The Garden of Alice {Chapter 5 Is Up!} xD

Hello


What if the Garden of Eden had been different; what if the right choices were made and the sins had not taken place. What if the consequences, in all, had not been given? Well, Alice O'Malley is about to find out...

Maturity - Medium
Fantasy - Medium

Chapter 1 - The Angel.

I stood in the bee-hive hall ways of Catalina High, trying to get through the swarms of people to my next class; Art. As I passed by Tiffany and Penelope, they gave me one of their signature doubtful, disgusted, looks. You see, things here were based off of the typical stereo type high schools. There was a fine line between popular and not popular; and a million spider web-resembling categories between the two. I was somewhere drifting in between that fine line; holding on by a limb.

Two years ago my mom gave me an option. Either she signed me up for a contract with a Modeling Agency, or I was out. So, I did what I had to do in order to please my mom. Stand in front of a camera to earn money that she'd end up wasting it on hair products, or on billiards.

And Penelope and Tiffany are just a few of the girls who were a part of my Modeling Agency. Oh and did I mention - they hate me. I glanced at the mirrors above the bathroom, scrunched my black curls, wiped the smudged eyeliner up from under my hazel green eyes, and continued my way to Art.

This was by far my favorite class - even if Tiffany, Penelope, and Jessica were in it. But whatever. I still loved expressing myself through art - and strangely I was decently good at it. Seeing how I had no true talents, except for this. And living in an upper-middle-class house, surrounded by mansions, our school had no choice but to make the art class amazing.

Each one of us had an assigned art stencil with our own stool, along with these cool slanted tables that if you clicked a button they lit up with a fluorescent shine. It was like a whole new heaven for people like me.

"Heaven, right," I thought to myself, rolling my eyes, as I found my seat. Lately my Christianity had slowly been slipping away, until I had become fully Agnostic. I barely believed in Jesus even, though as a child I was such a strong Episcopalian. But, whatever, I didn't need christ to help me. I had lost faith in him long ago.

"Alice?" I heard a voice. "Yes?" I lifted my head to see Tiffany with a sly smile on her face. "Can I borrow your blue?" she asked, as I slowly handed it to her. What was her problem? What was she going to do?

But as she looked down back at her paper, I shrugged and started making small, swift, strokes across my paper. In a few moments the shape of a rose with a blurry background began to become visible. "Alice," Tiffany's voice continued, shoving the blue back in my way. However, she did it a little too forcefully and the lid wasn't securely on, so instead blue paint splattered all over my face, hair, and clothes.

"Alice!" our teacher, Ms. Ruthsword, scolded. "Why must you be so clumsy?" she growled and I looked down, my cheeks and mouth splotched in blue paint' while navy blue streaks seeped into my black hair. "Now go clean up!"

I stood up, swiftly leaving the class room, as my eyes pricked with tears. Why did they have to humiliate me? I knew it was because they were threatened by me - but I wanted nothing to do with their stupid modeling agency. Nothing! "Why must everything be based on appearance?" I thought, but hearing my voice in my ears, I realized I Had said it. I turned on the faucets, but no water came out. Instead, the hallway darkened to a pitch black nothingness, though soon I started to see a peeking light.

And minutes later a girl stood in front of me, a girl who was literally glowing. She had a white robe made entirely of silk, along with a golden belt-resembling-thing around her waist. From the belt, a small v-shaped line ran down her dress, down to her knees. Her hair was in soft waterfall curls and was a light brownish blonde. And finally, I noticed she had wings. These huge four foot long swan wings that were neatly tucked behind her. And on her head lay a crown made of golden roses.

"Would you like a cloth, child?" she asked, neiling at my side so that we were eye-to-eye as she offered me a wet rag. I took it uneasily, and the second it touched my painted cheek, all of the paint on my body disappeared. "H-How did you do that?" I stuttered, leaning away from her. "Oh, you'd be surprised by some of the gifts God has given us," she smiled, a peaceful aura to her.

