“The mushroom warrior is a symbol. It originally stems from a cave in the middle of an African desert.” The desert? Mushrooms? Shawn thought. 

“The statue you saw was merely a poor representation, however the original one,” she got up, walked up to her bookshelf, and crammed out a thick black book. On its cover were various mushrooms and some Japanese signs. She blew the dust off of it, then flipped the first two pages and there was the drawing. It was a man with tiny mushrooms growing out of every part of his body, he held two big mushrooms in both of his hands and instead of a human face, he had the one of a bee. 

“Weird face,” Shawn remarked.

She continued, “The painting was made somewhere at the end of the ice age, ten thousand years ago. However, the lineage of the tribe that made it lives on. We, ‘mushroom warriors’ use this symbol in honor of the sacredness, profoundness, and importance of the knowledge that was passed on.” Shawn’s interest spiked, he had many questions but waited for her to continue.

“It is based on a belief, that fungi and humans co-evolved in… cooperation, even a symbiosis. That a positive relationship between man and fungi is of utmost importance to prevent a collapse of our… civilization… just like plants and fungi created a partnership.” 

Mycorrhiza, Shawn thought. 

“Furthermore, and I know this sounds crazy, but bear with me… we believe, that the evolution of humans was… fungi mediated.” 

Will, completely out of his league, spurred occasional questions such as “What’s symbiosis?” or “Evolvution?”, which he clearly misspelled, but received no reply. 

Fungi mediated? He continued his thought aloud, “What do you mean?”. 

“Think about it. What would happen if an ape ate psilocybes, also known as magic mushrooms? Over, and over again? Over millions of years? I mean you’ve had your fair share of experiences, as you’ve told me, so you should know the power that lies beneath that gilled cap.”

“No way,” Shawn said, “So you believe magic mushrooms were the reason apes evolved into humans?”

She nodded.

He had a serious look on him, staring at the coffee table between them, with the book open in front of him. She must’ve had one too many of those mushrooms… but it is true, that the sudden… very sudden doubling in brain size is until today only explained by a random mutation. We also know that psilocybes induce neuron growth… and mediate communication between all parts of the brain.

He began to nod slightly, still with a serious look in his eyes.

“What are magic mushrooms?” Will asked again.

Granny and Shawn both laughed but gave no answer. 

“Hey, stop ignoring me, I want to know too,” Will insisted.

“You’ll know soon enough buddy, trust me,” Shawn replied. Will clearly dissatisfied crossed his arms on his chest, pursed his lips, and leaned back into the sofa.

Granny continued, “Imagine. Millions and millions,” with obvious emphasis, “and millions of years of evolution? Millions of years of psilocybe consumption? You’re an ape, you live in a community, you consume psilocybes… all of a sudden you start talking, you look at your hand and you question reality…”

“That’s mad, absolutely mad…” he said, then reflected on his trips, then added “… but absolutely brilliant.”

“Has there been some sort of evidence for it?”

“There is no way to prove such a hypothesis. Maybe at some point in the future with advancements in tech, but…” she paused for a moment then added, “There are more crazy things to believe in.”

“We are a group of elderly mycologists, or as we like to call ourselves, mycophiles, who lived their lives studying, growing, and listening to mushrooms. We collect spores and store them. We combine mushrooms with different plants and use them to heal the soil and surrounding forests and ultimately, ourselves. The garden you saw is a consequence of our efforts, however, there is so much to learn still,” after a moment she leaned forward and with a hand covering the side of her mouth she said, “ I have a feeling some of our members might have gone off the deep end, if you know what I mean,”  and coughed again.

I’m not sure you’re one to talk granny, he thought. Simultaneously Pat blitzed before his eyes and said out loud “No shit.”

They both laughed, then Will uttered “Great, now they’re whispering too,” followed by a pet on top of his little head by Granny.

“So, how do you become a member?” Shawn asked.

“You’re dragged into it by someone who's already in it,” she replied immediately as if expecting Shawn’s question.

“Here,” she got up, fiddled around in one of the boxes — in the hallway Will was fascinated by— and pulled out a piece of wood. “Every member has this. You can have one if you want,” She said and handed him a plate or chip, with the same symbol carved into it, small enough to fit into his palm.

“You sure?”

“Me too,” said Will protestantly.

“You’re my grandson, and as far as I can tell, you got some of your granny in you,” she giggled, then coughed. “You get yours from your brother when you’re older… but you have to like mushrooms a lot.”

“I do already, so can I have one?”

“Do you now?” she questioned him with a smirk.

“Well, yeah, but… they can be a bit creepy too,” he replied.

“And that’s what we call mycophobia,” Granny and Shawn laughed.

“A myco-what?” Will repeated.

“A strong fear of mushrooms,” Shawn said. 

“I am not afraid,” said Will, “I just think they’re creepy sometimes.”

Grandma comforted him by pulling him closer.

“Shawn?”

“Yeah?”

“I know you’re trained this way at the university and it is expected of you to think in realistic terms…,” 

Shawn sighed.

“…but try to quench your disbelief,” she said, then added, “Try to look beyond, and you might find that the world is full of magic,” she said and smiled.

Deep in his heart, Shawn felt discomfort when he heard her words, but he dared to fantasize for a moment. He looked at the symbol and a desire for what she said to be real grew in him. However, once he became aware of it he shook his head, fairytales. 

While they finished their tea they caught up on the mundane everyday things, however, it didn’t take long for Will to grow restless, thus they decided to be on their way, for Shawn remembered he had other things to do as well. They thanked and hugged her, then left.