Original photo taken at Old St. Luke's Church
Claire remembered the door.
The red one surrounded by a stone wall at the edge of the forest.
She saw it for the first time during a game of hide and seek while playing with her friends in the woods. As her friend Bobby was counting, the nine-year-old immediately ran and her other playmates scattered, seeking out the best hiding place.
In her competitive nature, Claire wanted to hide in a place where no one would find her unless she wanted to be found. She continued quickly through the brush, coming to a halt when she happened upon an old stone wall covered in moss.
Claire stared up at it for a moment and searched for an entrance.
No one would think to look for me here…
A small set of stone stairs appeared from around a corner. She ran toward the stairs, coming to a halt upon seeing the red door they led up to. The door seemed a little out of place among the old stone and moss, but it took a mere second for her to forget that and run up the steps.
She pulled on the iron handle on the door, trying a few times but to no avail.
“Ready or not, here I come!”
Bobby’s voice cut through the quiet brush and Claire started to panic. She looked down and at her feet lay a rusting skeleton key.
Claire hadn’t recalled seeing it before, but she picked it up, put it into the keyhole beneath the handle, and turned it. A sigh of relief left her when she heard the telltale click. She then pushed on the door, opening it and cringing upon hearing the loud creak it let out. Her heart pounded as she hoped Bobby hadn’t heard it.
Quickly, she stepped inside, shutting the door behind her.
Claire looked around as she caught her breath, beholding what lay beyond the stone walls. It was a garden, but one barren and dry with just a few sprigs growing among tangled, dried out shrubbery. A stone path led the way through the dried out foliage and jagged twigs and weeds. Her feet moved her down the stone path as she gazed up at the sky.
As Claire walked further in, she could feel the air shifting. Her eyes returned to the path and she could see a mist among the dry brush at the farthest in of the path.
Claire frowned and moved toward the brush. She made her way through the tangled bushes at the end of the cobblestone path.
When she came out on the other side, she stopped short upon seeing a beautiful, well-kept and lavish garden. She turned back toward the direction she came from but hearing the sound of laughter piqued her curiosity.
Claire followed the voices to see where it was coming from. When she turned a corner, she saw a young boy and girl, both appearing to be the same age as her. She took note of how they were dressed. The two other children reminded Claire of some photos she had seen of her great-grandparents when they were young.
As Claire got closer, she could see that the boy held a magnifying glass and what appeared to be a book on identifying plant life. The girl had a jump rope but seemed to be engrossed in exploring the foliage with the boy.
Suddenly, as if knowing of Claire’s presence, the children looked up and waved to her.
Claire’s breath caught in her throat, though she waved back.
The two children beckoned to her, and she moved toward them, once again noting their style of dress.
Claire came to a stop in front of them. “Hi.”
The other two children smiled and offered greetings of their own. “Good day.”
“I’m Claire.”
The boy replied first. “I’m Andrew.”
“I’m Kate,” the other girl said.
Claire gave them a small wave. There was a slight awkward silence when she finally said, “I came from outside the wall.”
“We know,” Andrew said, hist eyes lighting up.
“You do?”
Kate stepped toward her. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
“You knew I was coming?”
“Yes. We know you play around here. Will you play with us?”
Before Claire knew it, she was running about the garden with Andrew and Kate, exploring the different parts and plant life, using Andrew’s book and notes as a reference. In fact, she seemed to forget about what had brought her there and from where she had come.
After what seemed like a long time, Kate said, “Come, we have something to show you.”
“What?” Claire asked, and the children led her out of another doorway in the wall surrounding the garden and down a path through the woods.
They finally arrived at the forest edge where a massive, dark stone mansion was in front of them.
Kate pointed. “In there lives a boy Andrew’s age. Andrew is ten, by the way.”
“Yeah,” Andrew said. “No one ever sees him, though.”
Claire frowned. “Really?”
“No. Not in years,” Kate replied.
Claire studied the mansion. In the distance on the other side of it was another stone wall that was similar to the one she had just been at. “What’s that over there?” she asked.
“It is said there is a garden beyond that wall,” Andrew said. “But Mr. Craven keeps it locked.”
Claire froze. “Mr. Craven?”
Kate nodded. “Ever since his wife died. He hasn’t left his home. Not once.”
Andrew turned to Claire. “It is said that they are bringing in another relative. We’ve heard that she’s coming all the way from India where she and her parents were living.”
As the other two children talked, Claire recalled a book she read not too long ago. One about a dark mansion with a garden encased in a large, stone wall. Inside the house was a father and son, both with the last name Craven, who had not been seen outside the house since the man’s wife had died. Then their world changed when a relative, a young girl Claire’s age, came to live with them. And this young girl did come over to stay at the Craven home from India.
In that moment, Claire was wondering if she had somehow stepped out from her own world and into the world of that story book. She also started to question where exactly such stories came from, if they were really from a writer’s imagination or something else.
Chills arose on her arms as she looked back at Andrew and Kate. It was then she noticed their saddened expressions. It was a silent understanding that it was time for Claire to go back home.
In many ways, she didn’t want to leave, though she knew she had to.
The three children walked silently away from the dark mansion and through the woods. Before long, the stone wall that housed the garden in which Claire had originally met the two children came into view. It was then she recalled where she had been before and wondered how long she had been gone from her world.
“Time moves differently here,” Andrew said, suddenly sounding older than his years.
“They’ll hardly know you were gone,” Kate added.
Andrew and Kate returned Claire to the edge of the lavish side of the garden encased within the stone walls. Beyond a misty veil, she could see the tangled brush and the dead garden at the edge.
“Can I come back?” Claire asked.
Andrew and Kate looked down.
“You better go. The veil will disappear soon,” Kate said.
Claire’s heart sank as she turned toward the misty veil, seeing the dead, tangled brush on the other side. She started to question why she could not just stay here with Andrew and Kate, but she also knew that this world was not her own. This time was not hers.
With a sigh, she bid farewells to Andrew and Kate, stepping through the veil, finding herself back in the tangled brush, back in her modern world.
As Claire glanced around, she could hear the cheerful voices of her friends from off in the distance. She turned and looked back toward the misty veil, only to see the last remnants of mist disappear. Her thoughts returned to Andrew and Kate, wondering if they still stood on the other side, watching as the veil evaporated. For a brief moment, she blinked back tears and ran back to where her friends were.
Perhaps she could come here again, enter through the red door and search for that misty veil. Maybe she would be able to visit with Andrew and Kate again.
With a sigh, she bid farewells to Andrew and Kate, stepping through the veil, finding herself back in the tangled brush, back in her modern world.
As Claire glanced around, she could hear the cheerful voices of her friends from off in the distance. She turned and looked back toward the misty veil, only to see the last remnants of mist disappear. Her thoughts returned to Andrew and Kate, wondering if they still stood on the other side, watching as the veil evaporated. For a brief moment, she blinked back tears and ran back to where her friends were.
Perhaps she could come here again, enter through the red door and search for that misty veil. Maybe she would be able to visit with Andrew and Kate again.
That night as Claire fell asleep, her mind started to drift away until it reached that stone wall with the red door. It opened up, allowing her to enter. The cobblestone path seemed to move beneath her as she passed by the dried, tangled brush until arriving at the end were what seemed to be a misty veil appeared. She passed through it, entering a lavish garden. She could hear the sound of familiar voices. Excited, she started toward them.
THE END
Author's note: Growing up, I loved the story of The Secret Garden and still do. This was a little bit of Secret Garden fan fiction. :)
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