The Garden of Truth

Just a little short story I made to teach my little cousin an important lesson in science, while also still being fun to read.

The Garden of Truth

Written by Angelica C.

Hello, my name is Luna, I will be your narrator for this story. I am going to tell you how I learned the truth about photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Don’t worry, I know they are big words but I know you can read them. To make things easier just remember when you see a big word break it down; that will help. Well that’s all I have to tell you personally right now let’s get started on our adventure.

I live in the mystical land of CelestialGem, this is a place where we use a mix of science and magic allowing us to keep in harmony with nature. The land has many secrets that are waiting to be discovered. The people that find out these secrets are called the Wise Ones. They go out on missions assigned to them by the King and Queen to find these secrets, reveal their truth and share the knowledge with others so that we can keep in harmony with nature and stay a prosperous kingdom.

I work at the library, I sometimes help the Wise Ones find information about the secrets they're looking for. One day, I would love to be a part of the Wise Ones and find out the land’s secrets. I have never gone on a adventure myself but I have read about them in my books. It would be so exciting if I, Luna, could go on adventure and prove myself worthy to be a Wise One, that’s my dream.

By now it was the middle of summer and the Wise Ones were hard at work, new discoveries were being made everyday. But there seemed to be one secret they just couldn’t the find the truth to. The leader of the Wise Ones called it, the harmony of photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Supposedly, this was the process in which plants breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen and, then animals and us, being people, take in the oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide to keep everything in balance. You see, the Wise Ones knew this already but recently they started thinking that there had to be more to it than that. But they couldn’t find anything telling them the rest of the truth. The search for this truth had been going on for a while and still no progress was being made.

This made the Wise Ones turn to magic. It’s not that they didn’t like magic or the use of it but it required a lot of focus and the use of magical energy which they only had so much of. This was because after a civil war not too long ago, most of the land was destroyed because people on both sides used too much magical energy throwing the balance of nature off. So, to heal the land the King make a degree stating “Until the land is healed and we are in harmony with nature once again, only use magic as a last resort and nothing else. If done without good reason I will see personally to the guilty party’s punishment.-Your King of CelestialGem”.

As you can imagine no one wanted to get in trouble with the King so everyone tried to avoid using magic as much as possible. Unless it was absolutely necessary, such as healing, rebuilding nature and towns where the war had been, and finding truths.

So, with the Wise Ones being allowed to use magic they consulted in the Great Elements. In a forest not too far from town there is a cave. Within this cave are the four spirits that represent the elements. The reason the Wise Ones had to use magic is because the Great Elements can only be summoned from the spirit world with their element’s magic.

On the night of the summer solstice, four of the Wise Ones went to the cave and used the magic of fire, water, earth, and air. Once the elemental magic was cast the Great Elements appeared. They asked in one smooth and gentle tone “What is your question, Wise Ones?”, and they asked “Where is truth hidden involving the harmony of photosynthesis and cellular respiration?”. The Great Elements simply answered “Your answer is within Sapphire Falls, all truths are hidden there”, with that they vanished. The Wise Ones went to work immediately trying to find where Sapphire Falls was located. They sent scouts all over the kingdom but nothing was found. The leader said that they needed to look in the ancient books about CelestialGem to find the location of this mystical waterfall of sapphires.

         This is where my part of the story comes in. One day a Wise One came to the library asking for any books containing facts about CelestialGem, but in the ancient times. “I found this quite odd” so I told him “since I didn’t even know if we had any books on that subject. Normally, books containing such information were stored in the castle in the King’s and Queen’s personal library”. But I said “I would look for him if it meant the Wise Ones finding their answer”.

I looked in the deep and dark vaults under the library for any books. I found some books containing basic facts about CelestialGem and it’s past. When I returned, I told the man that “I don’t think these would help in their search, but he was welcome to them”. He glanced over the books at great speed and nodded saying that “these books wouldn’t be helpful”, but before he left he told me “if you find anything come and tell me right away day or night”. I nodded as he left and went back to work.

Later that day when the library was soon to close, I went downstairs to lock up the library vaults. But when I went to close the door I heard a voice. It was a tiny voice calling my name over and over. I looked down the long dark hall and said “the library is closed, everyone should be gone by now”. But I still heard the voice. I then said “This isn’t funny, you should go home. No one is allowed in after hours”. But still the voice called. I then went into the hall to try and find this person but once I went in the hall that door slammed behind me and all the lights went out.

At this point, I was getting scared, I no idea what was going to happen to me. Then a bright blue glow came from down the hall and said, “Luna come here please”. I didn’t want to go but my body moved anyway. I was getting closer to the glow and getting more frightened in the process. But when I reached the blue glow it turned into a spirit. It was the spirit of water.

She reached out her hand and said, “Luna you are the chosen one”. I was so confused, I said, in a surprised tone, “how could I be the chosen one, I was just a librarian after all”. She asked, “do you know your parents?”, I nodded no. Then she asked “do you know where you came from?”, I nodded no. Next, she asked, “ Luna, what is your favorite thing”, I replied “the moon”. Her final question was “do you know who named you and what your name stands for”, once again I nodded no. Then she made a water orb in her hand and told me to look into the orb to see my past.

