Chained.

Chapter 21

"Hey..." you say awkwardly, trying to break the unbearable silence of the hallway. Shit, I have to tell him that I lost my job... oh no. "Hello dear.. how are you doing today?" He asks, letting your arm go and placing his hand back onto his cane. "I'm fine, I was just about to-" Alastor interrupts you by placing a finger on his mouth and shushing you. "Shh.. no need for details dear, we have much time for that later. Come, let's walk." He grins, placing his hand on the small of your back as a gesture for you to walk forward. You look at the hallway full of construction beams and fallen walls, then back at him with a confused expression.

"Huh? How are we going to walk anywhere there's barely any space to-" he interrupts you again by tapping his cane down two times, his spell book appearing in front of him. You laugh awkwardly and back away a little, trying to create space between you and his.. magic. "I don't think i have anything to do with this..." you chuckle nervously, taking a few steps back. "Don't worry I'm not going to spell you dear, I'm just making it easier for us to go for a stroll." He smiles widely, flipping the pages of his book and brushing his finger against one of the writings, picking it up as if it was some sort of object, black and purple swirls circling the tip of his finger as he points it in front of him, "portal please.." he states, snapping his fingers as if the spell could hear him.

To your surprise, a portal opens up in front of him, leaving you in slight shock as you look inside the portal to find a beautiful garden. With beautiful red roses and fireflies, a pond with a little bridge, and a beautiful path that seemed to go on for hours around the garden, blue and violet flowers blooming in bushes, willow trees decorating the beautiful space giving it a magical touch, you stare in awe and take a few steps forward, your eyes traveling everywhere around the garden. "Alastor, this is beautiful.." you gush, placing a foot inside the portal, soft velvety grass greeting it, making you gasp. "Go on now,don't be shy." He gestures with a chuckle, walking inside of the portal with you.

"Wow.. how, who did.. all of this??" You ask in awe, your hands sliding over the soft rose petals, a familiar honey roses scent coming from them. Alastor stiffens a bit at the question, his smile dropping the tiniest bit as he walks along with you. "Well.. if you must know, it was my beautiful Miriam's garden on earth." He smiles, chuckling a bit at the sound of her name, his gaze shifting to the sky, almost in a daydream. "She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen y/n, I can tell you that." He chuckles, his eyes shifting to the beautiful pond. Your eyes drop a little too and you stop inspecting the roses, your gaze shifting towards him.

"Oh.. did she pass before you did?.." you ask, a hint of sadness in your tone. Alastor sighs and nods, picking up a rose from the ground. "Yes.. it was from cancer.. when she died this garden was the only thing I had left of her." He sighs, staring at the rose. "It's as beautiful as she was." He smiles, a hint of sadness hidden in it. You nod in understanding as you walk towards the little bridge, a beautiful bench sitting on it. "But.. then why aren't you in heaven with her?.." you ask, your question making him stop in his tracks and turn to you with a sigh. "You see.. after she died, I wasn't the same person dear. I met the wrong people and I did some things I regret to this day." He chuckles sadly, sitting down on the bench overlooking the pond, you following behind him.

"And this garden.. is as close as I'll ever come to seeing her again." He says, looking at the pond, illuminated by the moonlight and fireflies. You take off your heels and hold them in your hand, your feet grazing the wooden bridge. After a moment of silence you speak again: "she must have really loved roses.." you chuckle, looking around the garden. "There's so many of them." You gush, looking at All the rouses surrounding the both of you, giving the garden a magical touch. "Yes she did. It was her favorite flower." He says mournfully, his eyes dropping a bit, his gas following the beautiful golden shadows illuminating the water beautifully, when you notice the colors starting to fade a bit, the roses becoming paler by the second.