Sammy hopped on her bike and rode down the dirt trail. The small homes she passed were all empty and there was a layer of dust coating everything. She found it sad to see the entire area abandoned. It wasn't that long ago the children who lived here ran and played with her, but now she had no idea where they had gone to. Mom and dad left early this morning, they were also depressed. The battle they had fought so long was all but lost. By the end of the week there would be nothing left.
Her grandparents hadn't wanted to bring her but her parents had insisted that she be here to see the end of it. She had virtually spent all eleven years of her life watching the battle and it seemed like everyone knew it would end this way, but knowing didn't change the emotions attached to the loss. She crested the small hill and saw what was left of the Forest. The dust and destruction brought tears to her eyes as she stopped her bike and looked at the last of the Rain Forest. Six months ago she had seen trees all the way to the horizon and now there were only about 40 acres left. She would be surprised if it took the whole week to destroy the remaining stand of trees.
She knew many of the consequences of the loss of the Rain Forests, but her parents had taught her that there were consequences that were unknown. For the last two years her parents and the others had tried to save as much as they could, but they were certain that they had been unable to save even a decent percentage of the life that was being destroyed. Newly discovered animals and plants had been relocated with some success but trying to duplicate the forest environment artificially on a small scale like a zoo or greenhouse wasn't the same.
Today was the last day of rest for the workers. Tomorrow they would climb on their monstrous equipment and 'harvest' the last stand of trees. She had been coming every morning to see the destruction and wasn't sure she could continue to put herself through the turmoil any longer. At least today she didn't have to witness the violence. She rode slowly down the hill and climbed off her bike leaving it abandoned near the path and walking the last section. She and the other children who had once lived here had worn a slight path through the grass and wildflowers over the last few years making this trek and knew that even this slight evidence if their passing would soon be trampled by the horrible equipment tearing apart the world in front of her. Even the trees remaining here were nothing compared to what the heart of the forest had been. These were only the fringes of the forest where they grew less dense and smaller. The 'rain' of the forest was gone long ago. The huge ecosystem that had trapped the moisture had been disrupted long before it got to this point.
As she approached this last stand of trees the sun also crested the hill and chased the shadows back to the tree line. As the light touched the ground Sammy suddenly noticed hundreds, no, thousands of tiny flower blooms slowly opening. They seemed to greet the sunlight with their tiny pink and purple blooms opening to meet her and greet the day. She paused to take it all in. How had she never noticed this before? She had been coming to this very spot her whole life and had never seen such a beautiful display. Was this a short blooming cycle that she just had always missed? Perhaps they were biennials or had some other type of life cycle that had never coincided with her visits. No matter, she was just pleased she was here this last time to witness the wonderful blooms. She stayed on the path being careful not to tread on the small plants and entered the huge patch of blooms. Then she slowly lowered herself to sit in the sun near the center of the plants and simply enjoyed the experience and beauty. The flowers were tiny, only about the size of the tip of her thumb and they gave off a heavenly scent. She loved the smell of flowers and had never quite smelled something like these before. Even though she was in the center of so many blossoms the scent was light and airy, not overpowering or a heavy cloying smell. It was a delicate and refreshing smell that invigorated her and lifted her out of her depression.
Almost without thought Sammy slowly and carefully laid on her back among the plants and enjoyed the sun warming her and the ground around her. She closed her eyes and let the smell fill her with joy and the sun fill her with warmth and energy. She could feel the gently breeze caress her, almost tickling her where the fine hair on her arms and legs felt the movement. She lay there for a long time dozing in the fragrance and sunlight just enjoying the feeling of living and being alive.
If her parents or grandparents had seen her lying there they would have been appalled.
The breeze Sammy was feeling was not actually wind, but the flower plants themselves slowly and gently crawling on her and covering her until she was no longer visible. The pollen from their blooms was filling her lungs. The mesh of hairlike roots that they had used to travel from the forest canopy, for the many kilometers that they had fled from the destruction of their home in the heart of the Rain Forest, were slowly and carefully taking root in the young girls body. Their previous hosts had fled long ago and they were desperate for a new home. Only desperation would have them trying to create a symbiotic bond with a host as alien as a human. It was not the bond they were used to, but at this point in their life cycle they had no choice. It was this human host or extinction. They needed to adapt and evolve or die in the process. The remaining blooms lifted their last bit of pollen and cast it adrift on the gentle breeze to find new hosts or to fall barren and die slowly as fate determined. To actually be able to take root in a host would speed up the assimilation greatly, but perhaps the pollen would find fertile hosts and continue their life also. Only time would tell. As the sun slowly rose in the sky the tiny flower plants curled slowly back to their roots and began to crumble to dust that lifted with the morning breeze to chase the pollen across the landscape.
