by Sean Adami
“We cannot complain about what Mother Nature brought us. She provided so much for us, and whatever Mother Nature bores we respect. We are blessed with any of her comings.”
Andrew asked, “But what if Mother Nature didn’t create that rift? What if it was . . .” Andrew took a slight pause and realized that he should speak in terms of how animate plants would speak. “A higher being that made this rift?”
Herb said definitively, “Impossible. No being is higher than Mother Nature. Her power is too divine for any other being to compete with.”
Andrew asked, “So has anyone encountered the rift itself.”
Herb said, “Enough! I can talk about Allure all you want, but I cannot handle speaking the south. I’ve done my best to obey your request, but it is too daunting to engage in this talk in any further manner.”
Andrew asked, “Fine. Could we possibly climb back up to Allure? I’m kinda scared of bottomless darkness that leads to oblivion.”
Herb said, “I don’t climb. I catapult.” He put less weight on his hand and held the hanging root with only one finger, letting gravity put more force on his branchy arm. Stretching slowly, Herb’s left arm elongated five feet until there was enough potential energy stored into the fibers in his arms. Having a greater gravitational force in his arm, Herb let go of the root, and they propelled upward several feet. Rising above the hole, Herb and Andrew landed onto the petal of Allure.
Andrew said, “Damn, that was crazy! How’d you do that?”
Herb said, “Gravity.”
Andrew thought, thanks smartass . He stared up and saw it was pure nightfall. Andrew was still perplexed that his mother was here. He wanted to see her, but he knew that she was at her animate plant shindig meeting. Herb wasn’t saying anything. Andrew didn’t know what to do. He felt genuinely bored. He awkwardly asked, “Hey, Herb, what can I do?”
Herb asked, “What?”
“What can I do now? I've already toured this place, it’s nightfall, and I have nothing to do. Also, is there a place I can sleep at?”
Herb said, “I have to go back to Mother Nature. She wanted me to come after I gave my tour to you. Just find a branch to sleep under.”
Andrew angrily asked, “Under a branch? Where do the animate plants even sleep?”
As Herb was treading away from Andrew, he said, “I must attend the meeting. Speak with other Plant .”
Andrew exclaimed, “Hey, Herb! Come back here!”
Herb began running with his pronged feet, hopping from one tectonic plate to another. Herb escaped from Andrew’s sight.
Standing still on the petal alone, Andrew wandered around the petal with confusion. He had no guidance on where to sleep. It had been a long day for Andrew, and he needed his rest. He looked for animate plants, but he couldn’t find any. He wondered if they were all at the meeting with Mother Nature, or his mom. Andrew seeked out all three petals; no animate plants were in sight. He seeked out the floating tectonic plates: nothing. Andrew was cheated. Herb bamboozled him. All the animate plants were at that meeting with his mother.
No shelter was present other than the wooden structure his mother rested at. As Andrew escorted himself up the ladder, he entered the hole of the wooden structure. Behind the curtains displayed a small red cushioned bean bag filled up with chia seeds and differen t types of monocotyledonous s eeds . He thought, is this the only existent bed in this entire dimension? Positioning his body comfortably, he outlined the grooves of the cushion, trying to clean the dirt out of the grooves. Closing his eyes to complete his second day in the dimension, he fell asleep.
CHAPTER 13:
What was the rift?
How much could this dimension shift?
Professed as the Son of Nature,
Andrew found all this obscure.
Awoken, Andrew felt a tree branch poking at his forehead. Releasing mild scuffles, Andrew saw it was Herb that woke him up, considering his red petals. Or was it a different animate plant that looked the same? Andrew asked, “Herb?”
The animate plant said, “I am Herb. I am one of Mother Nature. Wake up. I will introduce you formally to our culture. You deserve a proper introduction. We must show what Mother Nature bores.”
Voice groggy, Andrew asked, “Wait, where is she?”
Herb said, “She is with other Plant, waiting at the Forest near Allure. Hurry up.”
“I gotcha. I gotcha. I’m coming.” Quite annoyed by his tone, Andrew wanted to get this over with. Leaving the structure and climbing down the ladder, Andrew saw no animate plants on Allure.
