plant said, “Come.”
Being an observant person, Andrew said, “Give me a second. Let me admire this beauty.” Wanting to look at all directions of this biome, he looked up and saw a blue butterfly cocoon. In the stages of still becoming a butterfly, the cocoon oozed a drop of blue fluid onto Andrew’s eyes. Wiping the gross substance from his face, Andrew was done “admiring” and hopped off the bee. He fell onto the soft yellow flower petal. Andrew thought, shit man, I feel like I'm on an acid trip. He said to Plant, “Alright. I’m coming.”
The flower petal had a width of twenty feet. Plant and Andrew were hundreds of feet from the center of the flower. In the center of the flower sprung up a long purple stigma. Also in the center, yellow filaments arose with red anthers at the ends of the filaments. The levitating and descending pieces of land varied from one another. One piece of land rose 10 feet above Andrew while another piece of land was five feet below him.
Andrew thought, I need to tune in to my sciency side here. I need to ask him some questions. Is Plant an it, him, or her? He said, “So is this flower like your sanctuary?”
Walking forward to the center of the flower, Plant said, “Home. Flower is called Allure”
Andrew asked, “Allure, huh? Why did you take me here?”
Plant said, “What Mother Nature births, I bring.”
Wanting longer responses, Andrew asked, “How many ‘Plants’ are there of you? What gender are you?”
Plant answered, “We are not made up of numbers. We are all one big plant. Nature bored me as male”
Andrew said, “You have a name?”
“Name? We are all one big plant. Nothing more.”
“Okay cool. What’s the point of this place?”
Plant continued walking and put his barky hand up to Andrew’s mouth. “No more. I take you, and you will be silent from now on.” Slightly provoked by his fast muscular motion, Andrew remained silent.
Now wasn’t the time for the scientific method. Now was the time to see what the hell these creatures would do to Andrew. As he walked past a different animate plant, it opened its mouth widely at him, possibly attempting to intimidate Andrew. He noticed a big wooden structure intertwined with the tree branches from the tall trees directly above the stigma of Allure. A long vertical ladder made of bamboo fibers led up to the wooden structure. Andrew predicted that the wooden structure was his destination for the time being. After walking tediously for quite some time, they finally reached the ladder that was positioned on the inner ridge of the petal.
Plant said, “Climb.” Following his orders, Andrew climbed the very tall ladder until he reached the surface level of the weaving tree branches. Shaped as a rectangular prism, the wooden structure contained nothing but a poorly-carved hole on the front wall facing Andrew. The hole was dark. A wooden plank connected the ladder to the ugly-looking shack.
Directly behind Andrew, Plant said, “Enter through hole. Now.”
Shaking his head with discomfort, Andrew placed his worn-out shoes onto the wooden plank step by step. Eventually making it to the entry, Andrew took a deep breath and barely managed to fit through the hole. Crawling through the prickly entrance, he saw a little brightness not too far. Escaping out of the hole, he entered a lowly-lit room with a low ceiling. Bending over, he noticed an animate plant standing next to him. With its ductile branchy fingers, the animate plant pointed to Andrew’s right. On his right appeared two red curtains with artistic drawings of flowers and trees. Swaying the curtains open, Andrew couldn’t comprehend what he saw. He was extremely overwhelmed. It was his mother, Marie.
CHAPTER 12:
Who were these plant people?
Were they all equals?
The randomness of his mother present
Bewildered Andrew to the greatest extent.
Her mother looked exactly how he remembered her. She did not age one bit. Not seeing her son for over eight years, Marie immediately hugged her stupefied son. Andrew peaked confusion levels and still couldn’t dictate what was going on. Andrew kept thinking in his head, This can’t be real. This can’t be real. This can’t be real. Resisting his mother’s hug, Andrew said, “How is this real? Mom, why are you here? How did you even end up here! Please, explain! I’m so confused.”
Opening her arms up, his mother said, “Relax, Andrew. It’s so great to see you! Now let me hug you!”
Andrew said assertively, “No! Not until you explain to me what is going on.”
She said, “That’ll be for another time. It’s too soon for that. Let me just enjoy my son for now.” She wrapped her hands around Andrew, but he resisted once again.
Calmly, he said, “Please. Mom, tell me. My mind is all over the place, and it would help if you could just explain one of my concerns.”
She stood up and said cheerfully, “So aren’t you gonna ask how I ended up with these plant people?”
Andrew said, “No.”
