Not So Sweet Candyland

XXV: Mint Gardens

Chase ran and ran until he arrived at a gate. That's when Berry came running towards him.

"What were you even doing?"

"It's none of your business." Chase mumbled.

Berry took a look of the place, the smell of spearmint and peppermint wafted through the air.

"Oh yes, we're in Mint Gardens now. I forgot to show you this place. Come on in."

Berry opened the gate, but Chase refuses to move.

"Please."

"Fine. Only because I don't know this place at all."

Berry smiled.

"Great."

They went inside the gate and all around them, there were many types of leaves and plants. Among those, there were many older folk, tending the gardens and having small but lively chats about everything.

"Look, Maribeth! We have visitors!"

"Awww, it's a couple too! They look very young, Donny."

Berry and Chase felt a little out of place, but they were dressed oddly nice for a garden.

"How do you do? My name is Vanessa and this is my friend, Chase." Berry introduced herself to the elderly folk.

"Well, it's not often that we get visitors, but come on in, and as long as you two do not trample on any of the flowers, you can take whatever that you two like."

"Thank you very much!" Berry smiled at the older lady.

She grabbed Chase's hand and they started to go through the gardens.

"Mint Gardens is a garden with thousands of different kinds of flowers and leaves. Any color that you can think of, and no poisoned plants at all. This place is very popular among the old and the retired, because it's such a peaceful place, and often, not a lot of people come here to admire the scenery. In this world, along with the beach, this is where a lot of the older people go. Also, with the smell of mint, you never feel like it's cold at all. Ever notice how this place is warm? It's always sunny during the days and rainy during the nights."

"Where are the houses?"

"At the very end, snuggled in between that thin row of trees."

Berry pointed and you could barely see a few houses behind the trees. Chase had to go on his toes to see a little bit better.

"In this world, it's unexpected what could happen. That's why many old people take the hobby of gardening. Even if they can't make kids anymore, they can create something beautiful with a little bit of soil, a little bit of water, and a lot of love. And they make these tulips, the lilies, lollies, and so many many more flowers." Berry held a flower from the bush and talked through it. "Beauty is an impersonation of the mind, something that most would only see on the outside of others. Looks matter to most, but many forget the true value that other things may have. Sure, it might look good, but does it smell good or do they have a good personality? It's all depends on what you are in to. And sure, not everybody has the same likes or dislikes, but, even in utopia worlds like this one, everybody has a different home, a different lifestyle, and a different look. That doesn't mean that their ideal favorite aren't the same either."

"You're probably going to say something on the lines like "I bet you had no diversity in your friend group" or something like that. Well, we were all empty and filler kids that had no lives but each other. Or, nothing too out of the ordinary, the genetic kind of stuff that you hear."

"You're one of those kids. I get it."

"Is it a problem?"

"No." Berry went to a different bush and picked out a white pansy.

"Are pansies your favorite flower?" Chase asked.

"No, it's actually asters and honeysuckles. Asters for the memory of me watering some in my windowsill as a child and honeysuckles because I was born in June and they are one of the holiday flowers. What about you?"

"The Gladiolus. It's the flower of August, which is my birth month. I'm born at the end of the month, just like you are."

"Oh! I know where those flowers are! Follow me!"

Berry and Chase went to a bush a little farther back and that's when they saw some Gladiolus. Chase picked a few and that's when he realized that his hands were full of flowers.

"Oh no, what can I do about this?"

"Oh, that's nothing." Berry whistled and an elderly lady came around.

"Would you two like some baskets?"

"Yes please." Chase and Berry said together.

They took the baskets, said their thank yous, and continued to pick flowers.

"What's the key for this place?" Chase whispers.

"You need to collect every flower here and make it into a bouquet. According to legend, there was a sage that lived on the East Side of Candyland that had a major allergy to flowers. In memory of her, it is said to make a bouquet of every flower in memory of her, possibly because even though she died at the hands of the king, it was an forgotten death and her allergy to flowers is why most people believe that's how she died."

"They cover everything here, don't they?"

"As in, the media poorly covers up deaths or disappearances to make people forget about what had happened and go on with their daily lives. This is because that nobody in a utopia wants to be feeling sad all of the time because of somebody dying or somebody that went missing."

"You really think that?"

"You think that I think like that? I know that and that's a fact. Maybe when we go to a big city and we go to a news station in the big city, you will see for yourself. But, as you grow on this adventure, not only will you see the flaws in this world, but you will also see the flaws in your own world, although some might not be as minimal or obvious."