A New Precious

Chapter 22

The next day, Aaliyah decided to show Máiréad her special forest. She led us both through the grove of trees that opened up to the hidden paradise. Máiréad was immediately in awe.

"Oh, my gosh," she sighed, "this place is so gorgeous!"

"Isn't it?" Aaliyah agreed.

Máiréad looked around at all the colorful flowers and rocks, the emerald green trees, the pure blue water, and all the animals living in harmony, rather than hunting, killing, running, and hiding from one another. She listened to the sound of the birds singing together, and could not help but smile. "Wow... it's like a choir. I've never heard anything like it before. And, everything is so colorful and pretty. It's like visual sensory heaven. I love colors. And, all the animals are actually friends? I mean, what is this place? Are we still on Planet Earth, or did we get transported to some magical paradise planet?"

Aaliyah laughed. "Well, technically, we're still on Earth, but... this is a place that only I have access to. It's a safe haven. Only people I choose to share it with know about it. Sméagol's the only other one who knows about this forest."

"Wait, what?" Máiréad was confused.

"Máiréad, I don't tell people about this, because well, it's just hard to explain, but I want you to know."

We stopped near a small pond, and sat on a large bench made out of colorful stones.

She continued. "I'm... an angel."

Máiréad's eyes widened, and her mouth fell open in complete wanderment. "An angel?"

Aaliyah nodded. "I brought Sméagol here from Middle Earth, because he needed a fresh start. I'll let him tell you his story if he wants to, but... Middle Earth is... another world, I guess you can say."

"Oh, yeah. Sméagol told me he was from Middle Earth, but he said it was hard to explain where it is."

"That's because you can't get there by driving or boating or plane. You have to be transported to and from there. Actually, you have to be transported from the afterlife, which is where I found Sméagol."

"Now, I'm lost."

"Well... Sméagol died in Middle Earth. He had a really rough life, really rough. I found him in the afterlife when he died. I knew his story. I knew everything about him, and I knew he deserved and needed a second chance at life. I couldn't send him back to Middle Earth, so I had to bring him here. This house we're staying in, it's my house. It was given to me by the Angel Council. Everything is paid for, so nobody I allow to live here has to pay any rent, not unless they want to, but it's not necessary. This forest is a safe haven. Everything here is peaceful and friendly and safe. Nothing that lives here ever dies. The animals, the flowers, the trees, they're all immortal, and any time you pick a flower, it regenerates. If you take any rocks with you, they regenerate here."

"Are you supposed to take things from here?"

"Oh, it's totally okay to take what you want, because like I said, it just regenerates. So, if you pick flowers, the ones you picked stay alive, and new ones immediately generate in their place. This is where we found Kessie, actually."

"Really?"

"Yep. Sméagol found her."

"Poor thing fell out of her nest," I chimed in. "She breaksed her wing."

"You can still get hurt here," Aaliyah added, "but nothing here is fatal. The animals here heal quickly, and if you get hurt here, you'll heal really quick, too."