She said, “Well, it happened the first time I was sent to this magical place. Confused and hungry, I searched for all kinds of prey to eat, but, of course, I was not strong enough. Disgusted by all my failures, I laid in the moist soil, crying and waiting for an act of God to help me. And that moment when I thought all was lost, a plant creature appeared before me. While sobbing, the warmhearted creature gave me a purple apple. Somehow being able to communicate with me, the creature praised me. It admired my beauty, my strength, and my love. And soon enough, more plant creatures appeared, and they took me to their humble home. I felt accepted, and they started calling me Mother Nature. Treating me as a deity, they provided me with their juiciest fruits and most comforting shelter. I couldn’t believe the love they had for me. At first I thought this place would be a sojourn, but it ended up being my permanent home. I couldn’t be any happier. Just like how I gave love and positivity to you and Marco, I spread these lessons of affirmation to the plant creatures. I guess you could call me their ‘Divine Mother Nature.” She let off a mild chuckle. “So that is how I ended up here.” Attempting to hug Andrew once again, she asked, “Satisfied?”
Unsatisfied by her blissful response
, Andrew said, “No. You didn’t even explain how you ended up in the Spirit World. You’re supposed to be dead! How the hell are you here?”
She said, “Dead? I’m not dead. You’re father is just testing his Spirit Intercom doohickey on me right now. I’m sure he is tracking my activity right now.”
Andrew said, “No, Mom. You died in a car accident eight years ago. Dad told us this.”
Her mother said, “I’ve never been in a car accident. Like I said, your father is testing the machine on me right now.”
Suddenly, Andrew’s mind clicked. He grew infuriated. He realized that his mother didn’t die in a car accident. If she was in the dimension the whole time and if she thinks her husband is still testing the machine, then Robert must have killed her in the process. Robert lied to his children. Robert killed his mother eight years ago when she was testing out the contrivance. Andrew couldn’t believe it. Anger arose to his forehead veins.
Veins pulmonating, Andrew said, “Dad lied to me! He killed you, Mom, eight years ago! That lying piece of shit! I’m killing that fucking bastard!”
She said, “I don’t understand.”
Andrew said aggravatedly, “Don’t you see Mom! He killed you when you were testing the machine. The whole point of the Spirit Contrivance is for people to continue living in the Spirit World when they are killed while using the machine. That’s why he is allowing people to use the machine since the world is ending right now. He probably killed you to test out the abilities of the machine to see if it would work. He’s been lying to me for eight years. I’m killing that son of a bitch!”
Slowly sitting down, his mother put her hand over her open mouth. Eyes slowly closing, her face grimaced with tears. She said, “My own loving husband. . .” She gulped in. “killed me?” She couldn’t believe it either.
Andrew lost conscience and was dispatched out of the Spirit World. Slowly waking up in the physical world, he saw Bradford, having a smug look on his face. All Andrew could think about was eliminating his father.
Bradford said, “Hey, Andrew! Calm down! There is no one here but just me and you.”
Andrew swiftly rose up out of the seat and pushed Bradford out of the way. He wanted to kill his father then and now.
Bradford exclaimed, “Andrew! Stop! You owe me a favor. If you walk out that door, you’re getting killed! Those guards ain’t giving you mercy.”
Andrew knew he had to calm down, but he couldn’t help it. His anger swelled up his thoughts and reasoning. Stopping his movement, Andrew said agitatedly, “What is your favor?”
Bradford said, “I was the only lab researcher on shift who observed you. I saw what you said. I saw all of it. That’s why I need you to not stir up any trouble and continue the expedition. You won’t kill your father, and you will act like none of this ever happened. I will lock you back into the Spirit World, and you will continue your expedition. You and I both know that if you walk out that door, you will be a dead man. So let’s just calm down and continue this voyage of the Spirit World.”
Andrew processed this and said, “Goddamnit. Fine, but I will never forget that this happened.”
Bradford said, “Strap in the contrivance.”
After strapping in, Andrew closed his eyes, waiting to be sent back in. After a short delay, Bradford said, “Oh yeah. About what you said. I could actually make you forget that any of this ever happened.”
Andrew said, “Really? How?”
Bradford said, “Too late.” He sent Andrew back to the Spirit World.
Waking up on the branchy floor, he saw his mother still crying next to the red curtains. His mother looked at him with glee. She said, “I thought you were gone forever, Andrew. I haven’t seen a real human for so long.”
Wanting to change the subject for his mother’s sake and his own sake, Andrew said, “So how does this ‘Allure’ place function?”
Wiping her face, she said, “Allure is the name for this huge flower. This flower is responsible for running the entire planet’s ecosystem. The plant creatures have told me that they descended from this flower.”
Andrew said, “So when they refer to Mother Nature, are they referring to you?”
All tears gone, she said, “That is correct. The plant creatures have a deep admiration for me.”
Glad he was changing the subject, he said, “What do you call the plant creatures? Do they have a specific name?”
She said, “Now when I think about it. They actually don’t.”
Andrew said, “Why not refer to them as ‘animate plants’?”
