the weedy garden and overgrown flowerbeds I saw that the trees surrounding the
garden had been cut down. The garden looked larger now and I could for once, see
beyond the garden fence. I stood up and looked out. I saw colossal oak tress and
a small lake. How had I ever not known it was there? It looked so calm. But I
was brought back to reality as I heard Mum throw something at Dad. It smashed
and as it did, I felt my heart shatter. I hated it when they argued. I decided I
had had enough.
One glance at the stunning world beyond my garden made me decide to go and
explore it and get out of this house. I crept out of my room, hearing the shouts
grow louder and tiptoed downstairs. The screams of my parents were piercing. I
couldn’t cope. It felt stuffy in the house. I just needed to breathe. I had to
get out. I walked out the back door and down the path running along the side of
the crazy disorganised garden. I could feel the mid summer evening heat
attacking me as I clambered over the garden fence. I scraped my shin on the
splintered wooden fence and felt a stinging pain, but that was nothing compared
to the pain inside of me at that moment.
I remember looking up as I fell to the other side of the fence onto soft
mossy grass. I saw pure bliss. It was as if I had entered the secret garden. There was
a small bank on which I had landed. There were daisies covering the ground,
blending with the long grass.
On either side of me were over grown rose bushes and sweet peas growing
up the fence. The soft pink of the sweet peas contrasted with the brilliant magenta of
the roses. I had never been anywhere more beautiful. Around the small lake were
oak trees, shading the delicate water lilies upon the calm waters. Their boughs
stretched far and reflected images, along with the pale pink dusky sky, onto the
fresh water.
The lake itself was fantastic. The water was so clear that I could see the
smooth pebbles on the bottom with tiny golden fish darting over them. The lake
was not covered in algae but masked with exquisite, elegant water lilies. There
were bright turquoise dragonflies resting upon them, reflecting rainbow colours
to my eyes.
There was no way to get round the lake because of the dense oak trees, but as I
gazed across, I could see steps from the water, leading up to a flowered arch.
It looked as if it could be a gateway to heaven. It was saturated in subtle pink
clematis creeping up the old stony, dilapidated pillars. It was dripping in
sweet smelling jasmine and cast a faint but perfect shadow onto the water.
The brilliant orange sunset behind this flawless stunning scene illuminated
vivid silhouettes of the arch and the huge strong trees. The scene before my
eyes was overwhelmingly calm. It was like being in heaven. I lay back on the
mossy grassy bank and closed my eyes. I felt the sun kiss my face and arms and I
smiled inwardly to myself. I listened to the peacefulness and heard only birds
singing. It was bliss. This place was to become my sanctuary for comfort for the
next three years.
Ever since then, I have gone there for some quiet time. I sit on the bank and
just breathe. Not needing people to talk to, or anything to listen to. Just
sitting within this shelter was enough. As months and years passed this place
began to know me. The trees seemed to carry my thoughts and the water held my
secrets.
The last time I ever sat in my sanctuary was in the middle of the night. The rain
was lashing down onto the water and pounding onto my body as I climbed over the fence. I
sat on the grass and watched, just as a flash of lightening illuminated the dripping flowered
arch. I didn’t mind sitting in the rain. I was wrapped in my dressing gown but
content to be where I was. As a strong bolt of thunder shook through the sky I
felt a pang of strength shoot through me. Being out in a storm was an
overwhelming experience, I sat there and thought. As the storm grew stronger,
all the problems with my parents grew weaker.
I watched; the raindrops dangling off the roses and the lightening behind the
tree.
This was my last visit to my special place. The arguments between my parents had got worse. I had spent the last 3 years upstairs in my room, or over the fence in my secret garden. About a year ago they stopped sleeping in the same room. It was clear they didn’t love each other anymore. I started to notice this because now she didn’t even apologise after arguments and they never kissed before Dad went to work. My family was falling apart. So now, three years since I discovered the peaceful place behind the garden, we were leaving.
As I sat on a cardboard box in my room, I gazed wistfully out of the window, over the fence to the dazzling rosebud garden and arch covered in bright green leaves, ready for when the flowers would bloom. This was my last glance. I walked out of my room and down the stairs. I walked into the front garden and slowly into the car. I looked up and saw the For Sale sign stamped into the ground in front of my house. It would no longer be a place I would go. It is now the place I used to go.