The Girl in the Garden

Chapter 15

Ben stood and stared at the girl for what felt like too long. She just smiled and locked her eyes on his. Surprisingly, he couldn't tell if the feeling she inspired in him was happiness or terror. Despite her strange moonlit glow, she looked like an ordinary little girl, but her smile was off-putting. Her teeth looked... too sharp. He tried not to think about it but found that as they stared at each other, his eyes insisted on slipping south down her face to those pointed teeth.

Finally, the girl made a sound that seemed to snap everyone from a trance. She giggled and tucked her hair behind her ears as she looked down at the music box in Ben's hands. Ben recognized a sort of hunger in her eyes despite her innocent appearance. "You found the music," she said, "I knew you would if I pointed you in the right direction."

"Who are you?" He asked. "Why were you locked up in here?"

"Why don't you two come to my comfy place, and we can talk some more?" She turned and started walking away, only stopping when it was clear the boys weren't following. "Coming?" She asked.

Sparrow nervously leaped into the air and scrambled after the girl, turning back to Ben when he got to her side. He motioned for him to join them, but Ben felt something holding him back.

Again two distinct responses were brewing inside Ben. On the one hand, it seemed foolish to come this far and not keep going. This was the moment he was working for; it should be a no-brainer to follow her. On the other hand, a part of his mind wouldn't stop screaming at him to escape. To turn around, and run as fast as he could, and lock the door behind him.

"I... I guess we got the door open," Ben finally said, "we might as well keep going." As he stepped further into the garden, he recognized that a feeling of confidence was brewing inside him. He put a hand to his stomach as if the feeling generated heat that he could feel through his skin. He noticed the girl peeking at him as she led the way through overgrown footpaths.

"This is a magical place. It feels good, doesn't it?" She said as if she knew what he was feeling.

"Magical?" Ben asked.

"I told you, come with me, and I'll answer your questions." She moved slowly as she walked deeper into the garden, but her movements were fluid and graceful. She brought them to a place that Ben assumed was in the middle of the garden, a circle of untouched dirt where walking paths and overgrown flower beds converged. "There, doesn't that feel better?"

Ben looked at the mounds of dirt under his feet, then around him at the dead and dreary garden. The girl had described this as a 'comfy place,' but it seemed like the least welcoming part of the whole garden. "Sure, it feels great," he lied, trying to move the conversation along before they would have to sneak back inside. "Now, can you tell me who you are? Are you... some kind of prisoner here? Why were you locked in?"

The girl's head tilted to one side, and she smiled a happy smile. "You do have a lot of questions, just what is the old man teaching these days, anyway? Nothing, I suppose, and that's the problem. Let's start with your first question." She spun around, and the ruffles of fabric that made up her gleaming dress appeared to sparkle like the stars. "I'm a fairy," she said as if that should be obvious.

Ben snorted and shook his head. "A fairy? You think I believe that?"

"Of course you do, somewhere deep inside." The girl started dancing, spinning in elegant circles around Ben and Sparrow. "Think about it, Ben. Has anything... strange ever happened to you?"

The hairs on the back of Ben's neck raised, and he put a hand over them in an awkward gesture. "What do you mean, strange?" Ben asked.

"I don't know, maybe you're really good at finding lost money on the street, or you can hold your breath for way too long... or maybe someone did something bad to you, and they got hurt?"