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Another old short from my deviant art. I wrote this for a project in high school, as an accompaniment to an art piece I did.

I remember everything about my Great Aunt Tia's garden. I was but a child then, but still, everything from that beautiful place is clear to me even in my advanced age. I spent many days there during the summer, sipping iced tea under the shade of towering trees. It was the most beautiful place I had ever seen, flowers of every shape and color, towering over my head. Some were as tall as a grown man; some, so tiny and delicate that you feared they might whither at your touch. Vibrant reds, like shimmering rivulets of blood, greens the color of the most valuable of emeralds, and yellows as gold as the sun in all its glory. Little did I know that it was all so delicate, how easily it could all shatter, like a carelessly handled piece of china.

It was a day like any other, or so it seemed to me, careless as I was at that age. I was just a child of no more than six years old. I was to stay away with dear Tia for the week. It was a glorious Saturday morning, sometime in mid-July, and I was, as usual, taking a morning stroll in the garden. I skipped down one of the many paths through the forest of flowers, humming a nursery song to myself. Something shiny caught my eye, and I turned around to examine it. It was a small piece of glass, curiously flat and round. When I looked through it, everything seemed much closer and larger. Delighted, I ran through the flowers, examining each and every kind with wonder filled eyes.

I happened upon a spider's web, a shiny yellow orb weaver, round as a grape. I looked through the glass at her, and studying her long spindled legs, red near the top, and black and white striped closer to the bottom. Her eight little black jeweled eyes flashed at with me with what I would expect was some annoyance, but I was soon forgotten as a small grasshopper leaped into her web. She rushed forward to paralyze him, and I followed her every movement with awe. I watched with what must have been some measure of morbid curiosity as she dug her fangs in through his hard carapace, and pumped her venom into his system. His legs thrashed madly for a few seconds, before slowing down like a wind-up toy on its last cycle. The spider wasted no time in wrapping him up, her legs working at a maddening pace as she mummified her victim, spinning him in place while she dispensed more and more silk from her nether-end. I sat there, perhaps another five minutes as she waited for the unfortunate insects insides to liquefy, before she moved forward once more to drink of the nectar from within the grasshopper. At this, my stomach turned, and I had to look away, instead turning my attention on an ant pile.

The ants marched in neat little lines, and I observed them with some interest, occasionally dropping a stone or twig in their way, to see them go around it. I was careful not to get to close; I didn't want to be stung by the easily angered insects. I held the glass over them, the light refracting through it to make a beam. I nearly dropped the glass in surprise as a smoking beam of light burnt one of the ants and the leaf it was carrying into a crispy husk. I smiled, amused at my antics, and tried it again, playfully burning at a bit of grass at the edge of the pile, delighted when it too smoked and curled up. I ran off to tell Aunt Tia my new discovery, not noticing how the grass continued to smoke as I ran back through the garden paths and up the stairs. I dropped the glass carelessly behind me.

My Aunt greeted me at the door, giving me a hug and removing my sun-hat from my head, seating me at the table. I told her of my adventure, and she smiled. She made us both glasses of tea, before sitting back down at the table. Her eyes glanced out of the window, her facial expression changing from one of relaxation to pure terror in the blink of an eye. I watched her mouth the word fire, before picking me up and running towards the door. I looked out the window as she did so, and my mouth dropped open. The beautiful garden was quickly being consumed by flame! The flowers withered before the flames reached them, and flames licked up the giant trunks of the trees. This was all I took in before the door shut behind me.

A few days later, my Aunt and I journeyed back to the garden, to assess the damage. I held tight to her skirts, like a child even younger than myself, my usual happiness gone from me. My aunt only looked for a moment, saying nothing. Though the fire brigade had managed to save the house, there was almost nothing of the beautiful haven left. The once proud trees stood charred, most of their limbs missing. Of the flower beds, there was nothing, save for the little stones that had separated one bed from another, and from the path. Even the ground looked dead, the topsoil had a slightly charred look, and it cracked as I moved forward. One of the mighty trees had snapped in half, and I turned and looked back at my dear Aunt. She said nothing, just gestured for me to follow her. I left the ruined garden, tears streaming from the corners of my eyes. I slight gleam once again caught my eye, and I sobbed audibly as I beheld the round looking glass.