Roses

The Garden

     I open my eyes to the sun blinding me. I shut my eyes tightly and groan. I sit up and stretch, getting myself ready for the new day. I look around and remember everything that happened last night. I sighed and stood up to look for Aspen. She was nowhere to be seen. I walked over to a window and looked outside. There was a giant garden surrounded by trees. It had all sorts of flowers and plants in it. There was a row of fruit trees in the back. I noticed an old man watering some flowers. He was bald and had a crooked nose. He seemed to enjoy the tending to the plants. The bedroom door opened and Aspen stepped in. "Good morning!" She said, "Come, I want to show you to your new room." She took my hand and led me down the halls to a door. She stopped and allowed me to open the door. Inside was a black room, with three windows. It had windows on the ceiling with a chandelier in the middle of all of them. The bed had white pillows with black sheets and a blanket. The floor was dark wood and the room was lit with candles. You could see the garden from here. Or maybe the garden wrapped around the whole church? I thanked Aspen. "I'll leave you to get settled, if you need any help, just ask anyone around." She smiled and left.

I looked around the room more, It had a bathroom that connected to the room. The bathroom had the same aesthetic as the rest of the room. I opened the closet to see a plethora of outfits and dresses. I decided to try some on and see which one I wanted to wear. The first one was a simple sleeveless black dress that went just above my knees. The second was a longer dress with long puffy sleeves that were see through. The third outfit was some simple jeans with a black crop top with long sleeves. I decided to stick with the third outfit. I found a pair of simple gray socks and put them on, followed by a pair of black boots.

I left my room and decided to explore the church. There were a lot of stained glass windows of satanic popes and silver demons. The church was big and very easy to get lost in. I stopped one of the satanic nuns. "Hey, could you possibly lead me outside? I want to see the garden." She smiled. "You're the new girl aren't you?" I nodded. "Follow me!" She said, I followed her to some big doors. "Here you go!" She said before leaving. I opened the doors to the blinding sun. My eyes adjusted to the light and I looked around. Just like I saw before it had many different types of flowers and trees. The old man I saw earlier was still there. I approached him. "Hello sir!" I spoke. He looked over at me and smiled. "You're a new face. What's your name sunshine?" He said, his voice was gentle and caring. He had one white eye and one a greenish blue. "Flora. It's nice to meet you." He smiled softly. And set his watering can down. He held my hand and gently pressed his lips to my knuckles. "It's wonderful to meet you Flora. You can just call me Primo. Or Papa if you prefer." I smiled at him. "It's nice to meet you too Papa. Is this your garden?" He chuckled. "No, the ministry owns the garden. I just tend it." He leans down and picks one of the flowers and offers it to me. "Oh, thank you!" I held the flower up to my nose and sniffed it. It had the most beautiful smell. "Flora!" I hear from behind me. I turn around to see Aspen running up to me. "I see you've met Primo." She smiled. "Papa, if you wouldn't mind, I need to steal her for a second." Aspen said, holding my hand. Primo nodded. "Of course. You two have fun." He waved as we walked off.