The ceiling split open with a groan. A thick cloud of dust filled the air. Lilith choked back a cry, afraid the noise would wake everyone, her grandfather especially; but she soon relaxed and allowed herself to breathe, to Panther's relief. He suffocated in her grip. It seemed nobody heard a thing. Oblivious to the discomfort of being pressed between thorny canes, Lilith stared at the unfolding sight, as room partitions crumbled.
For a moment, she caught a glimpse of her neighbors. Trude Brandt snored under a multitude of blankets, removable dentures glistening on her bedside table. All four Rosenthals slept quietly, their beds neatly lined in one row. Irma Schlitzberger's ponderous shape spread over a bare mattress, covers bunched in a corner. Next to her, shrouded in layers of lavender, wheezed the twins. Gwen sucked on her thumb. Daphne clutched a stuffed elephant. The floor was littered with candy wrappers, empty snack packets, and shopping bags, their contents spilling.
"What a mess," whispered Lilith.
"I said they're elephant-hugging piglets, didn't I?" growled Panther; but they already crashed by the red gallery above, broke through the roof, and emerged into the chilly night.
"Wonder where grandfather sleeps. Why did we stop?" said Lilith with alarm.
The heads congregated, swaying dangerously.
"Where's the mansion?" Lilith eyed the ground three stories below. A monstrous trunk protruded from a mound of dirt, with no sign of the mansion.
"Think, madam, think," growled Panther. "I was of higher opinion of your intelligence."
"Oh, of course. Make fun of me now, why don't you," said Lilith miserably. "How dreadfully forgetful of me. It's underground for the night. May I ask what's going to happen now?"
"Whatever ze garden wants to happen," said Agatha's head solemnly, peering into the distance.
"What exactly does it want to happen?" Lilith pressed on.
"Little miss iz asking too many questions. Little miss iz trying our patience," Agatha's head hissed, while others sneered in an unpleasant way. "Simple water and a little blood won't do for questions like zese."
Lilith's stomach shrunk. "I'll give you more of my blood, if that's what you want."
"Madam!" Panther barked.
"Will you, meine kleine? We liked it. It waz zo sweet." Monika's head passed a tongue over its lips.
"I want a bloody lollipop," said Daphne's head hungrily.
"Lollipops are too hard. I want a bloody licorice," chimed in Gwen's.
"Never had a bloody licorice. What's it taste like?" asked Lilith's head.
Others called out their preferences for potential blood consumption, until their muttering turned into indiscernible babble. They encircled Lilith greedily. Monika's arms gravitated toward Panther.
A sigh full of pain made them freeze. It gradually turned into a drawn-out moan, escalated to a cry, and died with a reverberating echo. Lilith's hair stood on end. Panther's fur bristled.
"Rosehead," they whispered in unison.
"Little miss, please do hold on."
Lilith hastily removed her blue beret, lest it decided to slide off. With a jolt, the rosebush grew, shooting into the sky and arching over the garden. Flocks of sleeping crows dotted the bushes in patches of breathing feathers, yet none of them stirred at their passing.
Fog unspooled in thick waves. They stopped and hung directly over the clearing shaped like a roofless rotunda.
"Now watch, watch clozely," said Agatha's head.
Dangling nearly upside down, terrified that the roses might let go at any moment, Lilith peered into the misty darkness.
There were no crows here, no wind, only a stagnant smell of decay. The glade appeared to be breathing around a massive figure crouched in its middle, exactly where Lilith saw her grandfather shear Rosehead from a shrub. Her heart beating like a mad squirrel, she understood what was going to happen on Saturday and immediately wished she didn't.
Rosehead lay on her side, eyes closed, mouth gaping. Her midriff bulged. It appeared to be stuffed with...stuffed with...
"Panther. I think she's—"
"Obviously pregnant."
Lilith's eyes rounded. "But how?"
"Fortunately for you, I'm erudite enough to know that plants reproduce via pollen transferred by pollinators." Panther sniffed the air. "Insects and animals. And birds. Incidentally, plants that rely on birds for their reproduction develop red petals. Birds happen to not care if they—"
"Stink or not. They have no sense of smell. You don't suppose the crows..."
"Given that there are no squirrels in the garden, nor did I see a single insect mad enough to live in this bog of stench, I don't see what other purpose they would fulfill except that and to help with the disposal of the remains?"
The heads listened with apparent interest.
"Then what exactly is she going to give birth to?"
"Little miss haz a very insightful pet. Ze pet iz correct. Now shush," said Agatha's head.
They fell quiet.
Rosehead stirred, emitting moans and rolls of vapor from her leafy mouth, each smelling fouler than the first. She rolled on her back and began pounding the ground. As if on cue, Bär waddled into the clearing from one of the pathways, snarling.
Panther tensed. Lilith clutched his muzzle.
A wave of thuds shook the garden. Fully awake, Rosehead lurched up and sat. Torn leaves swirled around her. Her blood- red eyes rotated wildly; she spotted the dog, kicked it, and released an ear-splitting scream. Bär flew to the edge of the glade and landed in a bush, roaring from anger.
"She's having contractions!" yelled Lilith over the racket, and promptly stuffed the beret in her mouth to prevent herself from speaking again.
"Hush!" Agatha's head snapped.
But it was too late. The mastiff heard them. He shook off the dirt, raised his ugly head, and howled for his master.
The heads moved uneasily, murmuring.
"Zey are coming. We have to go."
