Chapter 5

A garden more beautiful than any other garden I'd ever seen. It felt like happiness, joy, freedom and everything good. It was filled with ecstasy. It was then that I realized that wind was a free being when it welcomed me. The place had something nostalgic about it.

This was the place where Alex wanted to bring me so we had to cross the forest of darkness. This was the meeting place. I looked at Alex with disbelief. He said that there was no way to enter here and yet here I was roaming around this forbidden place.

He replied with a smile 'Didn't I say it waned you to visit it'

I asked 'But you said there was no way to enter' 

He corrected me 'I only said that it was sealed away I never mentioned anything about having no other way to enter it'

I still wasn't satisfied 'but didn't you say that nobody could ever enter?'

He didn't want to answer the question 'who cares we're here now.' He was right we were here in this mystical garden who cares how we got here what matters is that we are here so we should make the most of it.

Everything was so musical about the garden. It was in full bloom but there was still something that was bothering me like sharp pain tingling in the most deep dark part of my heart. Something was calling me like in the morning. I didn't know who it was or even what it was but I found myself getting more drown to it.

The voice kept singing and I kept walking. Suddenly the voice stopped. When I could finally feel my body and mind I found myself in front of a small white house. Something was locked in there I could feel it. That was what was calling me. I could feel the sadness from it. It was scared and hurt. It wished to be freed from this prison within its own heart. It called out to me out of loneliness.

I don't know what I hopped for but when I opened the door to the white building and saw that there was nothing but only a stone casket it disappointed me.

Castial was surprised by my strange behaviour and so was I but Alex thought nothing of it or so I first thought. As soon as Alex laid his eyes on the crackled casket his eyes filled with unbearable pain.

He kept looking at it like he could see the person inside. A somewhat sad silence filled the room till Castial broke it by announcing that it was already evening.

Alex tore his eyes or one could say his heart from the casket and finally looked at us. I thought he was going to cry but he didn't. He first said a few words to the one lying in the casket and then was ready to return with us.

On our way back Castial accompanied us so we had no problems as he knew his way around the forest. We kept silent the whole time we were in the forest. I found it difficult to talk to him about anything but the question was burning in my mind. I snuck up to Castial and asked him 'Whose casket was that? And why did that person calm down after Alex's visit?' On my second question Castial was a bit surprised though he didn't question me about it.

He simply answered keeping his voice in a low whisper 'the oracle; you've heard of her haven't you?'

I answered 'yes' but how did he know.

'It was the Oracle's grave' he said not thinking how strange it sounded.

'What?!' I raised my voice unconsciously.

He keeping his voice down said 'Come to me tomorrow at the school garden during lunch break I'll tell you the rest of the story…..' At that Alex walked right past us pulling Castial right along with him like he was following our conversation all along and didn't wish for us to continue any further.

When we returned everyone kept staring at us passing snarky comments but they only did that because they didn't know it was us. Happy as I was being criticized by those mere 'minions' displeased Castial.

Alex was still sad so he shut himself up in his room as soon as we got back. Uncle Pete was pleasantly surprised to see Castial with us. He was very curious to know about our tour so he kept knocking Alex's door till Castial told him that Alex had just returned from forsaken building which was the nickname they gave to white house.

Uncle's expression changed at once. His expression got gloomier but I liked my Uncle's idiotic side more so I quickly changed the subject and started telling him about all the places we went to today.

I was about to ask him about the casket when Castial interrupted us by informing him Ms Sophie our consular was calling for him. Uncle didn't even ask him how he heard that. He just left after getting informed.

Castial passed me a note which said not to tell about our meeting to anyone especially my Uncle and Alex.

It made no sense to pass a note at this distance but before I could tell him that he put a finger on his lips as a way of asking me to not say anything.

I was curious enough to keep quiet so I agreed.

 He stayed for supper though he didn't eat much. My Uncle didn't return after the last time he departed and as for Alex he was still locked up in his room.

It was almost around midnight now and Castial sill insisted to stay till he knew Alex was feeling alright. I knew he was being considerate towards his friend but I still wanted him out.

Right when I was trying to think of a way to send him away someone knocked the bedroom door. When I opened the door it was Jenny. What was she doing here? And also at the middle of the night. I had many questions but the most surprising thing was the expression on Castial's face when he saw Jenny. Anybody could tell by the tension in the air that they knew each other. When Jenny entered the room Castial's eyes went blank with sadness and guilt.

Jenny asked him to leave but Castial objected 'Alex just returned from visiting the grave in the forsaken place' That was enough to let her make her change the firm expression she was using to talk to Castial.

