The Garden of Eternal Spring

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠

Once upon a time, there was a farm boy named Kasin who had found himself lost deep in the woods. As he pondered his predicament he stumbled across a beautiful garden. The farm boy noticed many flowers of dazzling beauty; primrose and hyacinth, daffodil and tulip. What caught his eyes most, however, was what stood in the centre of the garden. High on a pedestal for all to see stood a golden maiden.

Struck by a cupid's arrow, the two were drawn to each other under a mutual connection. The Golden Maiden and her farm boy lover planned to escape the garden together but they were thwarted by the sinister Flower Prince, he who ruled the garden of everlasting spring. He learned of their plan, taking Kasin away and making the Golden Maiden forget about her love. Then the Flower Prince decreed that all the flowers must promise not to tell the Golden Maiden of his wicked deeds. All except roses as they had yet to bloom.

The Golden Maiden lived in blissful ignorance until one day she stumbled on a whispering rose. The red blossoms talked of the Flower Prince's crime and recovered the Golden Maiden's lost memories. The Golden Maiden began to cry. Fear grew at the outcome of her lover. What had the Flower Prince done to him?

Her tears washed away the dirt beneath the rose and revealed a writhing worm. The worm told the Golden Maiden that it could see all the dead while it was under the earth, and the farm boy was not among them. Relieved but still unsure, the Golden Maiden asks the other flowers what they knew.

Hyacinth oh hyacinth, peaceful and cute, speaks of nothing but gossip and pranks.

Primrose oh primrose, brilliant and bold, tells her of things she already knows.

Tulip oh tulip, resilient and sweet, gave her three kisses and a petal to keep.

Daffodil oh daffodil, forgiving and kind, they tell her of her lover.

He waits for her beyond the walls that divide them.

The Golden Maiden gives her farewells to the flowers and flees the eternal garden of spring. Past the wall of stone and hedge, she finds the farm boy waiting. Time had taken his youth. Decades had passed since he ventured inside the garden of immortal beauty.

However, the Golden Maiden did not care for an eternity lived for what she felt from her farm boy was a lifetime's worth of love. She sprang into the arms of her lover. Age wrinkled her skin, weakening bones and greying her hair. The farm boy was overjoyed at the return of his love.

And so Cornelia the Golden Maiden and Kasin the Farm Boy lived happily ever after.

A.N. For context, this is a reupload. It was originally part of a fairy tale book I wrote but I've since scrapped it.