Relato Corto Blog Fiction

Living Roots

L

Corcon was pouring a green substance into a red jar. The lab had a perfectly flat floor, although it was made of different-sized wooden branches. The walls were logs against each other. Everything was alive. The union of trees created a perfect room.

The humanoid plant scientist had been working for centuries to replicate its creator’s brain. Finally, after all the failed adapts, he was able to see the world with the ambition of a man who discovered immortality. Even Corcon’s voice changed to resemble the dark sound of a vampire.

Corcon had been trying for years to create another like him. Unlike the creatures living on the island; unlike the other blight. They were all specimens of the same plant. All fruit of the infection that Corcon has left on the island. He discovered that everything within his reach dies and is replaced by pollution emanating from the blight.

Living while waiting for something to happen became unbearable. For centuries the island had come into balance. Everything was contaminated. The brain of an immortal vampire got bored in the routine. Science was the only way out for Corcon.

The development of his mind and need to recreate the life of his creator had led him to awaken a need that seemed impossible to reach. Corcon wanted to have a child. No longer a copy of himself. But a new being. A blank mind to start over.

Inside his laboratory, he had been looking for a way to reach his goal… when he heard the door. Two blight entered. One of them was the first to appear after Corcon’s arrival on the island. Curtun was tall and stiff. His skin was covered in spikes that he could fire if he saw fit. The other, Circun, was even smaller than Corcon. A blight that could bury its roots in the ground and remain motionless for decades.

Corcon had been expecting a new test subject: a human female.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she said, entering the lab. “Let me go!”

“Welcome, welcome,” Corcon said, setting the steaming red vial on the table.

The woman managed to free herself from one of her kidnappers. “I demand to know what’s going on.” She looked at the scientist’s back. “Aren’t you going to face me?”

Corcon turned to reveal his wooden face.

“You’re one of them…”

“Easy,” Corcon said. “I have an offer for you.”

“Never,” she said. “Nothing you can say interests me.”

“You see,” Corcon said, taking a syringe from the table, “humans only serve as food. You should be honored to be my guest. My name is Corcon, it’s nice to meet you.”

“I don’t care what you are,” she said. “Please… let me go.”

“All in due time,” Corcon said. “I’m going to need your cooperation first.”

“No… wait” Circun and Curtun grabbed the young woman to immobilize her while Corcon injected her.

Corcon stepped back to see the reaction. The girl fell to her knees. She was released by Circun and Curtun. She raised her head and screamed. The skin under her ruined dress began to turn green. It was incredible. The substance was giving the effect Corcon expected to see.

Little by little the young woman lost the characteristics of a warm-blooded being to become a plant. A plant, like Corcon, but different. The being that will help him have a child that is no longer a copy of himself.

The young woman collapsed to the ground once the transformation was complete.

“How does it feel?” Corcon asked, kneeling next to her.

She looked up. The world looked different. The lab was a beautiful and lively place, although it needed a bit of color. Her captors were no longer frightening beings. At least not for her.

“Can you hear?” Corcon said.

“I’m fine,” she said, sitting on the wooden floor. “My name is Mathilda, by the way.”

Mathilda looked at the palms of her hands. Her skin color was completely different, the pale green also covered her arms. She felt strong. The wasted years of her training to become a warrior came back. The muscles that couldn’t develop in her female body quickly changed.

She imagined herself in the middle of a battlefield. This time everything was different, somehow. Mathilda felt able to stop the swing of the other warriors’ swords. She felt powerful. However, the idea seemed like a product of her imagination. It was impossible that her physical limits had disappeared.

The humanoid plants around her were just like the rest, obsessive beings taking advantage of their physical strength to dominate others. Mathilda was tired of her struggles. She lunged at one of her captors.

Corcon was surprised to see the green-skinned woman grab Curtun by the legs and threw him against the wall. Impossible, he thought.

Mathilda remembered the years of training. The knowledge etched into her body. She was ready for anything. Circun launched at the woman. Mathilda caught him easily and using the creature’s speed threw him against another of the walls.

“Wait,” Corcon said. “You and I can create something never seen before.”

Mathilda stopped. She looked at the creature responsible for her transformation. “You don’t know what you’ve done. Someday, I’ll return the favor.”

Corcon watched Mathilda turn around and, unable to stop her, saw her walk out of the lab. He considered raising the alarm for every blight on the island to stop her, but he realized that letting her go was for the best.

Mathilda found her way to the place she arrived. Her torn dress barely covered her body. She pushed the canoe into the sea and found a way back home. Mathilda was anxious to show others that she can finally become a warrior.

About the author

Sebastián Iturralde

Writer of enigmatic tales, weaving captivating narratives that provoke thought and stir the imagination. Unveiling the depths of human experience through words.

3 comments

  • Only to realize home was with the captor ??? Letting go for one’s best interest , is an excuse for not trying hard enough ???. Something to ponder on🤗

  • Is the moral of the story, “Adversity makes you stronger”? Mathilda initially went through what she perceived as intense adversity. Then she came out at the other side as super-strong!

Relato Corto Blog Fiction

About Author

Sebastián Iturralde

Writer of enigmatic tales, weaving captivating narratives that provoke thought and stir the imagination. Unveiling the depths of human experience through words.