The Otherworld

Chapter 1: The Garden

It was midnight. Xayleah (ex-ay-lee-ah) peeked out of her doorway, checking to see if anyone was around. In her white nightgown, she tiptoed along the wooden floor, down the stairs, and out the window into the garden. It was magical at night.

The moon cast an alluring glow on to the garden. The flowers seemed to light up, and the colours turned to neon. Butterflies of all shapes and sizes filled the cold air and if you were silent enough, you could hear a soft melody echoing through the trees. It was as if Xayleah had read herself into one of her old fairytales.

The garden wasn't very large. In fact, all it really was was just 5 pine trees planted along the wooden fence that separated her property from her neighbour's, and a small bed of dying flowers planted in front of them in rows. It was nothing special. It was quite depressing to look at to be honest.

Small and dying the garden may have looked during the day, as soon as the pale light of the moon spilled onto its grounds, the garden changed. The flowers would bloom back to life in vibrant colours that Xayleah had never seen anywhere else. From what used to be 5 leafless pines, became an orchard of trees growing a variety of fully ripe fruits. It became another world.

Xayleah never knew if each visit to this enchanted version of her dreary garden was just a dream, or a figment of her imagination, but she never cared anyway. She went to sleep excited, and woke up happy. Real or not, to Xayleah, that's all that mattered.

Tonight though, something was different. As Xayleah danced through the garden, she noticed something. She couldn't see her house anymore. She couldn't hear the loud horns of the cars that speeded down the highway that ran parallel to her house. All she saw was more and more trees. Xayleah stopped dancing. Her heart began to beat faster. The air around her grew colder until she could see her own frosty breath every time she exhaled.

What's going on? What's happening? Where's my house? Where are the cars? Where am I?

She was scared, and alone. She collapsed onto the ground and covered her eyes, hoping that when she opened her eyes again, she would be lying on the brown grass in her familiar dreary garden. She refused to uncover her eyes until she felt spikey, straw-like grass beneath her skin instead of lush, soft grass that she felt right now. Tears began to well up in her eyes.

I just want to go home...

The soft melodic music that echoed through the trees that Xayleah used to love so much, began to grow louder. The music was beautiful - enchanting, haunting, tragic, but somehow, hopeful. She could hear an entire story through the simple melody. It helped relieve her fear. Slowly, she pulled her hands away from her face.

Immediately, the music stopped. When Xayleah finally opened her eyes, she did not see the beautiful enchanted garden anymore...and neither did she see her familiar, dreary garden.

Instead, Xayleah saw darkness. Pitch-black, silent and alone... Above her, the moon shone dimly on her surroundings. After her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, she could see the dark silhouettes of the orchard trees. Her stomach dropped as she came to the terrifying realiastion that she was not home. Instead, she was still in the enchanted garden.

She was so afraid that no noise came out of her screams. Her cries for help, silenced by fear. All she wanted to do was lie down on the grass, and wake up back in her warm bed. With the last small ray of hope she still had in her, she layed down on the soft grass and fell asleep, praying she would be awakened by her mother the next day.