Secret Letters from the Rose Garden
Written by Kathryn K Williams
Copyright 2006 PUNCHLINE Inc. & Sony Entertainment Inc., all rights reserved
Chapter One - June 1929
Flames flickered like tongues of light before the girl's eyes as she lay amongst a forest of twisted steal. She tried to move only to find her leg hurt and a wave of dizziness overcame her. She knelt amongst the wreckage, holding her hand to her head, as her vision blurred in and out. When she began to regain her balance she pulled her tiny hand away from her head to find it coated in crimson. She looked down at her leg to discover a long cut ran along the length of her calf, tearing through her white stockings and soaking them in blood.
Terrified the girl glanced around, becoming at once aware of her surroundings. All around she could see flames leaping about and distorted fragments of metal that formed jagged looking claws. Giant hands that appeared to be reaching towards the heavens like some dying soul reaching out to god. Dizzily she staggered and stumbled about the carnage, favouring her good leg and unsure of what it was she was seeking.
"H... hello?" She called out over the crack of flames. Suddenly her foot fell upon something soft and she slipped. She reached out for one of the many spires of metal that jutted out of the ground in hopes to stop her decent. Sharp hot steel cut through the flesh of her palm making her recoil from the pillar as if it were a snake. Backwards she pinwheeled until she could no longer keep her balanced and tumbled down a hill of rubbish, hitting the bottom with a meaty thud. Slowly she rose to a seated position, her hand set upon something soft and warm. She glanced down and lifted her hand to find the face of a man staring blankly up at her. A sheet of metal was lodged in his throat and blood spluttered from the wound as he tried to speak.
"J... Jen... jennif..." A deep red bubble formed between his lips and burst.
The girl crawled away to find she had landed on a pile of bodies. Hundreds of dead lay scattered about with flame crawling over their clothes and lapping at their skin, filling her nostrils with the stench of burnt flesh. Her foot became caught upon something and she glanced down to find a man had grabbed hold of her food, smearing blood across her only clean leg. The girl let out a scream that filled the night air.
Jennifer woke up from her nightmare with a start and glanced around herself. No more were the flickering firelight or the blood covered faces of the dead. She now sat safely upon the back seat of a bus as it travelled through the forested areas of England, leaving London far behind her. It had only been a week since her parents had been layed to rest and her small mind still could not even remember them to be able to grieve. To her the people in the grave were as unknown as the other graves surrounding them. Her only reminder that the dreams were more then just that was the bandage upon her left hand. She had survived the airship crash with only a few minor scraps and bruises. Something of a miracle she was told by police and doctors alike.
Her gazed moved from her hand to a brown tag that hung around her neck. She had been packaged like any other letter, the tag stated her name and destination in large bold print. She was lucky to have been educated enough to be able to read the simply words upon the yellowish paper and scowled at it disapprovingly.
Name: Jennifer
Bound for: Rose Garden Orphanage
No last name accompanied hers. Nothing to tell her where she came from or who she was. She wished she could remember who she was. The only memories she held were those of that fire filled night and the faces staring up at her, accusing her of being the only one to survive. She had been told many times how lucky she was to be alive, but she did not feel it. If she was lucky then why was she being sent to an Orphanage so far outside of the city? Why couldn't she stay at her Aunts?
She got a change to spend a few days at the large estate before it was decided that she should be shipped of to somewhere else. That somewhere was Rose Garden Orphanage. She let the tag fall to her chest in disgust.
She looked at the suitcase that sat upon the seat beside of her. Her aunt had showed up that morning with the case in her hands and placed it before the girl, telling her to get dressed for she was going on a trip. If she had known that she was being travelling on such a dingy bus she wouldn't have picked the best looking dress out of the case to wear that day. It was a pale blue dress that she was told her mother had bought her for her eleventh birthday. Knowing this made her despise getting it dirty all the more. She squirmed in her seat as she tried, with all her might, to pull her brown overcoat under her legs enough as to keep the dress from touching the seat.
The sun drifted off in the distance. It peeked between the many trees that surrounded the road as the bus slowly rolled along, winking at the girl as she travelled to her new home. A couple of people got on and got off again, but no one seemed to notice the small child seated alone in the back of the bus. She began to wonder just how far into the country she was being taken. Again she read her tag.
What kind of place was Rose Garden Orphanage she wondered? Did they really have roses or was it just a name that looked pretty. She sometimes pondered about things of this nature with her innocent curiosity. She found that things are not allows what they seemed and more so when it came to the name of places. On the way out of the city she spotted a shop with a sign announcing that it was the Blue Bird Café, but she saw no sign of any birds around aside from the pigeons on the street.
Her mind drifted over her thoughts as the sun slowly moved behind the trees and was replaced by moon's light. Before long the bus came to a stop and the bus driver turned in his seat.
"Rose Garden Orphanage." He called out to the back of the bus.