Within seconds the entire assembly retreated, shrinking and speeding back so fast that both the girl and the dog barely had time to blink. But just before they disappeared into the mansion, Lilith saw a light flash in the forest.
As strangely as their journey began, it ended stranger still. They were rudely dumped onto the floor. By the time Lilith sat up, the room looked undisturbed as if nothing ever happened—no wall broken apart, no ceiling opened. The mansion stood still, like normal mansions should.
Crawling toward the bed, Lilith feverishly told her pet, "She's pregnant, Panther."
"Oh, is she? I hadn't noticed."
"What do you think she carries?" Lilith's eyes blazed. "Another mutant shrub like herself? It's like pollination gone wrong."
"You've delved inside her belly to confirm your mutant theory, did you?" Panther inquired.
Lilith stared into nothing. "You saw that light in the forest? I bet it's Ed waiting for us. Bet it's his secret place. I wonder..."
"Ed. Your new friend, is it? Smart boy. I need to learn from him. Let's see here, so he's waiting in the comfort of his hiding place, while I'm working off my doggy behind by facing a horrendous monster in the uncomfortable manner of hanging upside down, not to mention the fact that—"
"What if she does talk?" Lilith's face attained absolute blankness.
Panther scoffed. "I simply love your attention to detail and your inability to hear what others are saying once you set your mind to something. Truly, it's a talent one—" He didn't get a chance to finish.
The door banged open and there stood Gabby, dressed in a nightgown, the only article of clothing she didn't attempt to knit, to Lilith's relief.
"What's going on?" she said sharply. Whatever love she professed toward her daughter in the evening, seemed to have evaporated in the course of several hours.
Panther snarled.
For a moment Lilith felt disoriented and wanted to dive into an explanation of the looming danger, which, according to what she just witnessed, meant a feast for Rosehead's newborn baby, or both of them, though Lilith seriously doubted it could harm her mother who'd easily rip apart anyone bold enough to try.
"Gabby, love? Something wrong?" came from the corridor. By the sound of it, Daniel, slow to wake up, searched for his slippers.
"Why are you dressed?" Gabby grilled her daughter.
"Would you rather me strip naked?"
They were back to their usual familial exchange of affectionate pleasantries.
"I asked you a question, missy."
Hand on Panther's muzzle, Lilith racked her brain for a passable story, until it hit her, simple yet brilliant.
"My apologies for not answering right away, Mother." She cleared her throat. "According to the latest research, adolescent children with mental disorders such as mine tend to sleepwalk. The stress of facing a strange doctor tomorrow morning, a doctor with whom I haven't gotten acquainted yet, wouldn't let me sleep. I thought it would be embarrassing if I was found patrolling the halls in the middle of the night in my pajamas. I feared it would only add to the scurrilous gossip that is already circulating about me among grandfather's guests, who also happen to be our relatives, as you have mentioned. My temerity is at fault here, mother. I apologize profusely for rousing you out of bed. How rancorous of me, wouldn't you say?" Lilith looked up innocently. This was by far the longest tirade she delivered uninterrupted, scoring not two, but three sophisticated words.
She let go of Panther's muzzle. He yapped approvingly.
Gabby tugged at her hair, eyes darting to her husband, who just appeared.
"Pup, you all right?" He rubbed his face.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Dad. Just a little nervous about tomorrow," said Lilith truthfully, thinking about the impossible task of talking to pregnant Rosehead, and the equally impossible task of sneaking out of the house undetected.
"You see what I meant now? She should've taken the pills. How exactly do you propose we keep her awake for tomorrow's session? I can't reschedule it, Daniel. I told you it would happen. You should've listened to me, you should've—"
Daniel cut her off. "Pup, if you want to sleep in your clothes, it's okay. We understand. Dogs do it all the time."
Gabby silently sizzled.
Daniel paid her no mind. "Panther loves sleeping in his fur, don't you, buddy?"
Panther stared. It was the first time he was addressed directly in the presence of all the Bloom family members.
"Dad, in case you've forgotten, I'm almost thirteen, not five?" said Lilith.
"Ah? Yes, sure, pup. Just an allegory, is all." He scratched his chin.
A painful second passed.
Lilith worked up the courage to tell her parents everything she learned, yet words deserted her. She chewed on a lock of hair. Daniel nudged his wife. They exchanged an unspoken sentiment, clearly the result of a late night talk about proper parenting techniques.
Gabby hastily recomposed her face. "Lilith, would you like us to put you back to bed?" she said in a small voice.
"Yes. I'd like that, actually. Me and Panther, please." She climbed under her blankets. The whippet wagged his tail at the prospect of spending yet another night away from Bär and burrowed himself in between pillows.
After exchanging a few intense whispers, both parents sat on either side of the bed and properly tucked their daughter in.
Lilith hugged Panther, feeling his warmth and grinning happily. If this was what it took, she thought, she'd be glad to travel to her grandfather's mansion and go through the pain of solving his garden's mystery again and again, as many times as it took, to arrive at this moment. To feel normal, to feel loved and cared for. For a few minutes, they were a real family. Nobody mentioned her sickness, nobody scolded her, and nobody gave her pitiful looks or fed her pills or tried to take away her best friend.
By an unspoken signal, both parents kissed her on either cheek and quietly left the room.
Panther's nose steadily puffed into her hair. Lilith thought this night deserved to be called the best of her family reunion so far. Exhausted by the investigation and their dreadful discovery, she drifted into a dreamless sleep.