She ordered him to leave for she was here now so there was nothing to worry. Castial didn't want to but he still listened to her. He left without a word.

I couldn't believe what I had just witnessed that the great Castial was being ordered by none other than Jenny.

Jenny seemed different now. I was so mesmerised by her change it took me a while to realize that she was in my room and also knew I shared it with Alex.

I asked her everything that came into my head 'What are you doing here and so late and how do you even know Castial and how do you know about the forsaken place and…..' She cut me off.

She told me that my Uncle had asked her to look after me for the night for Alex was in no shape to do so.

I asked her how did she even know my Uncle?

She sat down on my bed and started explaining everything 'He is someone I know from a long time ago and even if I hate both Castial's and Alex's guts I still have to work with them in taking care of you'.

What she said was something I didn't expect from her 'But weren't you Alex's fan just yesterday?'

She gave me a look of disbelief 'His fan?! I hate him with all my might I only did that because there were so many students on the train so I acted like one of those geeky art students so that I didn't intrigue anybody's interest in me '.

She was already lying on my bed so I joined her. Even though she seemed so less warm from yesterday when I hugged her I could feel she was very kind. The whole night as the thunder ravaged the sky she kept holding on to me.

Unlike Alex she didn't say anything to calm me down though she kept telling me that it was only a clash between two stupid cloud heads in a very sarcastic way but I could sense her uneasiness each time lightning struck. She kept hugging me and caressed my hair. It felt very comfortable and soon I calmed down. To take my fear away she told me that each time a lightning hit somewhere it lost a bit of its energy so by that we knew that it will soon diminish.

Knowing that was comforting but the reason why I hated thunder wasn't because of the lightning. I hated it because of the dark memories it held for me. Though I didn't mention it to her she somehow noticed.

She said that we become less afraid of something if we share it with someone.

These memories were dark and disclosed in my heart. I dare not open them even to myself better yet I started telling her about them.

And she was right after telling her about them I felt a lot lighter. I felt even better when she reminded me that those days were gone so there really was no point in holding on to them. It made so much sense. I was so trapped by my past that I forgot that if all of those things that happened hadn't happened I would've never met my Uncle. I would've never found myself.

For the first time in my thunder didn't remind me of the savaged past but gave me a hope for a better tomorrow and if the tomorrows were as beautiful as the mornings here in the Phantom valleys than the thunder was a good thing it made us see something beautiful in a more beautiful way. It made us appreciate it more.

Jen sang me a sweet lullaby which took away all of my fears and I had fallen asleep without realising it.

In the middle of the night I woke up but I couldn't come out of the bed because the atmosphere was so heavy. Alex was out of his room and Jenny and he were discussing something or more like Jenny was warning him. I didn't eavesdrop on them on purpose but I couldn't fall asleep nor get out of bed because of the condition so I just hid under my blanket pretending to sleep.

I could clearly hear what she was telling him.

She warned him to keep away from me.

He objected 'And who are you to tell me that?'

'You know who I am and what I will do if it's for her' she said with an angry grunt. 

He pointed out to her 'You say she's your best friend but you conceal you true identity from her'

She said trying to calm herself down 'What about you? I'm just waiting for the right time to tell her and anyway what I hide from her has nothing to do with an outsider like you'

Alex sarcastically said 'You say you don't approve of me and yet you let your barrier down when we last visited your shrine and even accepted the offerings I offered to you'

She became a bit uneasy 'That was because it is my duty'

Alex proclaimed 'you say it's your duty but in reality you already know that I'm the only one who's perfect for her' and because of what he claimed I just knew if I continued to eavesdrop on them I'd end up hearing something I wasn't suppose to so that made me nervous and my heart started pounding like crazy.

They noticed something because all the tension in the air just disappeared. Jenny was returning to bed but before that she warned him again 'She's not her you shouldn't expect her to be like her. They are different people even if they are the same they are still far from one. And the next time you see her don't show Alice your pitiful emotions. She's but only a girl if we hit her with that much info she'll resist it so we have to ease into it. So the next time when you go to the forsaken place return as your normal self remember you exist for her sake now for that child has gone through so much that I don't want to see her get hurt. You get what I'm trying to tell you don't you Alexander?'

All Alex did was agree with her 'I do….' And his voice drifted into a silence.

When Jenny joined the bed again she ran her fingers through my hair and I fell asleep instantly.

That day I felt like I heard something I shouldn't have.

~END of Chapter 5~

First uncle pete and now jen, why does everyone keep telling alex to stay away.