Herb said, “Now, I must bring you to a distinct location. I will cover your eyes. You must have no knowledge of the path.”
Andrew said, “Yo, what? Are you kidding me?” Herb firmly put its prickly wooden hand on Andrew’s eye area. Picking up Andrew, Herb felt his resistant struggle but still managed to pick him up. Feeling continuous bumps as Herb ran, Andrew felt somewhat embarrassed due to being carried like a baby. After being blinded for a few more moments, Andrew finally obtained his vision back. He saw hundreds of animate plants lined up and sitting in rows, cheering and hollering. His mother was on his left. A bioluminescent river flowed to his right. The trees stood thicker here, and everything felt crammed in together as if there was no open space. The animate plants filled up every square foot of dirt. Every animate plant looked the same except that each one expressed different colored flower petals on the outer rim of their heads. Each color pattern marked their individualism. The animate plants stood in groups based on their overall color of petals. For example, red petals assimilated into one group while the yellow petals had their own separate group. Standing still like a tree, Andrew stood there, confused as a moth mistaking a bright lamp for the moon.
Andrew asked, “Hey, Mom, what am I doing here?”
Marie said, “You will be engaging in a traditional practice with the ‘animate plants,’ as you call them.”
Andrew asked, “What practice?”
Herb said, “Look behind you.”
Andrew turned around and saw a flat space of fertile mud and rocks that was perimetered by trees. Across the field a ginormous black-and-yellow-striped frog relaxed on a stone that was encircled by a pond of fresh water. Herb said, “Approach the frog.” The frog was three times taller than Andrew’s height.
Andrew said, “Are you kidding me? No way in hell, man! That thing is huge, and to top it off, that is also a poison dart frog! I’ve definitely seen this species before. ”
Herb said, “Vanquish your fear.”
Andrew said, “What do you want me to do? Kill it? Ride it? What?”
Herb said, “That’s up for you to decide. Just know that whatever you do, we see. And what we see will determine what kind of creature you are. Now, go!” He shoved Andrew from the back.
Andrew’s mind clouded with confusion. About a hundred feet in front of him, the frog remained calm on the rock. On the other hand, Andrew stood on the mud, thinking which next move would prevent him from his own demise.
Andrew said suggestively, “Hey, Mom, wouldn’t you think that this initiation thing, or whatever this is, will kill me? I didn’t know that encountering frogs would be this delightful.”
Marie said, “Andrew, you will do great. I believe in you.”
“I know. I’m about to frolic. There’s no way this frog will kill me, especially with its venomous poison around its skin and its mass,” Andrew said as he was shuffling slowly towards the frog. “I’ll do just fine.”
Marie said, “There you go, Andrew. I like your attitude.”
Andrew released a grimaced smile and said, “You do? Well, I’m glad you like my attitude. See you on the other side.” Andrew thought, . . . of death.
Marie said, “Yeah, meet us right back here after you’re done.” She smiled. To Andrew, she smiled nonsensically. Finished with his sarcastic remarks, Andrew, once again, took baby steps slowly but surely towards the poison dart frog.
Herb randomly said acro
ss to Andrew, “Free your mind, Son of Nature. Follow your natural instinct. Fear only prolongs indecision. Indecision results in poor choices. Poor choices lead to consequences. Extreme consequences can cause death. If you avoid fear, you stray further from death. Just remember death is not the answer for any creature.”
Herb was attempting to hint Andrew in the right direction, but Andrew was still lost. He had no weapon, and he had no items to perform any action. All he could think of was walking forward. Slowly. The very essence of approaching a poisonous monster thrice the size of a human haunted Andrew.
