The Eternal Doom

Chapter 10 Garden in the mist, Mr. Walter Albert,

The night in Ashland town was bowing down before the dim glimpse of dawn, but it was still dark. The mist was floating over; the dead leaves lay murmuring over the winding and sluggish paths going up and down as if reaching to the word of GOD. THE WOOD OF OAK TREES WAS DARKENED BY THE NUMBNESS OF FOG, AND THE RUSTY LEAVES OF THE BUSHES WERE ROLLING DOWN THE STEEP CLIFFS. GINGER HAD ALREADY GONE OUT EARLY, IN SEARCH OF A GARDENER, AS THE BUSHES OF ROSES WORRIED HIM. MR. WALTER HAD BEEN HUNCHED DOWN OVER HIS DESK SINCE THE PREVIOUS NIGHT, WRITING SOMETHING IN HIS DIARY, WHEN A SOUND AT THE DOOR DISRUPTED HIM, BREAKING HIS concentration, AS HE WAS RUNNING HIS PEN FREQUENTLY OVER THE DIARY. HE GOT UP FROM THE CHAIR, AS THERE WAS STILL KNOCKING AT THE DOOR, AND GINGER WASN'T THERE TO OPEN IT. "I'm COMING," HE SAID, REACHING CLOSE TO IT. HE UNBOLTED THE DOOR AND HIS EXPRESSION BECAME INSCRUTABLE, on discovering Mr. George, who was STANDING HOLDING A BLACK SUITCASE IN ONE OF HIS HANDS. "CAN I HAVE OUR OLD ROOM BACK, SO THAT I COULD STAY HERE WITH YOU, TO SHARE OUR ADOLESCENT WORLD TOGETHER AGAIN forever?"

FIRST THERE WAS A DEEP PAUSE OF EMOTION ON THE FACE OF MR. WALTER, THEN HE SAID, IN A SLOW YET MEEK VOICE, BRIMMING WITH BEAUTIFUL EMOTION

YET CONCEALING HIS AMAZEMENT, "George, my sad soul would be so glad to have someone back from the faded world of childhood."

THE DAWN WAS HIGHLIGHTED BY A GREY LIGHT which FELL DOWN IN THE PATCHES OVER THE PATHS OF ROCK AND GRASS, AS IF SOMEONE WERE SHINING A SPOTLIGHT OVER SOME of the PLACES. There GINGER FOUND HIMSELF STRUGGLING IN FINDING THE EXACT WAY TO FIND ANYONE WHOM HE COULD ASK FOR A GARDENER. BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, HE FOUND HIS STRUGGLE SO ADVENTUROUS, YET HE WAS LOST ON AN UNKNOWN PATH, AND HE FOUND HIMSELF FEELING SO GOOD, WALKING BY THEM, STRANGE HOMES ON THE WAY, THE SMALL BOUNDARY OF STONY WALLS; AND THE fog WAS CLEARING FROM SOME OF THE PATHS, WHERE THE LEMON YELLOW LEAVES WERE FALLING AND sparkling DOWN THE SILVER METALLIC SKY.

Walking further, he finally saw a glimpse of an old thin woman,

so thin that her body was as straight as a wooden stick, sitting in a small garden in front of the small house. The woman turned a concerned shifty gaze towards him. "Good morning, ma'am," Ginger said, reaching close to her, where the woman remained in a curious silence at first, and then put down the empty vase from her hand, looking at Ginger.

He sensed some kind of rudeness in the woman, but then she plaintively replied "Good morning" to him. Ginger told her that he

had been looking for a gardener around here. Now, once again, she didn't reply to him, nor show him any expression.

"I just came from somewhere near, I have actually also lost my way, as we just have moved recently." Ginger introduced himself though he knew that the old lady wasn't interested in listening to him.

After finishing he stood in reluctance, as the lady had still not responded when suddenly she came walking towards him with a bleak smile on her face now. "Why don't you just come in?" she said to him, in a meek accent. The smile didn't fade from her face.