Soft crickets echoed in the early evening as Huo made their way toward the gate in front of them. They wanted to pick some witch hazel to prepare for Fashi. It seemed like a simple task, and the garden was only a few miles away from where Huo lived. Walking into the gate was no issue, as it was never locked, even at night. As Huo walked closer to the gate, a sign came into view, covered in leafy thorny vines. To Everyone and to the good citizens of Mage City, this garden must only be visited by a tour guide. You could walk by yourself, but the plants probably won’t like it, as they love the taste of you. If you do not have a tour guide, go no further. This gate cannot be locked because the plants keep destroying the lock. First-time tour guides: Open this gate carefully, the vines don’t like being disturbed. You have been warned!
Huo gently pushed the gate open. That sign was for tourists who visited Mage City. The locals knew how to take various herbs from the garden. Even so, some out of town photographers dared to take pictures off the designated paths. The garden keeper didn’t like anyone sniffing around who was alone, but he knew Huo well enough. He knew they usually only collected witch’s hazel and stayed away from the garden. As Huo walked inside, a gorgeous scene greeted them. A grove of lush green trees and plants surrounded a large, bog-like lake.
Huge ten-foot, beautiful brown trees, massive bright yellow sunflowers, and knee-length green grass were among the many plants. At the gate, five paths spread out in different directions. Each had a sign in front of them. Huo looked at the four paths. They shook their head with the same disbelief they held every time they walked inside the garden. No matter how many times they had visited, the paths and the signs still scared them. The first path led straight to the bog, a path made by force. The uneven lines and markings indicated they weren’t made by the garden keeper. These lines had been made by a few unlucky souls a while back. Huo remembered that day and shivered a little. They come out for the first time to gather witch hazel for Fashi. Back then, they didn’t know the dangers of the garden. Fashi gave stringent instructions on where to go inside. He warned his apprentice not to follow anyone else who was already inside, except for tour guides.
When Huo had arrived that day, two young boys ran ahead of them and pushed the gates open harshly. The vines seized and hissed, one of them lashing out at one of the boys. They almost attacked Huo. But then the latter made an offering to them with arugula incense given to them by Fashi. It calmed the vines enough for Huo to walk past.
As they walked further inside, Huo overheard the boy’s conversation.
”People are always saying how this place is crazy,” one of them said.
“Yeah, like how they say everyone who walks in here is plant food in this place,” The second replied. He shook his head and smirked. “I think it’s nonsense, plants don’t eat people, it’s not even scientific. That old man here tells people that, so he doesn’t have to deal with tourists. Not that it works, they come all the time, I hear. But I’ve heard that the bog has some of the cleanest water in the city. Perfect for swimming.”
Huo wanted to reply and call out, but the boys were already digging a muddy path toward the bog. Shaking their head, Huo went to get the plants they were there for. Reaching the clearing, Huo looked around, making sure they were actually in the right place. The plants and the trees looked almost the same unless you knew the difference, according to Fashi. Testing it, Huo poked a flower with a stick. Nothing happened. As Huo bent down to pick flowers, they heard something. Almost sounded like a wail, but it faded away quickly. Shaking their head, Huo picked more flowers to put into the basket. After a few minutes, they were satisfied and decided to head back. A few meters to their right, Huo noted some white squirrels brushing past a huge cactus plant. A few seconds later, their furry tails got stuck. The creatures tried to free their tails, but to no avail. A split second later, a line of what looked like red flowers curled from the plant. It quickly wrapped the squirrels in its grasp, wrapping them completely. Huo turned their head away from the sight and walked towards the exit.
As they walked towards the gate, Huo crashed right into the garden keeper. He opened his mouth to yell at them. Then, he was cut off by a blood-curdling scream echoing from across the garden. The garden keeper pushed Huo away and ran towards the bog. Curiously, Huo followed them. What followed would be forever ingrained in the young dragon child’s memory.
As they ran towards the garden keeper, Huo’s mouth fell open, and they stepped back. Huge plants that looked like pitchers of monstrous size lined the bog shore. The garden keeper carefully stepped towards a particular plant with two strange shadows moving on the outside. He shook his head and sighed. When Huo looked closer at the plant, the shadows seemed to move closer to them. Thinking it was something with the plant, the latter started to step closer. But before Huo touched the plant, they let out a horrible scream. The shadows had pushed their hands against the inside of the plant, the mute screams sealing their fate.
Huo shook their head, remembering where they were, reading the sign put by the garden keeper after that day.
Beauty is in the bog, with clean waters to swim in. But just across this path, two fateful souls climbed into one of the pitchers and never came back out. Heed this sign and go no further! Since that day, five have been lost to the pitchers. Don’t let this be you!
Huo took a breath and walked towards the exit. They were glad to have gathered the flowers for the day.
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