Suddenly, the animate plants halted their cheering. The forest was now dead silent. Andrew heard a faint crackling noise, sounding similar to a bag of popcorn in a microwave. He looked to his left, and above him was the blue cocoon, jittering and exfoliating. The substance blue juice of the cocoon oozed onto the floor, and a green and velvet butterfly with intricate patterns popped out. Gradually increasing its rate of fluttering, the butterfly seemed to be coming towards Andrew’s direction. Slowly displaying his hand out, Andrew invited the butterfly to come to his five-fingered habitat. Andrew admired the butterfly’s beauty. The colors caught Andrew’s attention. He lost sight of the frog. The beauty overshadowed his fear. The butterfly gently rested its four longer legs on Andrew’s palm. Andrew had stopped walking. He kept staring at the butterfly with awe and delight. Animate plants still silent, everything seemed at peace with each other. No noise present, Andrew carefully analyzed the marvelous patterns of the butterfly: diamond shapes, overarching crescents, zig-zagged trapezoids. The geometry and spatial symmetry of the butterfly appeared glamorous to Andrew.
All this appraisal abruptly decimated. The poison dart frog released its super long tongue and hastily stuck the butterfly, taking it from Andrew’s possession. Swallowing the butterfly down its big gullet, the frog remained still, staring blankly at the mud floor.
Andrew’s anger throttled out of position. Confused on why the frog would kill such a beautiful creature, Andrew followed his instinct of anger and approached the frog. Anger flooding over his old fear, he stormed up to the pond where the frog sat mindlessly. He wanted to strike the frog with his fists, but his deductive reasoning kicked in and told him the dangers of poison. He knew he couldn’t harm this frog. This frog was following its natural instinct of food survival. Not only was the frog following its natural instinct, but Andrew also realized that he himself followed his natural instinct, or emotional instinct. What Herb said was true. The frog followed its natural instinct to eat the butterfly so that it could survive. Andrew followed his natural instinct to attack the frog in anger, but his reasoning saved him.
After pondering on life lessons, Andrew heard the animate plants cheer happily. Following this cheer, Herb said, “Well done, Andrew. You vanquished your fear towards the frog, but you did not kill it. You chose the path of forgiveness. You chose natural instinct, not just plain natural instinct though; you chose rational instinct. You did not kill the frog. That would be stupid. What you did was natural but also reasonable. We applaud you, Son of Nature. You have the pure royalty of Allure and the Forest.”
Andrew asked, “Why isn’t my royalty considered tainted?”
Marie said, “Andrew, you’re my son. What Mother Nature bores, which is me, is the finest power in the land.”
Andrew casually said, “Okay then. Call me whatever you want. All I want is peace with you guys and just to be able to explore more of your planet.”
“Anything for you. We will experience your experience if you are experiencing a wanted experience,” Herb said. “You are the true divine Son of Nature!” The animate plants yelled out more cheers. The herd of plants stampeded their way to Andrew.
The animate plants stretched their branchy arms and enwrapped their arms together, creating the shape of a hammock with their wooden roots. Invading Andrew’s personal space, the animate plants grabbed his back and forced him onto the uncomfortable and thorny hammock. Stomping their wooden feet on the wet mud, they headed to Allure, carrying Andrew with the mobile hammock structure. Rambunctiously bouncing, Andrew felt minor thorns impale his back while on the hammock.
Constantly in an up-and-down motion, Andrew yelled, “What a-a-a-re you guys do-o-o-oing ?” He levitated out of his lying position and saw Herb directly in front of him, running with the pace of the herd.
Herb said, “Son, they are taking you to a good place that you may seek.”
Andrew said, “ Wha-a-at place? Also, do-o-o-on’t call me, Son, please.”
Herb said, “You will see, Son of Nature .” Herb accelerated his position, leaving Andrew’s sight. Andrew’s mind boggled, and the continuous bumps pushed him down from his sitting position. On his left and right, animate plants cheered wildly, raising their arms up and down with excitement. His mother, on the other hand, stood still in her original position, smiling directly at Andrew as he was thrusted further and further from her.
Andrew turned his body over. Looking through the grooves of the hammock, he saw the animate plants carrying him. He said, “Hey! Where are you guys exactly taking me?”
Curving its malleable neck up, an animate plant, rising above the stampede, smiled at Andrew with its awkwardly-shaped venus flytrap mouth. It said, “Haha! The Son of Nature noticed me! I am popular!”
Andrew said, “Yeah, okay . . . . Where are you taking me?”
Still running with the herd, the animate plant said, “The place we are bringing you to, I pronounce, is . . .”
Andrew said, “Huh? Where?”
