Chapter 1

I fell victim to one of the most sinister evil sorceresses ever to roam on Earth. Brought up in a secluded forested enclave, I resided in a grand estate and grew up amidst the wild creatures that roamed the woods.

Though I had experienced opulence once, I was left indigent when a curse befell me. I carried the dark secret within my aching bosom in silence for months and hid away in the forest. Away from the prying eyes of those around me. I wanted to die in the forest and not be recognized for my disfigurement.

The curse on my youth and vigour was a cruel one. My beauty was reduced to horror as I grew older beyond my years and looked distorted, my skin wrinkled and resembled that of an ancient.

I was condemned to live the life of a diseased, ugly old woman by the sorceress, Tarantula, as deadly as her name suggested, who dwelled in the shadows of a magical garden deep within the woods.

No one from the outside world was allowed entry into the garden.

The owls that perched on trees in the dark of the night hooted away trespassers as a warning that an evil sorceress resided within its enclosure.

The sorceress had forbidden the wild animals from entering the garden, fearing they would shatter its pristine beauty. The whitest confetti of rose petals ever to be found anywhere covered the grounds, and no one was allowed to trample on them, man or beast. The sorceress was protective of the white rose in the garden as it held a magical secret, only known to her.

I was intrigued to know the secret and a wild bird that flew to my window one evening, told me the story. It came out of the woods to perch on the tree in our estate, then flew to sit on my window.

I asked the bird if it knew the secret of the white rose. I stood by the window as it perched on the windowsill, “Do you know the secret of the white rose? Have you ever flown in the enchanted garden, birdie? Why isn’t anyone allowed inside the garden?”

The bird chirped its reply as I listened to its story with interest,

“The sorceress had once upon a time, found a magical potion in the nectar of the rose and cast a spell on it, so when it bloomed, no one would dare pluck the flower off its stem. For whomsoever trespassed in the garden or went near the rose, would be met by tragic death, mauled by wolves and left to die in a pool of blood, their bones never to be found again. The wolves in the woods paid homage to the sorceress and guarded her with their lives.

The white rose outshined all the other flowers in the garden and possessed an allure potent enough to arouse the enchanted by its captivating charm. The white rose bewitched with its pristine and luminous petals and emitted a soft, ethereal glow that sometimes whispered the dark secrets of the garden.”

“One day, the rose whispered the secret to me when I flew past and warned me not to fly or perch on the trees there anymore.”

The white rose warned me thus,

“Beware of the wolves at night. They see everything while the sorceress hides in the shadows and watches with evil eyes.”

My intrigue and interest in the garden of the white rose grew and soon I was without patience as I slept and woke thinking about its secret day and night.

I decided to see if the garden possessed the magical allure everyone was talking about.

I walked into the garden when the owls were asleep one morning. The sight of the garden that greeted me filled me with inexplicable awe when I walked inside, I felt like I was walking on raised ground, that my feet floated above the soft earth.

The beautiful garden had a peaceful ambience, however as I entered further, an eerie feeling washed over me. I felt like I was being watched. Eyes were lurking behind the rose bush. I tried to see if it was an animal of some sort, however, though the eyes followed me wherever I went, it was too dark for me to see what it was.

I followed the scent of the fragrant rose as it was hidden from view at the first instance. All around huge leaves draped the trees in the garden and tiny white flowers grew upon their stems. They circled the trees like creepers since they were spineless and didn’t have the strength to stand upright without strong branches or stems to uphold them.

I walked past those trees and entered a tranquil surrounding. I saw the most magnificent view of a rose bush with a single white bud on a stem.

I stood gaping at the rose bush as if it held me transfixed by its virgin beauty.

” What’s this I see before me? A rose bush with a bud and leaves that cover the plant with neither thorns nor branches nor stems but for its root and the plant towers above.”

Then a strange thing happened as soon as the words left my lips.

A sudden gust of wind pushed me out of the garden and threw me down on the ground at the entrance. I thought someone pushed me as I felt a hand on me. Feeling afraid, I stood up quickly and looked around. I thought to leave the place immediately. Then, I heard water gushing through a stream nearby. There were a few large rocks by the stream and suddenly feeling parched, though overcome by fear, I went to sit on a rock. I drank from the stream and nearly choked. The water burned my throat, and I couldn’t swallow it, so I spat it out.

The leaves from the garden flew out and covered me as they came sprawling through the winds that pushed me. They swirled and rushed past me like a whirlwind and were suddenly gone.

I heard a loud screeching voice then. The voice reverberated throughout the forest. “How dare you walk into the garden, you inconsequential fool. Who are you and where did you appear from? Don’t you know that you have trespassed on my sacred grounds?”

I felt the strong winds surround me once more and I spun around like a top and fell off the rock. I spun so fast that I felt my insides turn upside down! My heartbeat accelerated and I couldn’t think clearly. What was happening? I was petrified by then.

I knew it was the work of the sorceress when her ugly laughter reverberated with the wind.

Then she slapped me hard on my right cheek, and I lay on the ground bleeding from my mouth. “You will never leave these grounds anymore,” she said wickedly. Then she was gone.

I lay there for hours, in a semi-conscious state. I felt the trickle of blood and it blotted the ground beside me.

When I at last awoke, it was sundown. I looked at my reflection in the water and saw not my face, but that of a disfigured old lady instead. I started crying and my cries sounded like the moan of a wild animal caught in a trap. I ran to hide behind the rocks.