Page 168 of Never Tell Secrets

I opened the box and smiled. A few minutes later, after installing the batteries and reading the instructions, I was making my way around the bedroom and bathroom, waving the white remote-like device, praying that it wouldn’t start beeping. It didn’t and I breathed a sigh of relief. No cameras detected. That’s if the thing really worked anyway.

Reassured but frustrated that this was what my life had come to, I dressed and headed downstairs.

I was unsurprised to find a breakfast laid out for me with an envelope resting next to a silver cloche. I tucked into a bowl of cereal and opened the envelope.

Lo,

I’ll be in meetings all day but Maia and Ali are both on standby waiting to assist you with whatever you might need. Please don’t hesitate to make use of them.

I hope the Miracle Garden is everything you hoped it would be.

A.

The Miracle Garden. A little butterfly of excitement began to flutter in my stomach. As I ate, I texted Maia and Ali, instructing them to meet me in the lobby. Alfie, Elliot, Angie and Maia might have put me through hell but nothing was going to stop me from enjoying today.

An hour later, I stood at the entrance, my entire body humming with excitement. Maia and Ali waited behind me, their presence almost forgotten now that I was actually here.

The gates stood high, inviting me into a haven I knew I wouldn’t ever want to leave. My hands twisted with anticipation as tourists milled around me.

I stepped inside, walking through a row of floral archways in ever lightening shades of pink, from deep blush to pale pastel.

The pathway led me out to a sea of stunning sculptures. My jaw dropped. I’d never in my life seen anything like this.

I found myself in a village of houses, villas, even a castle, all constructed from more flowers than I could name. I walked through the village, soaking in every inch of this whimsical wonderland.

Hours later and my head was spinning. This was my paradise.

I’d gazed in wonder at the gigantic floral clock, an ebbing ocean of blues and pinks.

I’d gasped at the white petal plane made to scale.

The floating woman had me speechless, roughly twenty feet high, she was a feat of physics I couldn’t understand. She lay horizontal, her hair and dress trailing down to the ground as she looked like she might float up to the sky.

The umbrella canopy had transported me to another world, casting a multicoloured glow across my skin.

I walked the gardens for hours. I examined each flower, each plant, figuring out what the designers had used and why. How had the structures been put together?

With every passing minute I felt richer in knowledge, more powerful in my abilities. Ideas began to spin in that way that let me know I was on the right path.

It wasn’t until Maia told me it was closing time that I realised I had spent the entire afternoon here. I wasn’t nearly ready to leave.

I began gathering my sketchbook up when a thought occurred to me. A thought that two and a half years ago I would have dismissed immediately but now…now it had me reaching for my phone.

“Is everything alright?” Alfie sounded concerned as he answered my call. I guess I didn't make many voluntary phone calls to him these days.

“Yes, am I disturbing you?”

“Never. What do you need?” Here came the tricky part. The part where I actually had to ask him for help.

“I’m at the Miracle Gardens…” I let my words trail off, hoping he would take the hint and not make me say the words out loud.

“I presumed you were.”

Dammit.

“It’s closing time…”

“And you’re not ready to leave?” He sounded faintly amused.