Marigolds In Gloom

Spring came but it wasn’t the same. This spring was hotter than usual. The expected 67 to 72 degrees never happened. Spring started out at 92 degrees and stayed there. “Climate change is real” Reggie thought. “Damn” Reggie said, it’s hotter than Hades out here. “This doesn’t bode well for the vegetable garden” Cheryl offered. Cheryl was Reggie’s partner. They were both semi off the grid types. They had bought and been living on this farm for three years now. So far so good. They had turned a profit each of the first two years. Reggie had even gotten creative and added marijuana plants here and there between the marigold plants strictly for recreational purposes. The crop was split between African marigolds and French marigolds. The African marigolds were the more pungent of the two. “You’re right Reggie said “As goes the garden so goes the farm” “I would say we’ve just run into our first crisis babe, I certainly don’t expect any good to come from all this heat.” “Well the heat should keep some of the critters away, but what about pests?” Cheryl questioned. “Marigolds have some natural pest prevention that’s why I planted some all around the garden. The farm of 5 acres was 11 miles outside of Carlyle, Illinois. It was rural and quiet. Adjacent to the farm bungalow, they had a fairly sized vegetable garden. They grew the marigolds as a cash crop selling the produce to various customers from industry to a local food market. It was a tedious business but they were making a go of it until this heat wave. Marigolds was supposed to be lucrative according to everything they had researched in the organic farming literature. Up until now it had been. But when they looked out over the acres of marigolds all they saw were drooping water starved marigold plants.

As the sun set on the marigold farm Cheryl hope and prayed more than stated “ I hope the promised rain comes” “ I hope so too” Reggie sighed. They conducted their normal unwinding rituals before deciding to turn in for the night. Due to storm clouds, the night on the farm was pitch black, no stars or moon, and far from any city lights. Carlyle. Ill was a small town, a couple of hours from any respectable city in Illinois or Missouri.

That night Reggie awoke in a relaxed stupor. He half heard the downpour of rain. The rain sounded wholesome as it pelted the marigold fields with its life giving vigor. He drifted off to sleep feeling good as he spooned Cheryl. He had wanted to make love but they in their relaxation were both hypnotized by the rhythm of the rain and fell into a deep sleep.

Cheryl woke first “Hey sugar” she purred like honey in Reggie’s ear. Reggie stirred awake to the prettiest brown eyes in the world. He sat up in the bed, his back resting on the head board, “Did you hear that rain last night?” he remembered. “Yeah” Cheryl sang merrily “our worries are over”.

She bounced over to the window overlooking the marigold field, pulled back the curtains, and screamed horribly, uncontrollably. The scream jolted Reggie out of his hazy sleepy stupor. He bolted to the window and looked out into the marigold field that was now a marigold jungle with plants 50 feet high and marigold pollen falling slowly and noticeably rising like flood waters towards the window sill. He had never been in the Amazon jungle but if it were made of marigolds this is what it would have looked like. He stared out the window in dumbfounded disbelief. “What …. What happened? He stammered to himself, to anybody, and everybody as his eyes and mind registered what he was seeing. He thought” I must be in a Twilight Zone episode”. But when he heard the uncontrolled sobbing and crying of Cheryl who had retreated and collapsed on the bed he knew he was experiencing the weirdest event of his life. Reggie collected himself. He slowly raised her up by both arms. He slapped her twice to shock her back to the present. They would both need presence of mind to survive.

They were both fully present now. They quickly pulled on some clothes from whatever was nearby. Looking out the living room picture window the view of the marigold Amazon jungle was the same. “What in the hell has happened “Cheryl was still hysterical. “ I don’t know and I don’t care, but we’ve got to get out of here” Reggie responded. He sprinted to the bedroom and retrieved his cell phone. Turning to leave, the head of a giant marigold crashed through the bedroom window, slowly growing into the room. Reggie slammed the door and raced back to Cheryl. “They’re still growing!” he warned. Cheryl was inconsolable. “What can we do” she sobbed. Reggie dialed 911 in Carlyle. The phone rand and rang with no answer. He called his buddy, Al in St. Louis. Al picked up on the first ring. “You’re not going to believe this” Reggie started “Oh yes I will “Al cut him off. “It’s all over the news, Carlie and the surrounding area is experiencing something straight out of the Twilight zone. Every fawn and fauna has increased to a gigantic size” Just then Reggie heard a thump against the window a giant aphid 50 times its normal size was climbing up the window. Al continued “the whole area has been cordoned off, nobody can get in or out. The National Guard has been called…” The line went dead. Seconds later Reggie heard a loud crash and knew that the cell phone tower close to his property had fallen. Next he heard a knock on the door, then voices speaking in French. “ Monsieur,Monsieur ouver le portev” ( Sir , Sir open the door).

Incredulous, Reggie opened the door to three human sized French Marigolds. They spoke in a perfect French Parisian accent. ( Avez-vouse pense a l’effet de planter des soucis si pres de plants de marjuana?) “Did you consider the effect of planting the marigolds so close to the marijuana?

(Au revoir sois prudent) Good bye, be careful.

Reggie woke up a second time. The faint but still noticeable scent of cannabis still hung in the air with just a whiff of marigold from their nightly ritual of smoking a joint. This was the first batch they had smoked planted with the marigolds. Chery was still blissfully a sleep, comfortable with the sheets drawn up close around her neck and chin. Reggie leaned over and brush kissed her cheek, relieved that nothing he had dreamed was real. But only the weird effect of a marigold laced marijuana. “What a trizip! “he thought.

Looking out the bedroom window, the night rain had revived the marigolds and there was hope of a bumper crop. Far back in the field along one row he spied the spikey head of a marijuana plant swaying in and out of view as if waving at him.