The Girl in the Garden

Chapter 13

Ben sat up in his window for hours, waiting for Sparrow. He looked out into the darkness to the place where he knew the garden was, even if he couldn't see it without the light of the sun. He and Sparrow had promised to figure out what was going on at Bramble Manor and to get the girl free, so while he waited, he repeated that promise to himself.

When the sun started to rise and the tall garden wall emerged from the night, he felt a longing to leave his room and run straight toward the mysterious barrier. He could hear the girl's tiny voice as it came to him on the wind, and it only served to strengthen his impulse to act.

Looking out his window in the other direction, he saw that the lake was sparkling with morning light when he heard Sparrow finally come into their apartment. Ben peeked his head out into the common room and saw his friend, shoulders slouched with exhaustion. "How'd it go?" He asked, and Sparrow groaned.

"Auntie Kestra was mad, really mad."

"Was she yelling at you this whole time?"

"Do you even need to ask?"

Ben moved closer to Sparrow and said, "Thanks, you know, for letting yourself get caught."

"Yeah, well, my aunt is easier to deal with than your uncle." Sparrow shrugged and went on. "Besides, it's just like I said; you were caught at the garden, it didn't make sense for you to get caught again."

"Either way, thanks."

Sparrow seemed uncomfortable with Ben's thanks. He shuddered and said, "What about the box?"

"I looked it over, there's a keyhole on the side, but I didn't try it yet. I figured you'd wanna be here for that."

Sparrow smiled and appeared to regain some of his overactive energy. He bounced around the room and said, "I think we should give it a try now."

Ben led the way into his bedroom, and Sparrow perched on the edge of his mattress. He got the box from under his bed and withdrew the key from its permanent home in his pocket. He took a seat across from Sparrow on the bed and put the box down between them.

"What do you think is inside?" Sparrow asked, and Ben noticed a sort of greedy excitement in the boy's eyes.

"I guess there's only one way to find out." Ben felt the key in his hand, examining the box one last time. This could be it, the moment that he cracked this mystery wide open. He liked the feeling of being on the edge of a great discovery like anything was possible.

"Come on!" Sparrow whined.

"Okay, okay, let's do this." Ben placed the key gently against the side of the keyhole. He held his breath as he slipped it in, a wave of joy building inside him as it clicked into place. "It fits!"

"Why are you doing this to me?" Sparrow demanded, "I need to know what's in there!"

Ben turned the key around once, and something inside the box clicked and sputtered. He turned the key, again and again, each time he felt the tension rising inside the box. He had turned the key over seven times in the box before something snapped inside and the box popped open.

He lifted the lid, and a small iron figure of a tree stood up from inside. It slowly spun on a series of gears as a gentle lullaby began to sweep up from deep inside the contraption. "It's a music box?" He asked, turning it over as if he might discover that it held some other secret.

"Why do you sound so disappointed?" Sparrow asked, and Ben felt like he looked far more excited than he should be.

"I thought... I don't know; maybe there'd be answers in here." As he listened to the song he thought it sounded familiar. It made him think of the golden bird, of the different song it sang by the garden.