Chapter 12 Chapter Twelve - Enchanted Gardens (1/2)

Ren Zexian snapped out of the bewitchment he felt upon viewing the boy and withdrew his sword thinking of cutting the malevolent vines that threatened him.

”Stop it,” the boy said gently, giving him pause.And then he realised that the youth was not speaking to him, but to the vines.He blinked, eyes widening as the chastised vines actually unwound from the boy's legs and drew back.They rose until their leafed tips were before his still face, the boy's eyes following their movement and then they seemed to droop?”Silly,” the boy smiled, causing Ren Zexian's jaw to drop as the warmth of it lit the boy's face brightly like the sun appearing from behind a dense cloud.He could only watch as the boy stroked the vines with a delicate hand for a few seconds, before the leafy vines then returned to the wall.

The boy then cupped his hands together, water filled his small palms and the boy stepped closer to the vines before carefully pouring his precious gift onto the soil the vines grew from.The vines seemed to shiver before becoming quiet and the boy picked up a basket holding tubers, large green leaves and stalks of green and purple.Without looking him in the eye, Ren Zexian found himself being side stepped before the boy began walking away from him.

”Wait,” Ren Zexian called after him, quickly sheathing his sword.”Please.”

The youth paused and turned, keeping his eyes firmly downcast, but not in a way to be coy, just in apparent avoidance. ”Are you from the main house?” He asked Ren Zexian.His voice was calm like water and soft like feather upon the breeze.Were one not listening carefully, one would not hear him speak.

Ren Zexian began to shake his head, but realised that the boy would not notice his gesture.”I am not,” he said, keeping his own tone gentle in kind.

”Oh,” the boy said in response and then began to walk away again.

”Wait!” Ren Zexian chose to run after him.”I am Ren Zexian.Could you share with me your name?”

”Nathan Tobias Matthison,” the boy replied, but continued walking.

”That is a long name,” Ren Zexian mused.”My comrades consider mine long too, so they call me Ren… may I call you Nathan?”The boy did not say anything for a moment, but eventually gave a sharp nod.”Are you here alone, Nathan?”

”My parents aren't here at the moment,” came his answer.”They have people in the main house to look after it.They sometimes bring me groceries, but no one has come to visit me for a long time.I thought that was okay, but I ran out of toilet paper yesterday.”His nose scrunched up, clearly unhappy about this.While Ren Zexian did not understand what the boy meant by 'groceries' he could generally understand that the people in the large property stopped visiting the boy as they had all turned.The poisonous silver core in his gut had continued to stir all the while he stood close to the large white building.But was the boy really not aware of any of this?Was it just sheer luck that had him not open the door to the horrors within?