Façade [Book 2] (Glamour Series)

8 | Garden Fate

After training that morning I decided to change my usual routine. Instead of sulking off into my room to pout, my feet wandered over to another section of the mansion I really haven't seen before. It was a large garden, full of different flowers and herbs, with a small building tucked in-between two rather large apple trees.

The garden stretched some ways, 50 feet out by 30 feet across, but was pressed against one wall of the mansion. It was guarded by a white picket fence and a couple cactuses that were purposely shoved away from any nearby plants around it. Not bothering to hop the little fence, I make a quick check for any gate openings and found one a foot from the mansion wall.

Pushing the metal loop up, the gate broke inward and I easily slipped into the park-like area. Beside the smallish building in the center of the garden was a painted egg-shell colored condo. Flowers of purple, yellow, pink, and orange were common in this garden- with different shapes and sizes- but a couple of my favorite ones were blue. A deep midnight indigo flower shimmered as if it were withholding a thousand individual stars on its three peddles. The liveliness of freshly cut grass intoxicated the air and my stomach lurched a little with hunger.

After I was done inspecting my midnight star-like flower I stood and gave it a little smile. Whoever gardened this place was a master in their craft. "It's so beautiful and peaceful." My fingers fiddled with the end of my workout shorts while I made my way up to the condo, taking the two steps with ease. My elbows are placed along one curved side, my hands gracefully lain across my face.

"See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O, that I were a glove upon that hand, That I might touch that cheek!"

I turn my head and my eyes follow suit as they focus in on an elderly man with the largest grin on his face. The man seems to be enjoying himself as he approaches me from the outside of the condo which is surrounded by bushes and flowers. The grin he has on is infectious, but I hold my ground and cock my head to the side like a confused puppy.

"You've never heard of Shakespeare my dear?" He comments, "Romeo and Juliet?" He adds.

"Of course." I say, leaning my hand into my cheek some more as I gaze down at him, "But thoust dust not have a glove upon thy hand." I retort back at him, eyeing his own gloves smothered in dirt and tough with age.

"Aye, I see you don't." He saw that I was making an accusatory face at his open gloves and quickly explains to me: "I like to ponder in the garden, I used to plant all kinds of things, but now I just crawl in the dirt and inspect everyone else's handy work when I see it." His little straw farmers hat shaded his face, but it was a cute addition to his spunky personality. I immediately liked him.

"You don't come here too often, do you? You look sad behind those beautiful brown eyes."

I didn't want to be rude and tell him I actually had green eyes, so I shrug at his comment: not knowing if it was right to mention that I had killed my best friend. "We all have our demons to deal with."

Mine just happen to be living too.

"Mm, that we do." He nods and turns to inspect a nearby flower.

My eyes glance into the distance, I know that this is probably a place that is off-limits to me. But, no one can stop me now. Really wanting to check out the white building that the condo was in front of now I turn and head toward it. When I looked back at the man, to wave a gentle goodbye, he was already no-where to be seen.

Thinking nothing of the man's disappearance I headed into the little white building. There, I discovered something weirder than the old man who likes Shakespeare and pondering around other people's gardens.