"Who are you?" I demanded, not wanting to put up with anymore nonsense. "I'm your angel. I have been called here by your own request," she nodded, though she didn't sound the least bit stern or frustrated. "I didn't call for you!" I cried, knowing I probably swallowed some paint and it was making me hallucinate. "Yes you did," she spoke, a pleased smile on my face, and I almost wanted to believe her. Almost. Then, I heard my voice from before, echoing through the hall, "Why must everything be based on appearance?"

"So? I didn't say 'oh angel come and bother me while I'm at school'," I snapped. "No, nor did you need to. So come with my child, and I will show you what could have changed the world," she offered me a hand. And with no other choice, I reached up and took it.



Chapter 2 - The Garden of Eden Revised

The second my fingers brushed against her comfortingly warm hands, I was teleported to an entirely new dimension. Opening my eyes, I saw a piercing light that was strangely close to me. Turning away, I realized it was just the sun. The moon too was closer and I could hear the crashing of waves, though I couldn't see an ocean anywhere near.

Finally I realized I was in what looked like an ancient rain forest. There were no buildings insight - none, and the air was so fresh that I when I breathed in once I felt as if I had been trapped inside a sauna and had just been let out. The air was humid and the sky was clean. Everything seemed so much better than the real world - so unused, so natural, so... undestroyed. I was already paranoid about saving he environment; was this 'angel' just trying to make it worse.

"What's your name, anyways?" I asked, knowing it was probably someone I knew since I was dreaming. "Estella," she answered and searching through my memory, I didn't know her. But how perfectly the name fit her... "And perhaps, since I am dreaming, we are in the time of the dinosaurs?" I asked her. "No, child. We are in the time of the first humans," she nodded her head, "we're in the Garden of Eden. Now hush child, or else you will disrupt and this will be even worse than the first time this happened."

And hearing footsteps against the outgrown grass and vegetation, I ducked behind a bush and watched. There were two people, one a boy with this gorgeous head of golden curls, the other a female with wavey light brown hair down to her waist. And both were undressed, though the bushes covered most of everything. Not getting a good view of the scene, I stood up, the angel told me that I could not be seen, and walked over to the apple tree that they were standing beside.

"Hellooo, Adam, Eeeeeeve," a tongue flickered through the branches, as a snack with four little legs climbed down to one of the lower branches. "Would you like an apple, they're rather tasssssssty," the four-legged reptile offered, as Eve looked almost offended. "An apple, from this tree? No, Adam, we were warned not to eat from thy Tree of Knowledge. God warned us - it holds the forsaken fruit; just one touch of it and we will be killed. And I stand by God's word," Eve interjected.

I didn't know much about the bible - but wasn't it Eve that took the apple and ate it? And then human kind was punished by being aware of their nakedness, having to think for themselves what is right and wrong rather than knowing, having confusion, having weeds, death, and childbirth being painful?

"No, no, darrrrling. Eat from the tree and you will become godssss, you sssssssee," he hissed, trying to seduce them with the power the tree withheld. "You will know the disssstinction between good and bad," he tried to further persuade them.

I watched as Eve glared and I could feel the furry in her eyes. "I will not disobey the word of the lord, serpent," she scolded him, taking the apple from his hand. "And you - you were created through god's breath and soul - you should not disobey him either. Your words are nothing to me but trouble, so it is you, serpent, that will be punished tonight," she scolded, as she took the apple and shoved it into the serpents mouth.

"Nooo!" the serpent hissed, trying to unhinge his fangs from the forbidden fruit. "Who has eaten from the Forbidden Fruit?" a voice bellowed and I trembled under the power and intensity of it. "It is the serpent," Eve recited, as the wind picked up. "Serpent, as punishment for your doings you will have no feet to walk on; you will slither on the bottom of the ground for the rest of eternity," he growled. "And Eve, you have tricked the serpent himself. As punishment you will become aware of your nakedness, but for your good doings you will always have a good growing season," the voice was cut off just like that. Then, Eve and Adam were clothed in vines as Eve's body went limp into Adam's as she sobbed.

