What If I?

Did they ever tell you that love, at first sight, can be doomsday in a swimsuit? The long collections of old widows' myths and tales won't even come in handy when it happens.

She is one beautiful, heart-stealing woman if ever I saw one. She is first in everything this year. My first class, my first female lecturer, and my first adult crush. I am 19 years old. Lean, strong, and fast. No one gets close to me on the track - or even on the road. Everything I do is about speed. So can you even guess why I am in this open debate seminar? You guessed right again. It gets me two free credits of the sixteen I need to cruise through the semester and only one hour per week.

Oh, yes, she is also my first free credit.

She leans against the podium, and I sat forward resting my chin on my arm. I was sure she would tell us why there were only eleven of us in a free course with an estimated 12 hours of attendance. But she never mentioned it. As a matter of fact, she did not mention anything that I thought she would. She never mentioned God, nor lizards or dinosaurs.

What kind of Ever Green Seminar does not revolve around them? She started the lecture by talking about our goals and what would we most likely do. The only thing that was not boring was her lips. I watched them thoughtfully and followed her every word.

One thing that she mentioned which was alarmingly true, and which made me snap out of our first date, was the toads. They were on the brink of extinction. Yet that was not the alarming part, ten years ago they were considered one of the fastest-growing species. How did it evade the scientific eyes? How long have we been asleep?

I am not a frog lover or anything like that. I enjoyed killing them when I was a kid and feel no remorse if they die. Yet, there was a fungus that was silently killing these animals. According to Dr. Karla Gomez, this microbe would attach itself to the legs of toads and frogs and would slowly find its way into the bloodstream. Clogging blood vessels and then the frogs would die.

She invited four volunteers to perform a true-to-life drama where they would each become one of four characters. The toads were the prey; the fungi are a new silent killer; Mother Earth was upset with mankind; and a human being who destroys the natural habitat of the frogs.

We had a week to decide about it.

I was the first one to volunteer. Dr. Gomez was impressed and gave me a copy of the agreement. She instructed me to read it, fill it out carefully, and returned it to her at the next class. Three others volunteered that same session and we had the full cast before the end of class.

Deborah Maxwell was the perfect frog. She was fat and round in the middle, that gave her a top-heavy appearance. She was brunette with a cute little chin, thin lips, and even set teeth. She was about nineteen and wore contact lenses that gave her grey eyes.

Michael Finningin was a straw in the wind. He was so skinny that his ribs were obvious through his t-shirt. He made himself seem weird with unkempt hair, baggy clothes, and huge orange shoes. No one would notice his eyes, but they were soft brown with heavy dark lashes. He quickly rose his hand for the fungus role.

There was something about him that did not quite make sense. He was from LA, so why was he not wearing chains, or gold rings, or even a wristwatch? There was nothing fancy about his clothes either. Maybe he was new there.

Samantha Oaks. She was a rebel, tough guy, home-borne girl scout. She wore her hair low, and small button earrings. No makeup, no bras, t-shirt, baggy shorts, and sneakers. She was a natural beauty. She scored high on both face and body. Every lad would dream of her.

She was the older of the four of us, maybe twenty-two. She accepted the role of Mother Earth, transforming into the nemesis of the human being, me.

Dr. Karla Gomez asked us to get together and look over the agreement before signing. We would need to agree on some points in order for the play to function. We decided to meet at Samantha's home since it proved to be the most centric of all. Saturday night was the best bid, even though I would have to cancel my boxing workouts.

Samantha turned up in two other classes and we got to talking a bit more during the week. I did not see Dr. Gomez again, but I was always on the lookout. On Thursday, it started raining heavily, so I sat at the foot of the stairs to the main entrance of the lobby. I rested my head against the staircase, while I moved a tennis ball in my right hand.

'Marcus!' Samantha came up from behind. She carried a couple of books in her hand and a handbag over her left shoulder.

'Hello, Samantha, how are you doing?' I sat up, making room for her. She sat down and looked me over.

