The Word Sanctuary

Part 2

When Emmy's world came back into focus, she found herself on the ground, facing the sky.

She brought her head up, only to see the woman looking around. "Thank goodness that worked out. Nowadays, it's harder to pass through." She looked down at Emmy. "Oh, there you are. Come, come, quickly. We have much to do."

What do you mean? Emmy wondered. But her question was quickly answered with a glance at her surroundings.

Hundreds, maybe even thousands of words surrounded her. It was most peculiar to see so many around. But the most peculiar part was that they were all on plants. All around her, words grew from the ground. It was like she was in a garden. She looked up and saw that she was in a dome. The whole garden grew under the dome. The air around her was warm, and she smelt amazing smells all around her: cinnamon, sugar, and even rosemary.

Even more strange was that she felt at home there.

"Come along," said the woman, leading her towards a patch of words.

Who are you? Emmy asked in thought.

"Oh, pardon me. I forgot introductions. My name is Mira, and I am a Protector of the Word Sanctuary. You are?"

Emmaline, Emmy for short. Why are there words growing like plants out of the ground?

"Because these are special plants, not ones that can grow in your world. We are in a special place, one outside your planet. It isn't part of this universe though. It's... difficult to explain."

So... like a new dimension?

"Well... okay, but it's not a whole universe or anything. It's more like a domain."

Emmy nodded, though still a bit confused. She hoped a better look at this "domain" would answer her further questions.

Mira led her through many other plant groups, many that astounded her. In fact, this whole experience was startling. She wondered if her mother had been apart of any of this.

She saw the garden of words of home, the earth, life, and many others. It seemed like the theme was of words to describe strong feelings.

But as she and Mira went deeper into the garden, it seemed as though it was getting colder. The wonderful smells got fainter until they were no more than a wispy scent. Some of the plants had begun to wilt into black ashes.

But scariest of all was when Mira led Emmy into the most important words in the garden: the words of love. There, plants of hate had begun to grow. In the middle of it all was the same tree she'd seen before, the one in her world, the one with the same sharp words. Only this trees' leaves were different.

They each had the word LOVE written in beautiful cursive on them.

But the plants surrounding the tree seemed to want to destroy those words.

Tears welled up in Emmy's eyes. If her mother was apart of this, she must have wanted to make a difference. Emmy did too.

Mira sighed. "Things are not going so well for us. The Weeds, words of hatred, are creeping up on this sanctuary. Plants are dying. Your mother, Annabelle, risked her life to buy us some time. As a Protector, she used all her life force to put a shield around this garden. The shield was weak, but she promised it would last until someone who could fight off Hate when it came. I'm sure she thought that was you."

But if we hadn't moved here yet, how did she come?

"There are places all around the world where a Protector could enter. Each state in the USA has one, each leading to a different part of the domain. Yours, the one in Michigan, led to the section about death. This one here is the most important, though."

So... Dad doesn't know about this yet?

"No."

Emmy didn't like this. She felt as though her mother had been hiding things from her father. And her father had always acted strangely when she went on her "errands"; he'd go and hide out in his workshop, where he was an inventor. Although, as Emmy pondered this, it seemed like the best thing to do. Her father wouldn't believe her if she told him.

"Annabelle and I were very good friends, and I'm positive she meant you were the one. Will you be a Protector?"

Mira's eyes were pleading. And Emmy wanted to help.

Okay, she said. I'll help.

And help she would.