A Ghoul in the Making by Ryder Frost

Chapter 4: A Very Interesting Conversation

NOTE: This is a longer chapter and I apologize for that, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Things are going slower than planned, life has been chaos. 

As you walk, you begin to hum an old tune one that your dad used to sing to you. Taking in the many plants along the pathways. There are tulips, daisies, rose bushes, and some topiaries. Stopping at a particular topiary of a masked figure, with horns coming from his forehead and a tail wrapped around his leg, this intrigues you, it seemed like he was wearing the same outfit you had on, he was also built like yourself, boxy shoulders, and long muscled legs. Blinking, your eyes once again do that zooming in thing, and you can see the inscription on the topiary. Fire Ghoul Alpha. "Ghoul?" "Yes, that's one of my brother Primo's ghouls."

You jump, not realizing you had spoken aloud. "What is a Ghoul?" "They're our musicians, they tour with us, some of them had a close relationship with a particular brother and Fire, also called Alpha, was Primo's favorite, they did a lot together over the years up until Primo retired and Secondo took over. As far as I know and he stayed up until well, you know the rest." He trailed off and you nod.

"He sounds like he was an amazing ghoul." "They all were." Putting your hands in your pockets, you continue walking down the path, taking in how vast these gardens were. "You put a lot of work into this place." "It was Primo's garden, and I just kept up on it as the years rolled on, I added things like fountains and seating to make it a place for everyone here to enjoy. The original is sectioned off a bit further up the path. "I'll show you, come." You blush at how he said that last word and he winks, quirking a brow at him rolling your eyes you follow him. With that attitude it's no wonder people flock to his shows. Arriving at the large wrought iron gate, it's a smaller area and the same G symbol is on it, the gate is well oiled and doesn't squeak when Copia opens it. He gestures for you to step inside, following, you walk into the small area and look up, the trees are casting a nice shade with little sparks of sunlight shining through the canopies, inhaling deeply, the heady aroma of Lilac bushes and Hydrangeas makes you smile. Opening your eyes, you see that there is a red bench, that looks like granite under the tallest tree, an oak by the looks of it, the large trunk looks as if it's stood a test of time, you touch it and feel the rough bark and that it's warm from the sun. The leaves shake in the small breeze seeming to whisper. "This tree is massive; I've never seen one so big." Copia smiles. "It's been here since the Ministry was built, my brother decided to plant his garden around it and put his bench under it." You nod, Copia sits on the bench, gesturing for you to sit next to him. You sit but once you realize how close you are, you decide to just sit on the grass and lay back in the shade looking up through the leaves, your eyes dance taking in the various patterns of the sunlight.

"This is a beautiful place; how come you have it sectioned off?" He clears his throat and seems to think it over. "I wanted a place that I could come and be by myself, sometimes, running things can get overwhelming and a man just needs a place to clear his head and it also keeps me close to my brothers, we'd play here as children when Sister Imperator wasn't badgering us about studying." He chuckled at that, and you lift yourself up on your elbow finding yourself more relaxed than you've been in days. You look back up at the sky and see birds flitting in between the sun bursts in the leaves and your eyes once again do that zooming thing and this time it doesn't freak you out, you just accept it and begin to daydream about what it might mean. It occurs to you that you could ask but you scoff at how stupid that would be. "Something wrong Ryder?" Shaking your head, no, you just decide to ask him and see what he says. "No, but I am wondering, it seems like after breakfast, particularly, after that last cup of coffee, my eyes are acting funny." He inhales sharply. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know they kind of zoom in on things when I look at them, I thought it was just my imagination, but it's been happening off and on since." Trailing off, blushing, you stop talking. He's quiet a moment and you begin to wonder if you sound like a psycho and should just be committed.