The Garden of Shadows

The idea of entering a book was something I never imagined. I suppose magic made many absurd things possible that we’re now able to literally live out a written story.

Getting sucked into a book felt like being uncomfortably pulled into a dizzying vortex. Everything around me spun. Although it was dark, I knew we were spinning. A few seconds later, it finally stopped and I found myself in a dark forest with Salamander, Clementine, and surprisingly Mr. Crowe as well.

“I thought you said you couldn’t enter?” I asked Mr. Crowe, casting doubt on his honesty.

Clementine was quick to respond. “He’s fooled you all. I let him drink my blood. Of course he can enter!”

Mr. Crowe immediately followed with a defence, “I didn’t intend to deceive you. I just wasn’t sure if it was possible, so I needed people whose entry into the garden was certain. Whether or not I enter, our objectives remain the same. Having an extra ally in unknown territory is always beneficial.”

There was no way to confirm his claim at the moment, so I didn’t press it further. Right now, we needed to know where we were.

“This place looks nothing like a garden,” I remarked.

“We’re not there yet. To get to the garden, we must find it first. Here, we are characters in a story, which means we have to walk the path before getting there,” explained Mr. Crowe.

“You mean we have to play the roles of the farmer, the historian, and the king?”

“No. You play as yourself. You simply go through the same path as they did.”

Mr. Crowe took the lead, going down the faded trail that seemed to go on forever. Surprisingly, Clementine was silent and showed no signs of protesting. She was probably either plotting or going along with the flow. I was certain that it wasn’t part of her plan to enter the book with us.

Eventually, we arrived at the iron gates of the Garden of Shadows. Behind it, we could see a beautiful garden that seemed ethereal and stuck in time. Strange plants and flowers grew, none of which I could identify. They probably only existed here. The domain’s perpetual twilight helped it live up to its name, casting eerie shadows at nearly every corner that wasn’t lighted by metal lanterns.

The gates opened before us, inviting us inside as if we were its special guests. Cautiously, we entered while scanning our surroundings, searching for the guardian that was supposed to appear. So far, there were no signs of it anywhere. The garden was silent and still. No wind blew to rustle the leaves around us.

There was a large tree in the middle of the garden with red fruits. Underneath it were the blue flowers like in the story, the very ones Salamander needed for the cure. There was something very odd about its fruits. The more I stared at one of them, the more tempted I felt to have a bite. I had no desire for immortality, but there was an urge to obtain the fruit for some reason. I concluded that perhaps the fruit was enchanted with a spell that enticed all who looked upon it to eat it.

I glanced at Salamander. His clenched hands gave away his struggle to fight against temptation. Our other companions, on the other hand, seemed to embrace it.

“There it is. The fruit of immortality.” Mr. Crowe smiled as he approached the tree. His path was quickly blocked by a large snake that came from one of the tree’s branches. It seems that the garden did have a guardian after all.

“State your purpose,” said the snake.

Clementine stepped forward. “I would like a bite of the fruit.”

“You may if you sacrifice your beauty in exchange.”

The snake’s reply caught her by surprise, as if she had been expecting it to ask for something else as a price. She remained silent and stepped back, unable to bring herself to give up what she cherished.

Curious to know of its price for me, I went next and asked, “What would it cost me to get a bite of the fruit?”

The snake looked at me for a moment before replying, “For you, nothing.”

Clementine snapped. “That is unfair! Why does she get to have it for free?”

The snake explained, “It is simple. She doesn’t want the fruit. She understands the price of immortality.”

She then turned to me. “Take the fruit and give it to me, Remina. I will promise to free your friend and more. I will pay you a huge sum of money for it. I’ve never lied to you like Crowe did. You can trust me.” She sounded desperate that it scared me.

Mr. Crowe ignored us and went next, “I would like a bite of the fruit. What must I give up for it?”

The snake replied, “You may have a bite, if you sacrifice all your children’s lives in exchange.”

Salamander and I watched the scene closely. This was getting serious. The Crowe siblings could lose their lives depending on how everything played out. Mr. Crowe stayed silent, as if he was trying to weigh his decisions. Was he seriously considering sacrificing his own children?

Surprisingly, Clementine attempted to talk some sense into him, “Crowe! You can’t be serious. You’d trade the lives of the children we raised for a selfish wish?” It seemed strange to me that a person who valued beauty above all else would speak up for them.

“Don’t do it, Mr. Crowe,” Salamander followed. “You’ll live with regret for the rest of eternity.”