What? Why was she crying? Did she not realize how much better she had it? Had she not realized she had just changed the world? Everything and anything would reflect off of this - the only different was that she had to be dressed! I felt myself crying, but it was glad tears. Everything would be different, she had saved us all...

"Come, child, it is time to return home," the angel declared as I took her hand again. "Best regards to your new life," she nodded, as I was teleported back to my home. I looked around at the familiar hallways of Catalina High, though something seemed different. I couldn't put my finger on it, though. And as the bell rang and the students eased out of their classrooms, I was amazed by what I saw...

Chapter 3 - Upside Down

Nothing was how it was supposed to be and soon it began to feel like Alice in Wonderland. No one was with who they should be; Instead Penelope was with Felicity, who was a former shy girl, and Tiffany was with Rachel, though previously they hated each other. All of the girls were wearing modest clothes; nothing two inches above their knees, and everyone seemed to be treating the guys like every other person. No one was applying make up in a rush to look good, guys were opening doors for girls, and everything seemed much, well, better than before. Our school shined and the doors were painted a golden color, instead of the musty green, and there was no dirt stains on the tile.

I felt my head slowly begin to spin as Tiffany walked up. "I'm really sorry about the paint incident. I am so clumsy some times! But maybe I could make it up to you by buying you another shirt this weekend. What do you say?" she asked, a perky smile on her face. "Uh, yeah, sounds fine?" I answered, though it sounded more like a question. "Alright, see 'ya around!" she smiled, hugging me, before walking off. What was the world coming to?!

Then I saw Jake walking this way. "Phwoar..." I thought to myself; something I had picked up in England. Somehow he had gotten even better looking throughout all of this. He caught me glancing at him and embarrassed, I turned away, blushing. "Hey, Alice," he called out and I looked up to see him walking over to me. Jake and I had been good friends for the last year and a half, but we hadn't talked much ever since we both started high school.

"I was wondering if I could take you out to eat, or to the movies," he asked, his eyes looking as innocent as his smile. Wait... He wanted to take me out? ME? "Yeah, sure," I smiled, though he seemed a little surprised by my answer. Everyone seemed so formal now... Had I said the right thing. "Alright. I'll pick you up at six," he concluded, walking off. "Best. Friday. Ever!" I thought to myself, doing a happy dance before running for the doors and towards my bus.

Things have gotten a lot better around here... But I couldn't say that until I went home. I remembered that death was no longer an issue... So what happened? When I got home I was shocked to see my parents. They looked no older than thirty! But in reality they were fifty-something. "Uh, hi mom, dad..." I mumbled. That's when I realized I actually had a dad. You see, previously, my dad had walked out on us two years before... But now I guess people didn't believe in divorce and that kind of thing.

"Hi sweetheart," my mom smiled, hugging me. Her hair wasn't permed and looked much more natural than that fake-mess she had been trying to pull off since my dad walked out. Our house was twice as big as before, as was everyone elses, but I noticed that there were trees everywhere. Literally, everywhere. And everything smelt so much fresher... "Mom, what happens when you die?" I blurted, just trying to wonder if we did die after all.

"Honey, don't be silly!" she threw her head back, laughing. "Everyone knows that once you stop growing in your twenties or thirties and then every ten years you can choose to go up to heaven with god. Or, if you wish, you will parish and become an immortal angel. Then every ten years you have the option of coming back," she explained, in complete detail. Whoa... "Don't we have a lot of people, though?" I asked her. "Not hardly. The earth is twice as big; and most people want to go and live with God in Heaven immediately," she smiled, going back to her aerobics.

I walked into my bedroom, surprised by the pictures I had of me and my friends everywhere. Apparently Tiffany and I were really good friends... Same as Jake. I even had a picture of him kissing my cheek. Were we going out? Or were we just going on a casual date? Well... I was about to find out.

