The Secret Garden of Ravenwood

Chapter 2: Under Lock and Key

As Avery woke up the next morning, she could not get the garden out of her mind. Her dreams were filled with thoughts of the gate, the crows looming in the background, and the twisted trees hiding the secrets that lie within. It was like the garden was calling to her, she couldn't help but feel the need to explore it. It was decided, she had thought to herself, she was going to find a way in. She would uncover the secrets of the garden.

She quickly made her way downstairs after she pulled on some clothes, ready to get the day started and find her way into the garden. Grandma Jane was sitting in the dining room, sipping her tea as she read the morning newspaper. When Avery walked in, she gave her a smile "Good morning, dear. Help yourself to some breakfast and juice. I am about to head into town to do some shopping, but you are welcome to stay here and explore some more."

"Good morning, Grandma Jane, and thank you," Avery replied with an excited smile. "Do you know anything about the key to the garden? Or why it is locked up? I want to try to get in." She grabbed one of the bagels that lay on a tray in the center of the dining room table.

Grandma Jane looked a bit somber, setting down her newspaper. She took a long sip of tea before saying, "I'm afraid that the garden has been locked up for a long time, ever since your great-grandmother passed away when I was a little girl. No one has been in there since." She seemed a bit sad, but Avery didn't know if it was about the garden or about her mother.

Avery looked a bit discouraged, but she knew that the key must be somewhere in the house, which was something that she could work with. She quickly finished the rest of her bagel before asking, "Do you have any idea where I might find the key to get inside the garden?"

Grandma Jane sighed and shook her head no, "I'm afraid I don't know. I haven't been in that garden in years. When my mother died, it was like the garden itself locked away from the house. I haven't seen the keys since the last time I went inside, and that was with my mother. I have no idea where she would have put the key, if she had put it anywhere."

Avery felt disappointed, but she wasn't going to let something as simple as a missing key stop her from getting inside and seeing what the garden looked like. She chugged down a glass of orange juice before making her way into the backyard over towards the garden. She walked around the perimeter of the wall, checking to see if there were any other ways inside or a place where a key would be hidden.

When she found nothing, she sighed and made her way back to the gate. She gently grabbed the lock, examining it to see what type of key it may need. The lock was old and rusty, like it might come off with a bit of force. That gave her an idea, so she made her way away from the garden and past the entrance to the house towards the other path that led around the house to the front.

When she saw the old storage shed, she grinned a bit. She hoped she could find a pair of bolt cutters, or even a hammer, so she could bust the lock to get inside. Her excitement to get inside the shed died when she noticed that there was a lock on the shed door as well. She groaned and kicked the door in frustration, just making the lock squeak but the door stayed in place.

She turned and looked around, trying to find any way that she could make her way into the shed. She glanced down the road and saw a flash of curly brown hair in between the trees. She contemplated it for a moment before making her way down to road to the other huge house.

"Hey, Leo!" Avery called out to Leo who was working in the garden. "Can you come over to my house for a second?"

Leo glanced up and pulled off his gloves, wiping the dirt off of his pants as he stood up, "Sure, what's going on?"