'I was looking for you. Need to chat with you. Waiting for someone?'

'No. Just waiting out the rain. How can I help?'

'Not here. A bit more private. Can I give you a lift to somewhere, or would you like some chow over at my place?' She pushed her sneakers against mine. 'How much did they cost?'

'I wouldn't mind the chow. Ahh, my uncle sent me them from New York. Like them?'

She got up and I followed her. 'Yeah. They suit you. Come on. I am hungry too.!'

The rain was still falling heavily, and the streets were flooded with water and the traffic moved slowly. She was elegant as they come. So cute that she seemed cut out of a cartoon. Why was I not attracted to her? Any other young adult would die to be sitting where I was, but I ignored her beauty.

'Marcus, where did you grow up?' she is surely inquisitive.

'I grew up in Jamaica, my parents were in the Airbnb business. We moved here when I turned eleven.'

'Hotelier. Do you visit? I mean have you been back lately?'

'No, not since Dad died. Everything changed.'

'Sorry to learn that. Do you still miss him?'

'In a way, but it's been ten years now, I have let it go. Just some cherished memories.'

'Did you read the agreement?' The change of topic was so sudden that I took a moment, and she looked over at me.

'No, why?'

She was silent for a few moments. I rested my head against the seat.

'I read it and there are some things that I must do with you that I find funny, a mean stuff like hugging and kissing you. Those are the things that we must agree on.'

'Oh, my gosh! If it bothers you that much, we can always change it?.'

'Marcus! Not that. That is not the part that bothers me. ..'

'Don't tell me we will need to do worse things.'

'No Marcus. But look, I started reading it on Tuesday, and ever since I have been having these nightmares where I'm fighting with all sorts of monsters. Only that I am dressed as banshee with leaves flowing from my skin.'

'Aren't you a bit grown up to worry about nightmares?'

'Marcus, reach under my blouse, will you?'

What would you do? What would any other young, single boy do?

'I don't know if that is fine?.' She braked sharply as the car ahead did the same. I lounged forward against the belt. She slapped the steering wheel hard.

'Marcus, just do it, please. I am not a nymphomaniac' she was pleading. Something told me to do it. My hands reached down and found the helm of her t-shirt. I slid my cold hand beneath her blouse and found her soft, warm skin.

I moved it upward against the middle of her spinal column. Trailing against each curve and resting on each bone. Suddenly my finger hit against something. I tugged at it and she winced.

'Is that a leaf growing out of your back? What are you?'

'Marcus, I swear, I woke up with it this morning. It is not a dream. It is becoming?What can we do? How is this even possible?'

'I don't know what to tell you. I would not have believed it if I did not feel it myself. What if we talked with the others? Do you have their numbers?'

She shook her head. 'Listen. I just need your help in cutting it off. I tried plucking it off this morning, but it is too painful. Can you do that?'

She pulled into her driveway and pressed the remote control. The garage door rolled up and she moved the car into the open slot. We got out without words.

Samantha flicked the light switch. I was impressed with how the grape vines blended into the wall. There was also a green fodder lining the staircase.

'This is amazing, Samantha. Did you get this done?'

'No. it was not there when I left this morning. I don't know what is happening. This is freaking me out. Hurry? maybe if we get this thing out of my back this will stop.'

We hurried up the stairs. A sunflower with a face cast a frown at me and I ran behind her into the sitting hall.

The landline started ringing and she picked up. She chatted for a while and hung up. She came over and sat beside me on the sofa. I did not notice her perfume until now. It was a sweet rose essence with some semblance of eucalyptol.

'That was Michael. He is on his way over. His body has started changing. His feet are becoming green and there is grime appearing around his waist. What have we gotten into Marcus? Who is that professor?'

'So, Michael is becoming a fungus, you are becoming Mother Earth and Deborah is is?.. on my gosh! Deborah will become a frog! Samantha, do you have your agreement?'