Chapter 4 - Path of Petals

Seconds later, Jake picked me up. I had butterflies over and more than anything I was nervous. Not so much about trying to impress him, but whether I was going to act 'normal' with this whole change.

"Hey, beautiful," he greeted me at the door, shutting it behind me, and opening the door to his Ferrari. "Hey, handsome," I mused, wondering if that was appropriate to say. Luckily, he seemed pretty fine with it.

"So, how are you?" he asked, as we took off, away from my house. "Great! By the way, I decided to take you somewhere else before dinner," he explained. So we were going to a restaurant...? "Well that's good," I smiled shyly, "and sure, sounds fun." "How about you?" he asked me, glancing at me slightly, before focusing on the road.

"Good, just stressed with home work and stuff," I sighed with a weak smile. I kind of felt like I was ruining the mood, but I also had the urge to say the truth. "Home work? What do you mean?" he asked, his eyebrows wrinkling together.

"You know... Like work your teachers give you... Like the assignment you were doing on the earthquake in Chile and Haiti," I answered, more confused than ever. Did we not have homework now? "What earthquakes?" he asked, raising his right hand against my forehead. "You feel a little hot. You sure you're ready after all of that?" he asked me, combing my hair out of my face.

Throughout my confusion and annoyance, he really was a great guy... He looked so concerned and the way he looked down at me made my insides go gooey. "After all of what?" I finally managed, trying to sound calm, even though my voice was shaking. "Well, you almost died," he nodded his head in a it's-kind-of-obvious-but-I'm-being-polite way. "Oh, uh right... Yeah, I'm fine, I'm just having trouble remembering stuff," I shrugged it off. Since when had I almost died? "Yeah, that car hit you pretty badly," he frowned. "But now that's behind us..." sighing in relief, he parked the car, walking around, and opened the door for me.

I took his hand, stepping out of the car as he shut the door, and looked around. It was seven and nearing winter, so the days were short. Therefore, it was almost pitch black. The stars, moon, and fireflies were highlighting the night, though.

It was beautiful where we were - there were towering autumn maple trees curving over a path, to be infused into a roof. He pulled me in close as we walked down the path, with a few seconds of small talk.

Finally, peeking through the end of intertwined branches, was a peaceful little haven, looking very much like something out of a Disney princess movie. There was a small pond with two criss-crossing swans, their arched necks in the shape of a heart, and surround them was a hedge of rose bushes. There was an apple tree in the center, with fireflies busily swarming above.

The apples from the trees were glowing and golden, while the roses were in full bloom. There were doves chirping in the tree and there was a refreshing floral smell. There were rose petals on the ground, leading to a small bench leaning against the apple tree, in full view of the starry night. Hand in hand, he lead me to the bench through the path of petals, until we were at the bench. Speechless, I sat down beside him, focused more on him than the breathtaking scenery. "This is great...!" I stammered in a whisper, as he turned to look at me. "It's great... I love it!" I exclaimed, still ridden of most words.

"I love... You," he whispered. My eyes widened, as I wasn't sure what to say. How was I supposed to say 'I love you to'? I didn't want to be rude... "I love you to," I heard my mouth say. HUH? Why did I say that? Who was controlling my mind? Remembering that I had felt like I must speak the truth - maybe it was true then... Maybe I did love him...

Well actually, I knew I had, since before I could remember. At least I loved the old him. Luckily, the new him seemed even better. If that was possible. The only difference was that he was more like a gentleman, after all. He leaned down as my eyes slowly fluttered shut, as our lips brushed together.

However, not a second after they met, they were no longer there. I opened my eyes and he wasn't there at all. In fact, I wasn't at the garden even! "Where am I?!" I demanded aloud, mostly speaking to myself. "Welcome back," Estella's voice greeted me, as the pitch-black-nothingness transformed into a small little cottage.

Chapter 5 - Surprising Answers

"What the 'heck'?" I shrieked, falling to the ground, the prairie grass working as a cushion. My eyebrows were furrowed in confusion, while my eyes were deepened in a partially annoyed, partially 'how could you do this to me?' look.

