The Prophecy
On June 27, 2020, Luke walked through a deeply forested area of Northern Ontario. In fact, it was just North of Highway 7. He was a lumberjack, so he always had a lot of gear to carry with him. All of his gear was very heavy but the weight didn’t seem to bother him at all. Luke was very strong man.
It was the beginning of summer and it felt quite warm outside. Luke spent his day trying to find trees that were diseased so he could tag them. He will come back another time to remove them. He had been working very hard that entire morning.
It was now about to be 1:15 in the afternoon when Luke decided he should stop and eat his lunch. He had found himself a huge log he could comfortably sit on. He carefully set down his equipment, then removed his backpack and set it alongside everything else.
It was now 1:19 pm.
Rummaging through his backpack, Luke found his water bottle and took a long refreshing sip. The water was lukewarm because Luke had forgotten to pack the ice packs he had set out on the counter that morning, but Luke didn’t care. It helped put some moisture in his system that he could tell his body badly needed. Luke took out his sandwich container and quickly devoured the bologna and cheese sandwich he had packed.
It was now 1:26 pm.
Standing up from the log, Luke packed everything back into his backpack and flung it over his shoulders.
Precisely at 1:27 pm, Luke bent over and picked up his equipment and was shocked and intrigued at what he saw. Standing around a mushroom, Luke saw a group of critters all holding hands. Not a sound could be heard, each of the them just stood completely silent.
Luke saw something else that was strange yet beautiful at the same time. He saw a brilliant, white light, with a gorgeous purple hue, surround him and seconds later, an even brighter light lit up the entire sky.
Luke stood mesmerized by the bright light but soon the lights started to fade and the creatures slowly began coming over to him. Luke got a really good look at them for the first time. He knew he had never laid eyes upon these creatures before and he has worked in that forest for the past 25 years.
“Aren’t you just the most adorable creatures,” said Luke, as he bent over and carefully picked up one of the creatures with his huge calloused hands.
Luke saw that all the creatures had thick, long green hair. Each creature wore a long green gown that had specks of blue, yellow and orange throughout.
“What kind of creatures are you?” asked Luke as he stammered, flabbergasted by their appearance. “What are you doing here and how come I have never seen you before?”
“We are the Forest Shrooms,” explained the creature Luke held in his hand. “We are the very first colony of Shrooms to have ever existed. We have lived here, in this forest, for hundreds of years and our houses are built into the mushrooms.”
“It is incredible that I have never seen you before,” said Luke. “I know every inch of this forest and I know every creature that lives here, or so I thought.”
“We have been able to successfully allude humans up until now,” said the Forest Shroom.
“But why now?” asked Luke. “Why did you reveal yourselves today, of all days and why was I the one to find you?”
“You are the answer to our prophecy which is centuries old,” explained the Forest Shroom.
“A prophecy!” exclaimed Luke. “Is that what those bright lights were all about? They were incredible!”
“Yes,” said the Forest Shrooms. “That is exactly what those bright lights were all about. In fact, those bright lights were a sign from the heavens that our prophecy has been fulfilled. It was also a signal to all the other Shrooms, from the east coast of Canada all the way to the west coast, so that they know the great prophecy has been fulfilled.”
“There are more of you?” asked Luke.
“There are lot of us,” said the Forest Shroom.
“And none of you have ever been seen before?” asked Luke.
“Not a single one,” replied the Forest Shroom.
“This is amazing,” said Luke. “So, please tell me all about this great centuries old prophecy.”
“Well, it all began when we first came to be,” explained the Forest Shroom. “We were put here in this forest to keep it safe and healthy.”
“That you have accomplished,” said Luke. “This is one of the healthiest forests around. So, what is the problem?”
“Humans are the problem,” said the Forest Shroom, bluntly. “I mean no disrespect to you, by the way. However, humans have been encroaching on our land and now our forest is in jeopardy. We now need to work alongside humans to keep our land safe and healthy.”
“You can certainly count on me for help,” said Luke. “The human race could definitely learn some valuable lessons from you creatures. I am still very impressed at how you have alluded us for so many centuries. I will help you in anyway I can.”
“This is wonderful,” said the Forest Shroom. “This is our first major step accomplished. We need to start working together to ensure this forests future.”
“I agree,” said Luke.
“It isn’t just the Forest Shroom colony that is feeling the encroachment of the humans,” explained the Forest Shroom. “The River Shrooms have noticed a major decline in the quality of their water. The Mountain Shrooms are seeing their glaciers melting at unprecedented rates. Lilac, Hayfield and Cornfield Shrooms are reeling from the effects of pesticides and all sorts of other chemicals. Even the Honey Shrooms are having difficulties because honeybees are being threatened and are starting to die off. For all of the Shroom colonies to survive, we need to work together and resolve these issues quickly. If not, we won’t have forests, rivers, mountains, lilacs, hayfields, cornfields or honey any longer.”
“I agree,” said Luke. “So, sign me up. What can I do to help ensure our planet is going to survive for upcoming generations?”
Moral of this Story:
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