She opened her wallet and pulled it out. She looked at it, turned her head away, and then handed it to me. I took it and handed it back to her.

'It is blank. It reads nothing. Mine was completely detailed on both sides.'

'I can see it, though. It would appear that only I can read my agreement. We can verify that once Michael gets here.'

'I left mine at home. I did not bother to look at it. Did you sign your?'

'No. I won't be signing it either. Do you think that professor is some sort of witch or voodoo queen?'

'whatever she is, Samantha, we must report her before it gets worst. We can talk to the dean, he could do something.'

'No Marcus. What will we tell him? That we are becoming weird creatures after reading a contract? That his Green Seminar was a witch recruiting course? Come on Marcus. Let's think of how we can turn this around. I don't want to be called leaf girl.'

A motorbike roared into the garage and started honking. We hurried to the door. As I passed the sunflower I noticed a red thistle on its leaves. Were there thorns or thistles on these garden plants? I know that the rose and other plants have them. Yet I can't remember ever seeing them on a sunflower.

Michael had picked up Deborah on his way over. She had not read her contract and was not experiencing any changes. But she swore she would not be touching it with a long finger. We were puzzled by the weird marks on his hands and feet.

"I can't get the grime off, no matter how hard I scrub it. What is happening to me? I get these horrible dreams and I wake up completely wet and covered with snakeskin. Are we bewitched or bedeviled?'

'I think what we ought to do is find that witch and plunge a stake in her crooked heart!' Deborah was a Dracula fan, but I doubt we were up against him. What were we really up against?

Samantha smiled and her eyes lit up a bit. 'I think she lives by the Red Roof, about three hundred meters away. We could get her to break the spell.'

'I brought my Dad's revolver. I am a very good shot.' She didn't seem the trigger finger type but has been pouring out some mean ideas so far.

'We could make sure that no one else gets hurt. What do you say to that, Michael?'

'I have been looking at my contract and I think we are in for a hell of a time. We may not get out of this?' We moved closer to him and almost chorused at the same time.

'What!'

'..Do you mean!!'

'..we won't get out of this'

Michael positioned better so that there was enough light.

'Here. Look what this says: Contract Title: 'What If I?' a true-to-life role play where each actor becomes part of the chosen habitat of case No. 757 - B Frog Extinction. - See what I mean guys?'

Silence. No one responded. Deborah turned pale. Her quest for death seemed to be quelling. Samantha was reading her agreement. I was observing another sunflower that was growing out of the dining table. Something told me that this was only the beginning.

Samantha cleared her throat.

'Guys, it says here in the third paragraph "Each actor will blend in the ecosystem now rearranged to reflect the profound damage that they have done to the Earth. Actors will make it real enough to convince the queen that they have repented and want to effect climate recovery.'

'Who is this queen? Aren't you supposed to be Mother Earth?' the Sunflower was orange and not yellow. It had thorns instead of petals or petals with thorns all over.

Deborah placed her hand on my shoulder and pointed her index finger at Samantha.

'I say we kill her now before this thing gets worst. You already have a leaf in your skin, you have grime growing all over you. We have not begun to change because we did not read the agreement. I say let's go get her now and force her to get this spell off us!'

Even as she spoke I could feel the rage in her hand as it tightened on my shoulder. For being a maiden, she was certainly strong. The sunflower. Was that a hand or was I just too tired?

'Can you believe this part, here in the middle it brags 'We take pride in convincing world leaders with our true-to-life drama. Talking wolves rise out of the Chornobyl ruins, dancing salmons rise from the drying rivers, and angry tigers dance to the flute as they reshape the Kenyan reserves.

'Did she convert world leaders into animals and plants? I join you, Deborah. We must stop that witch.'

There was another sunflower sliding up from under the table. It looked just like the other. It had two tiny hands. The hands were made of branches with finger-looking digits with connections between them.

