Sitting on the platform as my toes softly graze the pond water, the world seems to be at peace.
My shoes and tights lay somewhere forgotten with my bows and trinkets that were in my hair earlier. The bodice gone and the extra tulle left slacked against the the shoes.
My eyes close, my body relaxes, and my mind wanders. Listening to the frogs croaking and the few nightingales singing softly. Drifting off into serenity I embrace the sweet fragrances of the garden.
The flora and fauna have been my biggest achievement as of yet. This garden I set foot into, is my own. Each plant that has grown and become a blossoming beauty was what I planted so many years ago. The animal life here is under my protection and care. Going to the animal shelter and nurturing the little one's back to health has been the most rewarding experience in my life. The sanctuary is specifically for animals that vets can no longer take care of, or more so afford to take care of. So every few months I visit the shelters and vets to see who have enlisted under my name to help and nurture back to health.
I don't trust or allow many people into my garden, green shed, or animal sanctuary, besides those who know about it. A select few of other people help me take care of all of this. A vast majority of the animals under my care or either exotic and rare, or injured and need assistance due to their health issues or status. Therefore, my garden is exclusive and very few get to step a foot in it let alone know if it's existence.
I have a total of three helpers, the twin brothers and a little girl. The twins, Liam and Noah, were experienced in the gardening background of my sanctuary as well as helping maintain the longevity of the animals. The little angel Myshka, helps with the green sheds precious herbs and the produce that garden provides.
In this world nothing is free and everything cost a price. To maintain this heaven, I have to follow a set of rules and abide by certain standards. Leaving tonight's engagement party may have taken away a good amount of funding that gets donated to the sanctuary.
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I look down at my hands and trace the imaginary stars.
"I was once told that if you looked at the stars, you could see a glimpse of heaven." Myshka spoke softly as she sat beside me.
"Heaven..... I have always wondered why it was described as a shiny twinkle, when it's more like a horizon blushing pink in the evening." Liam mumbled under his voice as he laid down beside me, grazing the grass with the palm of his hand.
"A horizon? I've never heard that one before..." Noah spoke, chuckling softly
"I'd like to think, heaven is all clouds, that you leap from one spot to the next." Myshka giggled, earning a frown from Liam, "I think heavens a paradise, not just a playground Mouse."
A snort rose from Noah's throat, "We speak so preciously about something, that we've yet come close to reaching for?"
"Tonight, I may see heaven, and I too would like to think it'll be just like this garden we've created together." I spoke softly, as my hands brushed the luscious grass.
"Don't speak such nonsense, or else it'll become of you." Noah hissed at me, as Myshka and Liam frowned.
"It's not nonsense, I broke a rule, I left early, and I must pay." Noah's hand reached mine, intertwined our fingers. "I doubt they'll send you to the holy land because of such a thing…" he murmured softly.
" I am to marry a man who does not love me, nor care of me…I am to go into a loveless marriage with a man who fancy's his desire more than anything in this world. I'll never satisfy him, I never have…" each word flowed from my lips, easily slipping like the water beside us. Myshka curled up against my side, as Liam rested his head on my lap. "Why must you suffer? You're not the one to bring the extra guest…" Liam spoke, as my free hand brushed into his pure white hair. "I am to stand by his side, no matter what he does, no matter what he says, and no matter who he loves. That is my sentence as wife, and that is my downfall as woman." My voice trembled at the end as I whispered aloud my verdict to my crime.