"Come on, there will be plenty of other times that you and your 'Boy-Friend' can smooch," she snorted, a cheery smile on her face. "Yeah but... But..." I objected, stumbling over my words when I realized that she'd referred to him as my boyfriend. "But what?" she asked, complete innocence overcoming her face. "But it was so perfect!" I finally managed, looking around the tranquil setting we were now at. "Oh, honey, everything's perfect in this world!" she giggled, in a 'duh' manner.

"Fine," I groaned, allowing her to tell me why I had been summoned here, "and where are we anyways?" "This is my Spring cottage," she explained, unfolding her arms so that were motioning around her, as if it were her palace. "And you seemed a bit confused, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to clear it away. I mean you do have a new boyfriend, after all," a pleased smile on her face, she led me into her spring cottage.

"Okay, to start off, are we even dating?" I asked, shutting the circular-arched wooden door, looking around the cream colored interior of the cottage. "Well, nowadays, whenever two people exchange the word 'i love you' they make a commitment to each other and are, well, 'dating'. It's just deeper than that dating crap. It's love," she answered, picking up a shining apple from her kitchen, tossing it in the air, and then catching it.

"Uh, alright," I nodded, hoping I'd be able to catch on. I took a step forward and the wood creaked, startling me to the point I jumped back. This really was a cozy little home. The walls complimented the vintage wooden floors, which were blanketed with rugs, mostly red. She had a welcome mat, a welcome sign on the inside and outside of her door, and there was a cozy little fireplace to the right, in the living room. The dining room was a dark green, while the large chestnut-oak table was dotted with fancy scarlet chairs.

The kitchen was yellow and green based with roosters, roses, and chic decorations(such as cooking pots on the walls, or apple cooking mittens), while the living room was almost entirely yellow and brown, a welcoming aura and bright light to it. As I studied, my mind went into depth of the confusion I had just experienced, frantically searching for a question. "Well, what about the whole homework thing?"

"Nowadays, learning isn't based off of numbers. It's based off of knowledge. You don't have homework or tests and you certainly aren't graded on anything. After you finish each year, however, you are ranked off of how much you learned in school. Your angel is the one who ranks you, since they truly do know whether you messed around or paid attention. So school really is an important and high focus to everyone," she explained, rearranging her roses. "No homework?" I repeated as she nodded her head humbly.

"So that's why he had no project... But how come he didn't know about the earthquakes in Chile and Haiti?" I asked, well, more or less though aloud. "Well, you do know what the Apocalypse is, correct? Like, the end of the world?" she asked and I nodded my head. "Well, the earthquakes in Chile, Haiti, California, and so on, were the start of it. Just like swine flu - that was one of the plagues," she explained. My mouth widened in disbelief, though it all did make sense.

"So... We were all going to... Die?" I choked, as she nodded her head. Ohmygosh... "God was so, so sick of it. Slaughtering his animals, his children killing each other, robberies, and destroying HIS ground," she shook his head. "It was disgusting, Inhumane!" she threw her hands up in the air. "And it's not like HE would have ended the world. He left the decision up to them, and they blew it. That's where 2012 takes place," she explained. "So that wasn't a rumor?" I asked, as my question was answered by a shake of her head. "Some angel leaked a word and the next day it's everywhere," she rolled her eyes.

"And how come Jake thinks I was in a car accident? Isn't everyone immortal?" I finally asked after a long pause, which I spent adapting to this new information. "We needed an excuse for you to be so out-of-it, so that's what we came up with. And no - you can still die BEFORE you stop growing," she explained.

"Okay," I nodded my head. "Anymore questions?" she asked, as I shook my head no. "Alright. Have fun!" she smiled, snapping her fingers, as I was back at the garden with Jake. Our lips brushed against one another and he hesitated, shyly, but I leaned forward so that the deal was sealed.