'Oh, great Krypton! Did you guys know this? Could it be true? Listen to this: A recent report by the BBC found that the extinction was worldwide and not just limited to the Sierra region.

"The disease, chytridiomycosis, has caused mass die-offs in frogs, toads, and salamanders over the past 50 years, including extinctions of 90 species, according to a review of evidence.

It has spread to over 60 countries."

I reached for the agreement, then pulled my hand away quickly.

'90 species? No wonder our banshee is worried. Even so, I do not see why we are being punished since we had nothing to do with this. I do not produce fungi, and I do not hunt frogs.'

'No Marcos, I do not think that we are the problem. I watched this documentary on Nat Geo, and they said that in the 1880s, miners and ranchers to the Sierra Lake, introduced trout fish into the lake and rivers to rid them of a frog infestation.

'The story says that there were so many frogs, people could hardly find walking space in their yards. So, they introduced the fish to end the infestation. Trout feeds on tadpoles and frogs alike. So?'

'Wait a minute. Do you mean the Eastern Sierra, Nevada? That's where my grandfather was born. Do you guys think that has anything to do with this?' Michael was curious and I couldn't blame him.

'I grew up there but had nothing to do with the extinction.' Two down. I have so many family relations there, I would not even bother to count. What was Drborah's story, did she have family there?

'I Mom divorced my Dad and left here when I was just a baby. A baby can't damage anything. I have never met my father, and I have no idea if he is killing frogs, or not. I have nothing to do with this.'

Deborah's hand started twitching and I gazed at it. Her hand was trembling and wet. But it was her fingers that caught my attention. A web-like layer had started growing between them.

'Deborah, please look at your hand. I think it doesn't matter if we read the agreement or not.'

Deborah glanced at her hands and started screaming hysterically. She shook them vigorously, as if doing so would let the web tissues fall. Samantha hugged her and tried to console her. The tears were flowing down her eyes and her body was trembling all over. Would she become a frog?

The Sunflowers were popping up all over the house now. And we were all freaking out, crying, trembling and slowly transforming into new creatures. Frog, fungus, and Mother Nature. Will they remain like this forever, or would they recover and become normal again?

How did this woman find us and why did we wind up here?

Michael's face was completely filled with grime and his hands were filled with small yellow boils. His hair was no longer white. A green and red layer had grown on the points. His teeth were now pointed and looked like small daggers.

'How beautiful you are Deborah. Mind if I sit by you, dry your tears?' Deborah jolted from the cold, sarcastic tone. She reached into her handbag, but her hands no longer had fingers. They were completely transformed into webfeet. She tried in vain to pull the gun out.

Michael got up and walked towards her. Samantha snatched the gun from Deborah and pointed it at him. There were leaves growing all over her hands and a wild grape coiled beautifully around her neck and rested on her shoulders.

'Michael, sit down. Don't tempt me on this. Control your desire.' Michael kept walking. I closed my eyes, waiting for the shot.

'Didn't you read the agreement, Sammy? Nothing from your past works here. Now, please move away from that frog. I am hungry.'

'Michael, move away from Samantha or?.'

'Or what, Marcus? You will kickbox me to death. You haven't noticed, have you? You are a dying old man. You can't harm us anymore.'

I looked down at my hands, so wrinkled that I did not recognize them. I tried to raise them to feel my face, but an agonizing pain rippled through my arms. I was condemned to watch nature destroy itself, helpless to do anything.

Deborah made a rush for the garage but one of the sunflowers reached out and tripped. She fell to the floor but got up quickly and leaped again. Two other sunflowers slapped her hard and she fell to the floor again.

Deborah was about to endure more suffering than any other creature here tonight and I was helpless.

Michael turned around to face his prey. He started towards the now groaning frog. I looked at Samantha, hoping that she could do something. Her hair was gone completely, and branches sprouted from her cranium. She walked away from Michael ignoring the crisis that was about to unleash.

