The creaking of the walls intensified. Andrew realized he didn’t have much time. The rose cube glowed scarlet, filling the room with a strange warmth. He tried to break the glass, but it was stronger than it looked. There were whispers all around, the voices of those who had disappeared into this place.
– You will be part of the garden too,” whispered the figure of Virginia standing in the corner of the room.
Andrew looked around and noticed an old pickaxe on the wall. He grabbed it and struck the glass with force. The cube cracked and a strange scraping sound came from inside. The rose petals began to crumble and the light in the room began to fade.
– You don’t know what you’re doing! – Virginia screamed. Her voice no longer sounded threatening, but panic.
The aftermath of the destruction
As the last petal fell, the entire room began to vibrate. A thick black mist began to seep out of the cracks in the floor. Andrew felt the coldness gripping his body.
– It’s over! You’ve freed not only yourself, but all of us,” said a woman’s voice behind him. He turned around and saw Kim. Her face was pale, but her eyes burned with determination.
– Kim? How did you…
– I was connected to this garden. We all were,” she replied, pointing to the pictures on the walls. – Virginia used the rose to hold our souls. But that was over now.
Virginia’s figure was disappearing. Her body seemed to dissolve into the air, turning into a light mist.
– You don’t understand… without me, the garden will destroy everyone,” she whispered before disappearing completely.
The garden is dying
When Andrew and Kim emerged from the basement, the garden was no longer the same. The roses had begun to wilt, the leaves were falling, and the air no longer smelled of the sweet fragrance of the flowers. Instead, it smelled damp and musty.
– It’s not over,” Kim said. – The garden could try to revive. We need to destroy it completely.
Andrew nodded. They started pouring gasoline on the bushes and then set them on fire. The fire consumed the roses, lighting up the night sky. Kim watched the flames, both relief and sadness in her eyes.
– Are you sure it’s over? – Andrew asked as the last bush turned to ash.
– I hope so,” she answered quietly.
One last mystery
The next morning they returned to make sure nothing was left of the garden. But where the rose bushes used to stand, they found a small green sprout.
– It’s impossible,” Kim whispered, kneeling down in front of the plant.
The sprout looked perfectly normal, but it had a strange warmth to it.
– Maybe it’s a chance to start over? – Andrew suggested.
Kim hesitated, but decided to keep the sprout, promising to care for it and not let the dark history repeat itself.
Afterword
Virginia’s garden was destroyed, but its spirit remained. It was said that the sprout left at the site of the ashes was not simple. There was an energy lurking in it that no one could explain.
Andrew published his article, becoming famous, but he never went back to that town. And Kim was left to nurse the new growth, hoping she could right the wrongs of the past.
But sometimes, at night, she thought there was a whisper from the ground and the sweet scent of roses in the air.