The girl was startled by the man's words and sat up straight.
The driver got out of his seat and took off his cap, "This is your stop little girl." He called out to Jennifer.
"O.. oh..!" Jennifer got up from her seat and pulled her suitcase along with her. It was a rather large case and in her hands it grazed the floor of the bus if she did not lean away from it and grip it with both hands. Slowly she moved down the aisle of seats to the front of the bus where the driver tipped his cap at her and gave her a friendly smile.
"You will find the orphanage just down that path there." He stated, pointing down a long dark path next to the bus stop, "Try not to get lost along your way. There should be someone coming to pick you up soon enough." He assured the girl.
Jennifer stepped off the bus, having to make a small jump at the last step to the gravel road below, and turned to face the driver, "T.. thank you..." She said in a shy, timid voice.
Again the driver tipped his hat and closed the bus's doors before driving off.
Jennifer watched the taillights disappear into the distance. She tried to will the bus to stop, wished for it to turn back around and pick her back up. When they did not return she realized that this truly was to be her new home and she had better get used to the idea fast because it was not likely to change. She recalled a comic book of a little red haired orphan girl, but could not remember where she heard of the story. All she did remember was that the girl spent awhile at the orphanage before finding a home.
Trying to not let despair take her so quickly she glanced around her surroundings to see what kind of situation she was in for. She found herself standing beneath a lamp post that shone a circle of light upon the ground. All around her she could see a dark thick forest that frightened the girl immensely.
She stared down the long path to the orphanage to seen no other lights in the distances. The trees bent overhead like long fingers reaching attempting to blot out the sky. The thought of venturing down that dark path made her even more afraid and the thought of those trees swallowing her up whole entered her young mind, quickly changing it. To afraid to move she sat upon the bus stop bench with her suitcase upon her lap and waited. In hopes that someone would remember that she was there and would come fetch her.
She was not sure how much time had gone by before she heard the sounds of movement down the road, but it had been long enough for the moon to move high overhead. Something was approaching her, not from the direction of the orphanage, but from the opposite direction the bus had disappeared to. From down the road Jennifer watched as a light bobbed its way through the darkness and soon a mysterious man entered the light of the circle of light. He wore a long grey coat covered in dirt and a newspaper boys hat atop his head, In on hand he held a oil lantern that swung from his hand by a wire handle attached to the top. After sitting in the dark of the night, with only a street light over head to protect her from the creatures of the night, the sight of another human seemed like a dream come true to the little girl.
The man spotted Jennifer and looked at her curiously, then slowly, almost cautiously, approached her. Uncertain of whom this man was she decided to sit perfectly still and see what the man would do. The man sat down on the bench beside her, setting his lantern beside himself at the edge of the bench and let out a slight groan as if his body protested the idea of sitting.
At first he stared out into the darkness across the road with his hands folded before himself and his elbows upon his knees. It was almost as if he was not aware of the girl, but she noticed him glance at her a couple of time. Only quick looks, as if he was not sure if she was real or not. The way he looked at her made her feel uneasy and she slid closer to the opposite end of the bench and glanced down the dark path, praying that someone would come to get her soon.
"I have been looking all over for you, Joshua." The man suddenly stated with a tone of disappointment. His voice was rough and dry as if the very dirt on his clothes had coated his throat too.
The girl spun around to find the man's had moved closer to her and was baring down over her, "Wha?" She inquired uncertainly.
"You should not have left your room," He stated irritatedly, "you made me so frightened and worried, dear Joshua. You know not to leave your room at night. It is not safe."
"But..." She tried to move away from the man to find herself quickly running out of bench and fell off the edge, causing her suitcase to fall to the ground.
Suddenly the man grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her close, "How many times do we have to have this talk?" He demanded with a snarl.
Jennifer shook her head in confusion. "I... I'm... I'm not..."
The man violently pulled on her arm, causing the girl to slid across the bench until she was face to face with the man, "Don't try to make a fuss or I'll have to grind you up, my little pea."
Jennifer could smell the rank stench of earth upon the man's cloths and liquor upon his breath. She tried to comprehend what it was the man was talking about, but her mind could not think clearly for fear had ripped it of rational thought. All she could do was stare at them man's sad dark eyes and pray that he did not intend to harm her.
"It is time for bed, Joshua." The man stated simply, then slung the girl over his shoulder and picked up his lantern. He stared down at the girl's suitcase, then took it in hand and started back down the road the way he came.
Jennifer tried to understand what it was that was happening to her. Why did this man think her to be Joshua? Her long hair and clothes should have told the man that she was a girl and not a boy. She considered protesting this when her eyes spotted the butt end of a pistol poking out of the man's jacket pocket. Fear welled up inside of her as she stared down at the devise as it bobbed against his hip as he walked. She did not know how she knew what the object was or why she should fear it, but the mere sight of it made her relinquish all will to fight back and she rested limply upon the man's shoulder.
