I always loved walking home from school. I lived only about 10 minutes from my home, so the walk allowed me to hear all the music the world had to offer. My backpack was light on my back, and with the sun offering its gentle smile, I was completely content. A bunny sat in the grass across the street, and it stared in my direction without seeming to be wary of me. In our neighborhood, there were bunnies everywhere. Usually they ran away at the mere sight of any human, but this one seemed to call me to it. When I didn't move toward it, it darted into the bushes. I shrugged and continued on my way. After only a few seconds, I heard a soft, whispy voice calling my name, "Alice". It spoke like a welcome breeze on a hot summer day: sweet and quick. Maybe it was just the wind after all. Then, there it was again. "Alice, come to us". It came from the direction of the bunny I had seen before. I noticed that the gate of the abandoned house was open, and I decided to take a look. I set my backpack in my neighbor's yard, as I knew he would not mind and slowly made my way toward the open gate. "Alice please", the voice came again, almost pulling me in toward it. As I came into the yard, I discovered that it was not the overgrown, messy yard that everyone always said it was. Perhaps they were blind. The old picket fence was entangled in vines which made it Secret-Garden like. It was as if I was discovering something no one had ever seen before. The sun shone in from the monstrous balboa trees that acted almost like guards, protecting this secret garden from the outside world. Beautiful flowers in hues and shades I never knew existed before grew proudly in different areas of the garden. In the very center of the garden, the true magic waited. The bunnies sat in chairs at a table and if this wasn't strange enough, they enjoyed afternoon tea as the adults do at midday. I kneeled down beside them, and they continued with their tea as though I was not there. Suddenly, everything was not as it was. "Alice, where are you?!" A frantic voice called from somewhere close by. I then realized that the voice belonged to my mother. Her gentle footsteps grew louder as she came through the gate. "Alice, what happened?" She asked, frantically trying to put the pieces together in her head. I looked down to where the bunnies had been having tea and instead discovered a collection of dead cats in their place. My hands and frock were covered in blood and flesh was embedded under my nails. Surely, this was only a nightmare. "It was beautiful, mummy," I explained, pointing toward the animals that were surely still alive. "No, Alice," She shook her head firmly, sadness and worry filing her eyes. "This isn't how things were supposed to be." My mother couldn't see the beautiful garden. She was blind. Realizing this, I began to cry. "It's alright, Alice. We'll fix this. They have doctors for conditions like yours now. They will explain what you see."