She caressed one of the sunflowers and it moved its flower against her hands like a kitten against its master. She gave it something and it opened a mouth and swallowed. As she walked she touched and fondled the monstrous plants now equipped with sharp teeth and thorns.

When she reached the end of the dining hall, she turned and looked at me. Her eyes were dark, hallowed holes with a red flare that burned into my skin. There was no longer a nose on her face, just a crude rectangular box that moved out and in, in and out like those of a lobster.

'Hello Marcus, see what you have done to me and my little ones. Your fathers destroyed our habitat, contaminated our waters, burned our homes, and destroyed the protective barriers that shielded us from the sun.

'The Earth no longer produces nutrients to feed our plants as you have depleted our natural resources to beautify your bodies and homes. There are too many insects devouring our rich foliage so there are no fruits. You have killed all our frogs.'

My vision was still strong and so was my voice, but none of my limbs seemed to function anymore. She was right about one thing, unless we prevent this extinction, there would be drastic effects on food production, that could cause famines worldwide.

'Samantha, I had nothing to do with this. I do not mine or explore the earth for treasures. My forefathers did this, you must punish them not me.'

She uttered a burst of horrified laughter. Short and gut-racking. Michael paused in his tracks. He twisted his head towards her, then driven by his hunger continued towards his prey, which was now feigning dead with her feet in the air.

'True. Yet, you buy their gold chains and watches, their winter wear made from animal furs, you fill your car with combustible, and you buy their agricultural products produced with chemicals that deplete the soil and enhance erosion.

'My children are hungry, Marcus. Come my little ones it's time to feed. Enjoy your breakfast!'

Breakfast, how long have we been here? Did the night pass or were we transferred to another time setting? This was as mind-boggling as painful. I am sure that we can in no way affect time. Unless we pushed the Earth off its axis. That is scientifically impossible.

Or is it? Mind-boggling.

The sunflowers seemed to have been waiting for the order. Smiles appeared on their faces and their eyes lit up like Christmas bulbs. They came from the places where they emerged. Jumping down from the walls, unplugging from the chairs and sofas, leaping from the ceiling, and rising from under the table.

They formed a single line like humans often do. With all their monstrosity, they were still orderly. Nature was not completely destroyed, or damaged but not ruined. They were now resolving to their most basic instinct. To feed.

I smiled at the idea. Nature would adjust the balance and always will. Poor Michael. He did not stand a chance against so many sunflowers and maybe Deborah would eventually survive. The food chain had been inverted. Plants were now eating fungi.

'Samantha, isn't there another way out of this? Do they have to eat Michael?' I tried pleading with her, believing she was still in there, somewhere. If she was, maybe we all could walk away from this alive.

We would get out and find that banshee, and as Deborah desired, kill her. How do you kill a spirit? Can you even do it like the movies share? What kind of spirit was she anyway?

Maybe we could stake it like how they killed a vampire or exposed it to the sunlight. We already knew where she lived, and we have transport. We would only need to prepare the weapons. Maybe the garlic, holy water, a cross, and the stakes.

Samantha uttered a horrific burst of laughter. She pointed her finger at me.

"No, Marcus, my babies do not feed on fungi. But tonight, you will pay for everything that you and your forefathers have done to us.'

The sunflowers were not going to rescue Deborah. Michael was already trying to grab her leg. She fought him off kicking fiercely and wiggling a bit further. Maybe with no sunflower to help she might just escape.

The sunflowers steered at me as they came. A red and yellow line moving into the corridor. Ready to dine. How would they eat me? Would they bite chunks of flesh out like the lions? Or would they just bleed me dry? However, they plan to do it, I had no way of stopping them.

I had about ten minutes left to live. Soon, they would reach me, and I would cross the river and rest with my ancestors. For unknown reasons, it did not scare me. When I was younger, I thought death would be a terrifying moment and that it was best a sudden process.

Today, I am looking death down its nuzzle and I am at peace.

