TF (plants)

“Have you ever thought about being a sunflower?”

That was the question Jen had posed to Meg.

And well, no, she hadn’t. Because she hadn’t known it was possible.

Of course, she hadn’t known a person could turn into water either, and she’d just spent the night as a liquid.

Jen had promised it would blow her mind, and it had.

“So just how many of these transformation potions did your family pass down to you?” she asked.

The two women had just come from a yoga class and were enjoying salads at a nearby cafe.

“Hundreds,” Jen smiled. “But I probably only use a dozen or so …”

“A dozen?”

“Yeah, a lot of the other ones aren’t very useful. Things about ensuring your house doesn’t get hit by the black death, or ways to turn grey rats into horses. Probably was extremely useful a few hundred years ago, but now …”

“Nothing about getting super-flexible? Because that would come in handy for Tara’s class.”

Jen chuckled. “Unfortunately not. She can be a hard taskmaster, can’t she?”

“The worst.” Meg grimaced. “Still feels good though.”

“So, I can see you’re finished and the sun’s nice and high in the sky … What say we go stand around in a pot for a few hours?”

*

“Just help me shift the pot to a nice position outdoors,” Jen instructed. “Oh yeah, that’s good. The sun will be right over us.” Meg had wondered why Jen had had a flowerpot but no flowers, but now everything was perfectly clear.

“OK!” Jen said brightly. “Potions made …” There were two tall glasses sitting on a garden table. “Guess there’s nothing left to do but change.”

“This might be a silly question, but how are we going to get into the pot?” Meg asked as she pulled off her top.

“That’s not a silly question at all,” Jen said as she slid off her yoga pants. “This change won’t be as quick as the water transformation was. There’ll be an intermediate phase. Once we’re small enough, we’ll just step into the pot and lay down roots.”

“Small enough?”

“Yeah, of course! You didn’t think we were going to be five feet tall flowers, did you? We’ll be about 20 inches, so we can fit into the pot.”

“No, but …” Shrinking? Meg couldn’t restrain a shiver. Oh well, she thought, just one more impossible thing I did after breakfast.

“OK then! Bottoms up!” The two naked women hoisted their glasses. “Oh, and a warning: there’s quite a lot of vodka in this one.”

There really was, and Meg felt the burn as the drink went down her throat. But soon it was replaced by a pleasant tingling, then a sense of clarity, as if all her senses had just gone on high alert.

She blinked rapidly. Jen was starting to dwindle in height. And she was getting … thinner? Definitely thinner. Well, her body was, anyway. Her head was still quite large.

“Hey! Look at you!” she blurted out.

Jen smiled. “And you, girl. I think you’re starting to get a green tinge.”

Meg looked down. It was true. And her legs were changing into … roots? Yes, roots.

“Oh God! I’m part woman, part flower!” she gasped.

“Soon to be in full flower,” Jen said. “Let’s get into the pot.”

They were still tall enough to simply step into the flowerpot. As soon as Meg’s feet touched the earth they sank down in it. She felt as her toes uncurled themselves and extended down into the soil.

“Don’t forget to set your face towards the sun,” Jen said. Her body was definitely stalk-like now, and her face was getting rounder. Meg could feel her own face flattening yet expanding too.

“We’re probably going to lose speech in a second - but here comes the best bit …”

And as Meg watched, her friend’s face was engulfed in a burst of florets, and a fringe of yellow petals.

She felt her own face changing the same way.

Oh! Here we go …

And two sunflowers stood in a pot in the garden.

*

Meg really hadn’t known what to expect when she’d become a flower. Not this wonderful blissful feeling, for sure.

She didn’t breath. She didn’t move (although she vaguely remembered reading somewhere that sunflowers could turn their heads towards the sun). She didn’t see or hear.

But she could feel. And she felt great.

Oh, the sun.

The warmth of the sun radiated through her as she drank it in. Was this what photosynthesis felt like? If so, she wanted more of it.

She was in a garden. She was a sunflower. Hell, she was a beautiful.

*

Jen couldn’t see Meg but she felt her friend’s presence beside her. At some point their roots were touching.

Oh man, Jen thought. How many times have I done this? A dozen at least. And I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it. Feels so good to have a companion in this change.

I feel so connected to the earth now. Well, yeah, I guess I am connected. Via my roots.

She began to chant in her mind: Om mani padme hum.

I am. I feel. I love.

*

The hours passed too quickly for both women. The sun crept across the tiny garden and shadows began to fall.

At some point - and she could never have told you when - Meg realised she could see again. Which meant her transformation was coming to an end.

She could see Jen beside her, wearing a similar air of disappointment. “It’s almost over,” she said sadly.

When they were tall enough, they both stepped out of the pot and watched each other as they went from being more plant than woman, to fully human.

And once they were, they embraced.

“That,” Meg stuttered. “That was …”

Jen nodded. “Very special. I know.”

Meg sighed contentedly as they went inside the tiny house. “I thought being water was great, but this … I don’t think I’ll ever find something to match it … what?” she trailed off as Jen burst out in a devilish grin.

“Well,” Jen said slowly. “I don’t know what you’re planning for next weekend … but …

“Have you ever wanted to fly?”