Out From the Shadows

Chapter 9

I ask Ashton if we can visit a few places that I have always wished to go to.  The botanical garden off of Pine Street is a must and I consider giving the Diamond Bed Theatre a try. The carriage brings us to the gardens first. It's a building fully clothed in thick glass panes that let the sun light through for the plants. A brick path is escorted by hydrangeas to a circle in the middle of the building. A bench sits in the middle of the ring, another place dedicated to our royal highness. Since The Iris Botanical Garden is the largest of it's kind in the country, the queen has visited it at least once, earning itself the nickname: The Queen's Garden.

Other than the hydrangeas, more flowers like orchids, peonies, snapdragons, and irises exist within the walls. In the spring, caretakers leave the glass doors wide open; welcoming insects inside to pollinate. The roof can open up with a lever so that the rain can water the flowers and keep them vibrant and healthy. It doesn't rain too much here so the caretakers usually water the flowers by hand.  I receive all of this information from a pamphlet Ashton handed me when we started the tour. I am still taking in the facts, up until I feel a tap on my shoulder.

I whip me head around and Ashton is there; giving me a pleasant smile.  I am so excited to smell the flowers and enjoy the beauty that I automatically smile back. He looks pleased that I am joyful. I don't blame him, my earlier mood was probably melancholy.

We spend an hour on the tour. The guide showed us the expanse of greenery and explained the necessity of the garden. Some species of flowers were dying out because of the pollution in the air was killing all the insects. People haphazardly cleared land for towns and cities, ignoring the fact that they were causing certain species to go extinct. The queen saw this and decided to create many gardens throughout the country to protect the dying species. The Iris was created the biggest and most beautiful of them all. The end.

Our next trip leads us not to the theatre, but somewhere even better; a mall. The only stores I go to are for food; mama usually trades with other women in the neighborhood for everything else. This mall though, changes my whole perspective on shopping. Some stores are filled with dresses, others jewelry, and the occasional chocolate store. He holds my hand while I drag us around to each and every store. Some I just gaze at through the window; others I sprint inside to check out the merchandise.

One store, a jewelry store, caught my distracted attention. Gold and silver necklaces lay on red velvet cushions, the pendants and trinkets hanging on them unique. I spy topaz owls, lapis lazuli dolphins, and my favorite: an emerald tree. The bark is twisted chocolate gold and the leaves are tear-shaped emeralds. I stare at it, trying to imagine it resting on my chest and around my neck. These pleasantries are alien to me and in my old life, I probably would never even get to touch one. With Ashton, a lot of doors are now open to me that were closed before.

Ashton sees the interest I take in it and excuses himself for a moment; seeing as I'm busy enough not to need him. I don't watch him take his leave. I look around at the other necklaces, uninterested, waiting for Ashton. When three minutes pass, I search the crowd for him. The bathroom is just two stores down from here. What's taking him so long?

I don't panic at all, having been alone a lot at home. I catch myself, realizing my mistake. My home is with Ashton now, not with my parents.

Speaking of Ashton; I find him at the counter of the store. The letters on the glass had been blocking him.  He turns around and gives me his dazzling smile that makes me woozy. I smirk at him and he turns around and nods his head. I wheel around to head inside and see what this handsome devil is up to. We meet in the doorway and I check him out. A box is sitting open in his hand, the tree sitting peacefully in front of me. What throws me off is the thin gold ribbon hung in the branches of the tree. Some tiny, scripted words are engrave into the ribbon, stealing my breath.