Michael, the fungus, has reached Deborah once again. He was panting and sweating grime, but he was now within arm's reach. She tried to escape, jumping on all four to the garage stairs. Michael seems to have been expecting the move and fired small green and red globules from his mouth.

They land on her feet and hands, and they clung to her skin. She fell to the floor like a bird being shot in mid-air. She cried out for help, over and over as Michael grabbed her feet in his hands and pulled her to him.

I looked up at Samantha. She was almost out the side door. Where was she going? Wherever it was that she was going, she was abandoning us. She would do nothing to stop this murder. She did not seem to care. What happens if nature could no longer care for itself?

Four minutes, one last effort. Maybe it would work. Michael was almost on top of Deborah and my sunflowers were now in sight.

"Samantha, Samantha. You Mother Earth, is Deborah, this helpless frog, one of your children too? Isn't she worth saving, or do you defend only monsters?'

It was working. She stooped. Samantha turned around and looked at Deborah. She shook her head.

"She used to be Marcus; she is the last one of her specie. There are more fungi, but today the frog specie will join the others whom I could not save from you and your race. Fungi and plants will now unite to address the balance until it is finally free of the likes of you?'

Free of human beings? Was that what she meant? Would nature now turn on mankind?

Deborah screamed louder as Michael dug his teeth into her feet and rank out a chunk of flesh and started to eat. Something like tears rolled down my eyes and caressed my cheek, leaving a warming sensation.

I could feel the sunflower twisting up my leg, climbing higher. They did not seem to want my tough, old feet. They were coming higher. What did they eat? Where would they bite?

Time was out. No more sand.

I closed my eyes and bit my lips as tiny, razor-sharp teeth ripped into my arms and legs. I promised myself not to scream, but being eaten alive can be excruciating. Finally, I screamed.

Suddenly there was a bang, something like the sound of thunder during a hailstorm. I opened my eyes as blue rays of lightning flooded the room. Heavy rain clouds lowered over us, and I could swear I saw a fiery dragon, but I was too battered and roasting with pain to know the difference.

The clouds continue to fill the room and a cold vapor parsed our bodies. The lightning engulfed Deborah, lifted her into the air then converted into a whirlwind. It tossed her to the other side of the room. However, she just kept floating.

Michael followed her except that his whirlwind was completely dark, and I couldn't see much of what was happening. The whirlwind spits him out beside Deborah, where he kept floating.

They appeared to be unconscious.

A whirlwind brought Samantha back inside and she seemed to be fighting it as it removed the shrubs and leaves from her body. It took longer than before and I was certain that I heard her screaming faintly, drowned out by the thunders and lightning bolts.

After a while, it spat her out alongside the others, where she too floated unconsciously.

I did not notice, but the sunflowers were no longer biting into my flesh. They were still on my body, but apparently lifeless or now normal plants. There was a clap of thunder close to me and a white cloud engulfed me and lifted me into the air.

A hot wind reached inside the cloud and snatched my body out. A small needle pinched into my arm, and I passed out.

When I woke up, we were lying on the floor in Samantha's home. The first thing we noticed was how naked we were, and we rushed to cover ourselves. From towels to tablecloths, we dressed ourselves like young Africans.

We sat together on the sofa unable to talk. The hours lapsed by, and we fell asleep again.

'Marcus, Marcus! It's your turn!' After showering I joined them for breakfast. We chattered about the events of the night before. What had happened to us? What will we do now? Will anyone believe us?

One thing was sure we would abandon that Green Seminar for now. Deborah was more determined to kill the professor, and Michael was her new partner.

Samantha was happy about her role and promised to work with a lobbyist for climatic change. She would leave the course but would now change her career. She planned to become an environmentalist. I think it suits her.

I finally invited her out and she accepted. We have become a great couple and we have now moved in together. We hear from Michael and Deborah on weekends and they keep us up to date on their plan.

I caress Samantha's body from time to time while she sleeps, looking for a new leaf. Somehow, I do not believe that it is over.