“You can’t possibly know what I have in mind.” Mr. Crowe suddenly fashioned a sword out of stone using a spell and beheaded the guardian snake out of anger. He was probably frustrated about getting so close to his goal only to be blocked by a huge price. He stole a fruit from the tree and quickly ate it. Once he felt power surge through his body, he laughed victoriously.

“What have you done?” Clementine angrily shouted.

“If you want a bite as well, now is your chance,” he replied.

Clementine hesitated before eating one herself. “We have to leave immediately. The guardian wasn’t supposed to be killed. Whatever happens from now on will be unpredictable.”

The ground shook violently and broke into separate pieces like a jigsaw puzzle, separating us from each other. Peering between the large cracks, I could see the endless chasm below that meant our certain doom if we fell into it. Salamander swiftly made his way towards the large fruit tree, jumping from one piece of land to the other. His eyes were on one thing: the flower.

“Everyone, to the gate! I’ll open an exit!” Mr. Crowe shouted.

“Salamander!” I shouted.

“Go on ahead! I’ll catch up!” he shouted back as he continued to make his way towards the flowers.

“I won’t leave you here!” Right after finishing my line, the ground shook again, throwing me off balance without anything to hold on to. I slid off the piece of land I was standing on, managing to hold on to a thick root that stopped me from falling into the chasm below.

Salamander was about to run and grab some flowers when he saw me holding on to dear life. “Remina!” He abandoned his mission and instead hurried towards the land I was on. He grabbed my arms and began to pull me back to safety.

“Thanks,” I replied when I was out of imminent danger.

He looked back at the flowers. The rift had grown too big to jump across. It was already impossible to acquire them. “Let’s catch up with Mr. Crowe,” he said and held my hand tightly as we jumped from one piece of land to another until we finally reached the gates of the garden.

Mr. Crowe had already prepared the doorway back to the real world. He and Clementine just stood there waiting for us, urging us to hurry.

“We have to go! The gate is closing,” said Mr. Crowe.

When all of us rushed towards the exit, Mr. Crowe and Clementine were suddenly pulled back by a strong force. It was as if there was a wall that blocked them from leaving the garden.

“Mr. Crowe?” I looked at him.

He appeared terribly disappointed. “I should have known there was a catch…”

“What do you mean?” Clementine demanded to know.

“Upon eating the fruit of true immortality, it binds the soul here. We can no longer leave,” explained Mr. Crowe. “Go. Leave us here. You must escape before it’s too late.”

“Come on, Remina. We have to go.” Salamander had to drag me to the exit.

I looked back at Mr. Crowe who gave a wave as the doorway closed behind us. Beside him was Clementine who looked horrified to learn that she couldn’t leave.

The world once again spinned as both of us left the pages of the Garden of Shadows. We soon found ourselves back on the rooftop of the museum where Elliot and the Crowe siblings were waiting for our return.

“Where’s Father?” Henry Crowe was the first to run to us.

We were too shocked to speak.

“Where is Father?” He repeated in a more forceful tone. His two siblings stood behind him with worried looks on their faces as they waited for us to respond.

Salamander finally replied, “He couldn’t get out. The fruit he ate prevented him from leaving. He’s stuck inside the Garden of Shadows with Clementine.”

“Father stayed behind?” Finley was shocked.

“Damn it!” Henry picked up the book and flipped its pages. A new page with an ink illustration of Mr. Crowe and Clementine standing under the tree of immortality was there.

“I’m sorry.” It was all I could say at that moment. I was still recovering from the shock of another near death experience.

Lottie started to cry. Finley hugged and comforted his little sister. It wasn’t obvious, but his eyes were also watering.

Henry remained silent for some time, trying to calm himself down. “It’s not your fault. Father did this to himself. He should have curbed his hunger for achieving perfect immortality.” He sighed. “I just wish it ended differently…”

“What do we do with the book?” asked Finley.

“We can’t just leave it in the museum with Father stuck inside.”

“So you want to steal it? They’ll be out looking for us.”

“I know, but if we happen to lose the book, we’d lose Father as well. We have to take it with us.”

Finley nodded silently. His sister Lottie said nothing.

Salamander, on the other hand, was bearing with the failure of his goal. The flower was his only lead for a cure and the man who could have helped him was trapped inside the book. If only I hadn’t been a distraction, he might have gotten a chance to take the flower…

I placed a hand on his shoulder. He didn’t look at me, but instead placed a hand on top of mine. It would take some time for him to recover from this.