She said, “Oooh. I like that name, Andrew.” She let off a simple laugh. “If you have more questions on the ‘animate plant’ descent, ask Herb. He doesn’t have an exact title, but I like to refer to him as my usual consultant.” She pointed to her left.
Herb, an animate plant, stood next to the hole that Andrew came out from. Andrew could care less about the animate plant ancestry. He only talked about the plants to ease his mother’s mind. He still thought of killing his father. But that had to wait. Having not seen his mother for over eight years, he figured he would spend more time and get to know her better.
Marie asked, “So, Andrew. How did you end up in this dimension? Are they testing the machine on you too?”
Andrew said, “Well, basically, I’m the first person they sent to test out the dimension until I realized that they tested you. Therefore, technically you’re the first one to enter the Spirit dimension. I’m on a one-week-long expedition to view the living conditions on this planet.”
She said, “You’ll only be here for one week? That’s too bad. Let’s try to make the most out of it then. I wish I could talk more. If you don’t mind, I have to attend a gathering with the ‘animate plants.’ It was scheduled to happen at sundown.”
Andrew said, “Sure. That’s fine, I guess.”
She departed out of the wooden structure through the hole. Herb just stared at Andrew.
Unsure of what to do next, Andrew just stared back at Herb. Herb looked exactly like Plant except that his exterior flower petals on his head were red instead of purple.
Herb said, “ I will show you Allure. Follow me.”
Andrew said awkwardly, “Okay then.”
Herb departed out of the hole. Andrew was getting claustrophobic from the tight space of the structure. Escaping out of the hole, Andrew saw Herb waiting for him to catch up.
Andrew’s mind was completely lost. So much happened to him. He needed peace of mind.
Herb said, “Seeing that you are the true Son of Nature, I cannot help but profess the ways of our culture, ancestry, and home. As we walk, please be silent. You must grapple our way of life so that you can be one of us.”
Disregarding the ladder, Herb jumped down hundreds of feet below from the branches until he landed on Allure itself. Slowly making his way down the ladder, Andrew pounded his feet onto Allure.
Herb said, “Be gentle to Allure. Allure sustains our life and habitat. Without it we would be a gonor.”
Andrew asked, “And why is that?”
Herb jumped off the side of the petal into a pit that was divided by the petal and the tectonic land pieces. The five-foot-wide pit circumferenced around and under the flower petals. The seemingly bottomless pit was completely dark. As Herb fell, he said, “Jump. Don’t fear.” Andrew didn’t know whether his courage or pacifism was more trustworthy. Leaning more towards his passive side, Andrew was denied by his feelings and suddenly got pushed from the back. As he lost balance and fell, he saw it was an animate plant that pushed him over. Plunging down, Andrew tried grabbing the walls of the shifting terrain but only his acceleration sped up. Falling for a few more seconds, Andrew yelled out in terror until Herb’s extended branchy arm caught hold of him. Accentuating vulgar words from terror, Andrew knew not to resist. He was clueless on where he exactly was. Herb was holding onto a root of Allure. Directly below them was a darker bottomless pit, except that it wasn’t a pit. Everything below them was dar
k. There was no floor, but only up. Above them were the floating shifting tectonic plates, and Andrew saw the thick brown roots of Allure travelled in all directions. Andrew thought, this seems way too surreal.
Herb said, “You see this? These roots connect our entire planet together. An absence of Allure leads to an absence of our planet.”
Panting heavily, Andrew said, “So everything is connected. I get ya.” Exhaling a major sigh, Andrew continued. “Why is there no terrain beneath us? Is this planet hollow ?”
Herb said, “No. The gravity of this planet is disrupted due to the distance of the center of gravity.”
Andrew thought, the egg shape, of course.
Herb said, “We have two polar distinctions on our planet. In the north exists Allure.”
Andrew asked, “And in the south?”
Herb said, “Stop! No one speaks of the south!”
Andrew asked, “The south? What’s so bad about the south?”
Herb said, “No, no. I will not speak of the south. Just speaking of the south is too frightening.”
Becoming interested in this place, Andrew said, “What happened to my mother saying that you would explain everything about this planet? If it were up to me, I would say that you haven’t been the greatest consultant.”
Herb, growing defensive, said, “I am a good consultant. No one judges my loyal duty to Mother Nature. If you wish to discuss about the south, I guess I must, considering that you are the Son of Nature and that you are here before me. Let me explain, even though it is still quite unexplainable. In the south exists a powerful source. No one has been able to pinpoint where this source comes from, but it seems to have some existential power. The source is shaped as a rift. This rift is gargantuan and contains a huge pallet of colors. No one knows where this rift reaches to. No one dares to go to the south.”
Andrew asked, “Do you believe that Mother Nature created this? Does she know about this place?”
Herb said, “Yes and no. When she came to our world, the rift appeared.”
“Why don’t you speak about it with my mother?”