The Protector of Plants (UIC 2023)

Chapter 01: My Pet Plants Stopped Talking to Me

I promise that when I say that plants talk to me, I'm not crazy.

It's a true fact. I can literally hear the flowers, the trees, even the grass, whispering amongst each other. And I can understand every word of it.

It's not like it's a secret or anything. I've told a few people, my mom and dad, even some other people I know. But every time I try to tell them, they just laugh, tell me I'm imagining it, or think I'm crazy.

Frankly, I don't blame them. I mean, if someone came up to me and told me they could speak with flowers, I would call them a weirdo and ignore them.

Putting on a jacket, and looking like a snowman in the process, I slide the door to our backyard. I stepped outside, barefooted into the lawn, and closed the door behind me. The grass poked my feet from underneath, and I could feel the mud sticking onto the skin. But that didn't bother me.

Flowers spread across the entire field, all ranging from different species, colors, and heights. Trees spread out on the sides of the flowerbed. A few butterflies and birds hovered around the flowers and trees, fluttering around happily.

Our family was fortunate to have one of the only gardens in the world. Owning flowers and seeing something as beautiful as this was a luxury to most people in the world. And I was one of the few people who would ever witness and hold a plant in their life.

I took a deep breath of the air, basking in the sunlight. Suddenly my eyes opened, and I looked around in panic. Something was different here. It felt very wrong, unnatural even.

That's when I realized how quiet it was in the garden. There were no voices, no chattering or whispers.

It was like the garden was dead. At that realization, it felt like the sun stopped shining brightly, and a cold breeze passed by. Within seconds, the entire place felt... eerie. Empty. Dead.

However, the butterflies and birds were still hanging around the garden and the trees. Which could definitely mean something. I ran up to where they stood.

But when I got there, it was as if the butterflies realized their mistake about the flowers being arrived. They all fluttered off in the distance. Either that, or I scared them off. But I refused to believe that the butterflies disappeared suddenly because I startled them. Lies!

The flowers glistened in the corner of my eyes, catching my attention. I kneeled down, almost eye level to the plant. Delicately, My finger brushed the tip of the flower petal.

It looked very real. It felt very real.

So why did it feel off in here?

My feet squished deeper into the Earth, caked with mud and soil. There wasn't a soft pulse of the ground or flowers near here. It was empty, just like this space.

My hands went over the leaves of the plant. That too felt real. Along with the stem, and even some of the thorns. (I may have accidentally pricked myself and caused blood to drop).

Of course, that only left two options. I could either talk to my parents about this and find out what happened. Or, I could unroot the plant, possibly dissect a plant, just to make sure it's real.

I went for option one. Even if the plants were fake, I couldn't risk destroying one of the only fully-natural flowers left on Earth. Besides, breaking a petal or leaf of the flower would be too painful to do.

I got up and started to walk away from the "fake" garden. Another breeze passed by, making the leaves of the trees rustle. Whatever is wrong with this, I would get to the bottom of it.

As I was about to go inside, I swear I heard some faint voices whispering. And all of them said one thing, over and over again:

"Do not trust the roots."