Smiling, the creature said, “You will like this place.”
Growing annoyed with its cut-off and haphazard phrases, Andrew yelled, “Where!”
The creature said, “Don’t worry. We are taking you there.”
Andrew said, “You rotten plant piece of shit. Tell me where!”
The animate plant frowned. It opened its venus flytrap mouth and released an unpleasant hiss. Maneuvering its neck fibers, it stopped staring at Andrew and continued running with the group. Andrew flipped over to his back and sighed. Mind complaining, he thought, man, what even is this place? Nothing makes sense.
Resting his eyes, he waited for the animate plants to take him wherever their destination was. His body lay constricted in the roots of the hammock.
After a while, the animate plants’ feet stopped trampling, and the hammock came to a stop. Opening his eyes, Andrew raised his body upward, and the hammock unfolded, propelling Andrew to a hard fall on the floor. The animate plants surrounded him, not granting him too much space. He still couldn’t tell where he was. The populous animate plants shadowed his line of sight. Andrew, once again, asked, “Where am I? I mean, come on, it’s a simple question.” He was tired of being oblivious. He needed answers.
The animate plants in front of Andrew uniformly moved outward, giving Andrew an open viewing panel. Andrew, gazing through this opening, saw a wooden teepee-shaped structure. Civil engineering not at its finest, the structure still covered the roof and had no holes in it. It was built out of many dainty tree branches and was located under the end of the flower petal of Allure. Andrew said, “You guys built this for me?”
An animate plant walked up to Andrew’s face and said, “Yes. We built this structure after we saw you were the true Son of Nature.”
Andrew asked, “Was this already built before I partook in your ritual, or whatever?”
“Yes.”
“So, what if I wasn’t the true Son of Nature?”
The animate plant bluntly said, “We would have demolished it.”
Andrew said, “Okay then. Can I go inside it?”
Quickly responding, the animate plant said, “It’s yours. Sharing hospitality to the Son of Nature is the least we could do.” The animate plants just kept staring at Andrew. Now it was awkward silence. Weird vibes possessed Andrew. He walked closer to the teepee. He saw an arc of trees laid behind the teepee structure. These trees sprouted embryonic eggs that resonated the s
tructure of a swell shark egg on the end of the branches. (Yo, whoever is reading this, research what a swell egg looks like. They look incredible.) The zygotes and fetuses could be seen through the transparent egg wall. The pale brown zygotes and fetuses magnified small dangling arms and legs. Andrew couldn’t make out the headlike structure. Andrew was amazed. Harriet’s claim about Nirvana 74’s reproductive system was correct. Andrew’s thinking swayed back to Harriet. Again, he thought, did I make a mistake?
The animate plants cut short his thinking and said, “These trees are yours.”
Particularly, Andrew asked, “What are these trees?”
The animate plant strayed closer to Andrew and said, “They are what keep our circulation of life intact. They sustain our reproductive regulation through the seeds of our deceased inhabitants of Allure.”
Andrew asked, “Why are they mine? They are natural living creatures. Why would I own them?” He heard a whoosh of wind soar from above him. It was Herb, swinging on a vine, and he landed next to Andrew.
Herb said, “You do not own them! They are not your property but your children. You feed them. You nurture them. I would not suspect such vulgarity from the Son of Nature. One who speaks against our way of life would be dealt with and punished! But I am not a combatant of the Son of Nature. Son of Nature, I ask of you to channel your rational instinct more. Think before you say. Think before you act!”
Andrew grew discouraged and angered with what Herb said. Wanting to alleviate the rupture, Andrew said, “Sorry I misinterpreted your culture. I will be more mindful.”
Herb nodded his head left and right. Andrew asked, “Why are you nodding your head like that? What’s wrong?”
Herb said, “Nothing is wrong.”
Andrew asked, “Then why are you shaking your head like that?”
Herb said, “I am nodding affirmingly. I don’t see what’s wrong with my nod.”
Understanding that his expression of yes was equal to an expression of no, Andrew said, “Nevermind. Disregard what I said.” He saw that all the animate plants were still gazing at him. Andrew left this site and peeked into the teepee.