Growth

I started off small. A see-through, fragile, self equipt machine awaiting my command. I was alone in the dark, and my surrounding was moist, but it was also soft, so I felt secure. Two, four, six, eight seconds passed and I began to shake. My sides began to stretch out; slowly and delicately like a piece of gum. My insides hardened while my exterior collapsed and it was then and there that I accepted my fate. As I relaxed, my whole being vibrated with energy. With each inhale my body would let out a pop that signaled a new beginning. The pops now occurred faster and faster. I was growing. No, I was multiplying. Yes, that seems to describe it better. I was multiplying now at full speed and my being was on fire.

Sparks were flying and I was finally not alone. I could barely control the turbulence inside of me and with every burst of energy I had more companions. Now they were popping too. The noise around us became deafening. We were scurrying left and right; yelling over the popping and the crackling. We had to fuse before it was too late. I rolled around in search of a partner. Quickly gravity brought me together with four more beings. This helped because now as a unit we possessed more power. We held on to each other and concentrated on creating a bond. Gently we fused together and now we were one. One being with four individuals controlled by this unit. We glanced at the unit over and naturally synched with them. This was perfect. I was more comfortable now that I had a point of attachment.

My self was flexible, and smooth, yet strong and newly skillful. I had a safety net of my own creations. We all worked together in harmony to piece together each and every fiber of our selves into one graceful layer of matter. This matter had grown in five short minutes, and now continued to rapidly expand in space. As more time passed, more material was created and I now mothered millions of my children. I felt their hunger and they felt mine so I let them dig themselves deep into the warm earth; absorbing as many nutrients as they could. They kept digging deeper and deeper, which allowed our layers to grow vertically in search of the sky. The pull of opposition bore a euphoric tension like no other. It gave us the courage to sprout and feel comfort in our steady development. In that sliver of time I had learned to accept change and welcome the future. At that moment I was breaking through and as I emerged from the ground I could sense the soothing rays of sun embracing me into the new world. I felt warm, alive, pure.

My fellow beings were still multiplying and so was I, but soon enough this change would come to a halt. I swayed in the wind and watched my point of view shift slowly and steadily. I could now see atop the blades of grass. I was equal with my neighbors. For the first time I saw color, and texture, as well as light. I was a deep brown and silky smooth. My trunk was white and flexible and under my cap there were delicate, dark ridges. I took a huge inhale and the mild air flowed through me, caressing my inner workings. I was officially a living, breathing, fungus; no more and no less than your common Portabella. I stood tall and proud in the verdant grass making sure I truly occupied the space I had chosen as my own. It felt so satisfying to finally be a part of an ecosystem. Overnight I had grown from a single spore and created a framework to thrive off of. This miraculous transformation gave me the confidence to trust I would be a loyal and gratified subject of the globe. My job now was to indulge in the gifts Earth had given me and flourish. I stood erect in the sodden dirt, prepared to multiply once again. This is the cycle of life.