First harvest of the fall – The twin gardens tale

First harvest of the fall – The twin gardens tale.

“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” Miss Garrett pulls the seat belt around herself and fastens it. Mary is in the driver’s seat. They are about to go on a trip across town. Earlier today Mary knocked on Miss Garrett’s door. After the incident on the porch last night, the feeling of things connected is stronger than ever. In fact, when she woke this morning, she felt compelled to investigate the identical garden across town. This is more than curiosity. After the visit from the town council representative, it felt more like destiny.

“All I’m saying dear, is that there’s no way to fight city hall.” Miss Garrett stares straight ahead. Mary starts the car and checks the mirrors. There is still a little over a week before the deadline. Furthermore, it doesn’t make sense that the town council moved on this so quickly. What possible harm could a garden do to a small town? And why would a town council deal so arbitrarily with a local resident? More than a few things were not adding up.

First Harvest

“There isn’t much of the tale left to tell.” Mr. Conner stares straight ahead. The view outside the windshield is gray. Wesley pilots the car along the county route. They are ten minutes into their drive across town. They have a toll bridge to cross about midway through their journey. From there Wesley hopes to meet the mysterious woman he saw in the binoculars the night before. “The twin gardens were eventually restored. However, by then more modern ways of communicating took over. And things like enchanted gardens faded into myths.” Mr. Conner’s voice grows quieter as he finishes his sentence.

Wesley drives in silence as he thinks about the twin gardens tale. He can’t help but wonder about the harvest of the vegetables in the garden. He knows that Mr. Conner takes in a harvest from his garden almost every day. Yet the garden is always in full bloom. This is what got Mr. Conner all the attention from the town council. A fully grown garden ready for harvest. In the middle of a drought.

Furthermore, he had the feeling there is more to the story. With Mr. Conner and his impossible garden. As well as the twin gardens tale. “You said they joined hands and started to run. Which way did they run? Toward Princess Anna’s kingdom or Prince Stephens kingdom?” Wesley keeps the car moving but listens intently for Mr. Garrett’s response.

Harvest of the Fall

“I can sense your curiosity is strong young Mr. Wesley.” The older gentleman smiles absently and adjusts his glasses. “Very well then. Indeed there is an end to the tale. And end of sorts, but I don’t think you’ll like it very much.” He takes a quick side glance toward Wesley and then turns his attention back to the road ahead. “They joined hands and ran. Toward Prince Stephen’s side of the bridge. If you remember something was directly behind Princess Anna. Two of her royal guards were already lost.” Wesley watches the road, and at the same time, watches the fog engulfed bridge, high above the enchanted river of long ago.

“They ran while the rest of their company led the way. At this point their only hope for survival, was to reach the path back to the cliffs above them. They could think about another plan once they were safe. Their guardsmen, and the remaining guide, reach the path and immediately begin their ascent. Princess Anna and Prince Stephen, are less than three paces behind, when two things happen simultaneously. The first is a quake of such magnitude, that it shakes the mountains and the connecting bridge, violently.”

Mr. Conner pauses and dabs at his eyes, then continues with slightly less enthusiasm than before. “The second thing are the wings. No one, not even Princess Anna, saw anything other than the enormous wings. One moment the earth and all the mountains were shaking and the next moment, in a rush of wings, Prince Stephen was gone over the edge.”

First of the Fall

The bridge is a four lane extended highway bridge. It crosses the Keystone river. The river very nearly splits the town of Keystone in half. Over a mile wide, it takes a few minutes to cross on a normal day. Wesley watches the traffic on the opposite side of the bridge as he tries to absorb the twin gardens tale. He certainly hadn’t seen that business with Prince Stephen coming. Now, instead of answers, he has twice as many questions as he did before. However, there isn’t time to ask anymore questions. At least, not at the moment.

As Wesley drives, two things happen simultaneously. The first is a quake. An extremely rare, and unusual quake. One that shakes the very foundations of the bridge they are driving across. It is so sudden, and fierce, that one of the support struts of the bridge snaps free, and slams into the road. The downed bridge support strut lands directly in front of an eighteen wheeler.

The truck swerves, and jackknifes, in the center of the bridge. Directly in front of Wesley and Mr. Conner. The sliding truck bears down on them as chain reaction accidents begin piling up all around. Wesley slams on the brakes and grits his teeth. All hell is breaking loose and all he can think about is the wings. The mysterious and mythical wings.

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