The man patted Jennifer on the back, "You get some rest." He suggested, "We will be home soon enough."
He travelled along the road until he came across another path through the trees. He journeyed along the path surefooted, not stumbling once upon the many rocks that littered the path. From her spot Jennifer watched the path roll out under the man's feet. After a short time the forest was replaced by bushes of the most beautiful roses. Jennifer marvelled at the sight of the many flowers and breathed in the wonderful scent of the roses. She noticed an opening in the wall of flowers made of a white wooden archway that lead into the centre of a large rose garden. In the distance, beyond the garden, she could see the lights of a large building that she suspected was the Orphanage that she was supposed to be fast asleep within at this moment.
Disappointedly she watched the building grow smaller as the man took her in a different direction and she began to wonder where it was the man was taking her. Before long they came to a small house deep in the woods. A small wooden fence surrounded a square plot of land surrounded by overhanging trees. The gate opened with a slight creak of protest as the man passed through it and he headed up four rickety stairs to an old, weather worn, patio. He set his lantern upon a chair and the suit case on the ground, then fished out a set of keys from his pocket.
The girl allowed her eyes scanned the porch to gain a sense of her surroundings. The porch was made of rotting grey wood that had holes all about and the girl was sure she could see the eyes of some furry creature staring up at her from its hiding place beneath the floor boards. The patio itself stretched out across the entire front of the house and around the sides, its railing appeared to have been put together haphazardly with planks of wood off on odd angels. It made Jennifer wonder if the craftsman was blind or in such a rush that he did not care much about their placement. The front of the house seemed rundown with its faded wood appearing warp and buckle in places. Jennifer noticed a double hung window off to her right. Its glass thick with so much grim which made it hard to peer inside. To a casual observer the entire build would appear to be abandoned for many years and Jennifer would have thought the same if she had not been with the man at that moment and watched as he unlocked the door with a large iron key.
The man opened the front door and stepped inside, remembering to take his lamp and the suit case with him. He set the objects to the side of the door and quickly closed the door behind him, locking it tight. Only when he was sure the door was secure did he set the girl down at his side, still keeping a tight grip upon her hand.
"It is time for bed my little pea." He stated as he flicked on a light switch causing a lamp, sitting upon a table at the far end of the hall to their left, to come to life. Filling the hall with a pale yellow glow. They stood in a long hall with peeling red walls that had not seen a coat of paint in many a year.
Jennifer stared in astonishment at the state of decay that the house was in. The man did not allow her long to take look around before he pulled her down the hall to the left and then around a elbow to the left.
As they moved through the halls the man started to recite a strange little poem:
"Stray dog walks the streets each day,
Collection the peas as he walks to and fro;"
The girl stared up at the man as the man as he drew her deeper into the house.
"Big peas, little peas, every which kind of pea." He continued.
They passed a couple of doors before they took another left, passing the open door of a washroom and then approached a intersection.
"Come Monday, he finds a pea
Come Tuesday, he bags the pea.
Come Wednesday, he shows the pea to his son."
The man did not hesitate at the "t" junction as he quickly moved down the right hall to the end where Jenn noticed a back exit with a glass window in the middle. She tried to peer through the window into the back yard, but the man would not allow it. He opened a door along the right wall near the end of the hall and dragged the girl through the door.
"Come Thursday, the pea kicks and screams.
Come Friday he grinds the pea."
Jennifer swallowed at the sound of those lines. She did not want to know what he was implying with is song and began to fear for her live. Her mind raced as she was forced down a set of rickety stairs into an earthy basement.
"Come Saturday, he buries the pea outside; the pea is in the ground.
And by Sunday, it can't be found.""
Jennifer's nostrils filled with the rich smell of earth as they descended into the cellar and across the dirt floor. In the back of the cellar was a single door in the middle of a long wall. The man opened the door and drew Jennifer within.
"Get changed into your nightshirt and get some sleep." The man commanded, "I'll wake you in the morning. Good night, young pea." Without another word he left the room and Jennifer could hear the bolt click in the lock, assuring her escape would never occur.
Jennifer approached the door and took hold of the knob. She gave it a quick twist to find it indeed was locked tight. She leaned against the door and slide to the ground. A shudder filled her as she thought about the man's poem and what he meant by calling her a pea.
Unsure what to do she buried her face in her knees and cried herself to sleep, curling up upon the damp earthen floor. The poem running circles in her mind.
*****
To be Continued . . .
*****
Note: This story is based off the game "Rules of The Rose" and I in no way claim copyright over the characters or plot here in. Copyright 2006 PUNCHLINE Inc. & Sony Entertainment Inc., all rights reserved.
Also if you spot any typos or other errors please contact me at Kathryn@KatAndNekoManga.ca
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