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Sammy woke slowly and noticed that a bit of dust had settled on her as she had dozed. Had she really fallen asleep? She must have because the sun had definitely gotten higher in the sky. She looked around to find the flowers but none remained. Sammy felt a profound loss but it seemed she could still detect a bit of the fragrance of the blossoms on her skin and smelled her arm. Definitely, she thought, the wonderful smell of the flowers was still on her skin.
She got up feeling a bit stiff and started to cough. It took several minutes before the coughing subsided, but in the end she managed to dislodge a bit of phlegm from her throat and spat it out. She felt refreshed from her rest but a bit sore from resting on the ground and walked back up the hill to her discarded bike. She climbed on her bike and took a long last look at the tree line before riding back to the small buildings that they were staying at. When she arrived her parents had returned and lunch was ready. As she dismounted her bike she realized she was crying and entered the dwelling to be greeted by her parents with sad faces and understanding hugs.
The following week was depressing and slow. Sammy seemed to have developed a cold or allergy symptoms. She was almost constantly tired and sleepy. Her eyes were itchy and she had a nagging phlegmy cough, but after a few days the symptoms cleared up on their own and except for the general depression everyone involved in the Rain Forest preservation group was experiencing, she felt well.
After the forest was eradicated, the entire group returned to their respective homes and Sammy started her school year and returned to her friends in the sixth grade. As time passed she developed a new symptom. Blurry vision. Sammy herself was not bothered by this, in fact it developed so slowly that she didn't even notice until her new gift became evident many months later. It happened so infrequently and actually wasn't noticeable as truly blurry. It was more like a color shift where an area of her vision became slightly differently colored.
This symptom was finally noticeable when Sammy joined a play in her school. It was the spring of 7th grade. Samantha, or Sam as her friends now called her, attended play practice 4 days after school. She really enjoyed being part of the play and only had a minor part. This was the way she liked it. She did not have to worry about memorizing lines and got to mess around backstage with the others as long as they were quiet and managed to make their entrances on time. She had noticed this new vision blurring or discoloration, while she was backstage waiting for her entrances. The first time she noticed was when the girl who was the lead in the play, Laura, would stand center stage and Sam was waiting for her to walk up the stairs. This was Sam's cue to enter from stage right. Sam noticed that Laura's knee looked funny. It seemed to shimmer and become a bit blurry and turn slightly purple. After a few times Sam really started to pay attention. It only happened when she looked at Laura and only Laura's right knee. She even asked some others if they noticed what she started to call a bruise on Laura's knee. No one else claimed to see it. Sam called it a bruise, but it was much lighter and more pink than purple. After days of seeing this it really began to bother Sam. The practices finished, the play performances started and finally everyone celebrated with a cast party after the last performance. Sam took it upon herself to talk directly to Laura. By this time the cast members who had been backstage with Sam all knew about the mysterious bruise and they all joined her when she approached Laura.
Laura was gracious and enjoying the success of the play. She would be entering high school in fall and appreciated the cast that had supported her performance so, when the group of younger students approached her with this mystery, she was indulging and cooperative. They told her of Sam's vision and how she had spent time backstage staring at her knee. Laura laughed with them and asked Sam exactly where this spot was. Sam hesitantly reached out and touched Laura's knee where she still saw the discoloration. Laura laughed and pushed the spot. "See, nothing there!" The small crowd around her giggled and teased Sam, but Laura paused and pushed the spot again. She had felt something. She rubbed the spot and realized it was actually a bit sore when she applied pressure. "That's weird..."
"What is it?" One of the small crowd asked.
Laura smiled, "It might actually be a sore spot. Or perhaps my imagination is overactive." She chuckled and dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "But as you can all see, no bruises!" She got up, "I'm gonna go get a piece of cake before it's all gone!" The group dispersed and went to get some food.
The school year came to an end and Samatha was not troubled with any more visions. The last afternoon of school there was an all school picnic complete with ice cream cones and a huge cake. Sam was enjoying her group of friends when they heard someone approaching and calling out.
"Samantha! Hey, Samantha!"
The group looked around to see Laura approaching using crutches with her right leg in a cast.
"Samantha, I'm glad I found you! I just wanted to tell you thanks. "Laura balanced on the crutches and gave Sam a big hug. "If it hadn't been for you I would have lost my leg!"
Samantha and the group surrounding her were stunned to silence and just stared at Laura.
Laura continued, "I went to the doctor because that spot on my knee really started to get sore. He said it was Osteosarcoma, a really nasty, fast growing cancer. If I hadn't gone in to see him when I did, he probably would have had to cut off my leg!" I think you might have saved my life! I'm so glad you said something or I would probably have just ignored it. Thanks so much, I owe you big time!"
Laura gave the stunned Samatha another big hug and left the group as they silently watched her hobble away.