Chapter 6 - Adapting

I woke up feeling light as a feather, which was odd because normally I felt like an overstuffed chicken. I closed my eyes, remember last night. It had been so wonderful and my feelings were indescribable. Stretching, I slumped back onto my bed, checking my phone. "Four new messages!" was flashing across the screen and I was surprised, since I normally didn't text people.

Two were from Tiffany, asking what time I wanted to go shopping. "Oh right, I forgot about that," I drowsily mumbled, yawning. The third was from Jake and I felt my heart beat quicken, as I eagerly scanned his text.

Jake - Good morning beautiful. You made me the happiest person alive yesterday. Hope to see you soon♥

I was still a bit surprised that we were, well, in love. Well I was in love with the old him, I wasn't sure about the new one. Sure he might be better, but was he my type now? I decided to text Tiffany, meanwhile thinking about the perfect answer for Jake.

Me - Hey Tiffany. I'll be ready in an hour. C u then.
Tiffany - Alrighty! Can't wait! SHOPPING<3

"Of course I do," I finally answered myself. Why wouldn't I? I had to speak the truth, or at least I was forced to, and the truth was that I loved him. "I love him," I spoke out loud, as my lips tingled, the kind of feeling you get after buzzing into water.

I felt like I had just gotten another twenty pounds off of me, knowing that at this rate I'd be floating in the air soon! I giggled, surprised by the happiness that was thick in my voice, as I scavenged through my closet.

I ended up in an earthy green v-neck, a grey cammi, and denim shorts. To accessorize I added a green headband and silver flip-flops. I was ready. Spritzing myself over with my apple-shaped Nicole Ricci 'tropical' spray, I breathed it in as I closed my eyes.

"Alice?" I heard a scarily familiar voice ask, as I froze. It sounded like my older brother, Justin, but I knew that was impossible... He had died four years ago, after drag-racing. But as he turned the corner, I just stared at him in awe. "You okay? You look like you just saw an angel," he chuckled, as I shook my head. "Don't you mean a ghost? Not an angel?" I managed, since it just sounded a little weird. "Shuttup, Alice. Mom and Dad are going to blow if they hear you use that word," he snapped in a harsh, hushed, tone.

"What... Ghosts?" I asked in a mumble as he rolled his eyes. "They don't exist. Everyone goes to heaven," he stated blandly in a "duh" tone. That was so like him... The old him, at least. "Well, the people who don't believe in god don't go to heaven. They have their own believes..." I argued, rather confused. "Someone not believing in heaven? Wow, the car accident sure did take a lot out of you," he chuckled, treating me like a little kid who didn't know a thing.

Just as I opened my mouth, I was in a state of nothingness for half a second and I already knew that I'd see Estella's face any moment. This time, however, I was transported inside of her little cottage. "Welcome back," her powerful voice greeted me, as I turned to see her. "Were you eves dropping on me and my brother?" I asked, my confused face hardly changing. "It would be 'my brother and I', and no, but I could tell that you were confused," she explained to me. "Uh... How?" I asked, since that seemed just a little weird. "It's just like a different sense. We're a lot smarter than you all give us credit for, you know," she rolled her eyes.

"Alrighty then," I nodded, thinking of my first question before speaking, "why does no one believe in ghosts?" "Well, in this world, there's a thick line between reality and fantasy. Everyone here rejects fantasy, such as ghosts, dragons, etc. They don't exist. And everyone takes this quite seriously," she explained and though I didn't completely understand, I did remember some really strict Christian families not letting their children reading fantasy books.

"Okay, but why does everyone believe in god?" I asked, turning to face her. "Well, God DID create us all... And without Adam and Eve to screw everything up, people just grew up praising the Lord," she nodded her head, as I started to fully understand what a compact they had made on Earth. "Well, what if someone just doesn't believe in God? Like what if they believe in science?" I asked, as she looked down. "Well, obviously they're insane, so they're taken care of..." she mumbled, twirling one of my curls with my finger. "What do you

-tobecontinued later-