Once I looked into the orb I saw the moon and a star. Then the orb came closer to the moon and star. I was stunned, the moon wasn’t a moon, she was a spirit and the star was a baby. The baby seemed to look like me and the woman looked very kind hearted. The woman was dressed in all white and silver. Her hair flowed blue. Her eyes were bright blue and skin looked as smooth as silk. The baby looked the same. Then the moon said in a gentle and loving tone, “Oh my child, I must stay here to watch over the Earth, but you must go to help the humans discover many truths about their world. You will be the link between the physical and spirit world. Go on my child, you may return to me once you find your first truth. But you must stay with the humans as well, because they will always need your help, I will miss you and always watch over you, if you ever need me just look up to the moon. Farewell, my child, Luna”.

Once the vision in the orb went back to water I almost fell. This was just so much to take in at one time. I was the daughter of the moon. I am really a spirit of the star. I am the chosen one to help the humans find truth. My mind went blurry and I fell to the floor on my knees. Then the water spirit came to the floor. She held my head up and said, “I’m glad we finally get to meet in person Luna. I am Aqua, your mom, Celeste and I are good friends. You could say I’m your aunt. All of your spirit family can’t wait to meet you and you’ve grown up so well. But anyway, Celeste sent me to give you this, it’s a map to where Sapphire Falls is located and on the back are the directions of how to get in. I must be off. Also, look on the top shelf here and you might find something useful. One last thing, don’t tell the Wise Ones, you must find this truth by yourself if you want to visit your mom. I hope we meet again soon Luna, goodbye”. With that she vanished.

I dont know why but my mind felt very at ease and I could just accept my new mission and find the truth about the harmony of photosynthesis and cellular respiration. I looked on the top shelf like Aqua told me and there was a book with ancient spells. I didn’t know if I would need them or even if I could use magic but I took the book and the map and headed home.

The next day I packed a small bag with the map, book, food, water, and some lucky charms that had the moon and the four elements on them. I figured if I was a spirit of the star and from that world I might be able to get into contact with them if I needed to. Just like Aqua told me I didn’t tell the Wise Ones or anyone else for that matter. After I finished packing I headed into the forest just like the map showed. I had to be walking for hours and still not close to the location of Sapphire Falls. The map showed that the location was by a mountain on the other side of the forest. But the forest was so thick and large itself that it would take forever to get there. I had been walking for about three days now and that’s when the most amazing thing happened. Another spirit appeared.

This time it was the spirit of air. She looked at me with kind eyes. She said, “Hey, Luna, right? I am Aura. I see you’re having a hard time out here. I understand this forest is very thick and I can see from up above the trees you have a lot of walking to do. I want to help, I’d do anything for the daughter of Celeste. This is going to feel pretty weird but here it goes”. I looked under my feet and there was wind around them and it went all around my body and I started to fly. “Aura”, I said, “this feels weird. Are you sure I’m not going to fall?” Aura looked at me and laughed, “ I told you it would feel weird, don’t worry Luna, you’re perfectly fine. Just follow my lead and we will be at the monument in no time”. I followed Aura’s example and before I knew it I was flying.

It felt so amazing to be flying above the trees, feeling so free. We were going faster than I thought and sure enough we were at the base of the mountain. Aura let me out of my what you could call an air bubble. She said cheerful yet sad, “ I have to go now but I’ll be watching over you”, then she waved goodbye before she went with the wind.

‘Well that helped a lot’, I thought to myself. It was almost night time now. It was starting to get cold. But at least by the time the sun set I was on the mountain and had set up my little camp for the night. But of course my adventure had to have some problem, just when I went to start my fire, it started to rain. This dampens things doesn’t it. “Oh well”, I said, “ I guess I’ll just have to try and keep warm inside my tent”. But that’s when the wind got really strong and blew away my tent, ripping it out of the ground. Then I was stuck in the rain with whatever was in my bag. I had a pretty good feeling that it was the doing of Aqua and Aura. I was being tested if I could really complete this mission by myself and find the truth. For the night I found a large tree and made some shelter with its big leaves. I was still cold so I decided that I would look inside the spellbook.

On one of the pages there was a fire spell. I was relieved, but feeling disappointed for I still didn’t really know how to use magic. But none the less I tried, it worked. I was so happy I could be warm and dry now. I made a tiny fire with some twigs and dried off everything. I was still a little confused because I didn’t know how I did it. But none the less it worked and now I could go to sleep and have nice dreams about my mom and the Great Elements, my family.

The next day, I started walking around looking for the place the map described. There was suppose to be a large tree, lake, and meadow by where the waterfall would be. I searched for three more days and came upon a spot that fit the maps description perfectly. But there was no Sapphire Falls. I was confused and more than a little disappointed. I had come all this way. Even Aqua and Aura helped me and here I am and nothing! I sat on a rock by the lake and started to cry. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder. I wasn’t frightened but a little startled.

It was the spirit of Earth. He was a strong man, yet very kind. He told me, “Stay calm and that everything would be ok”. I said him, “that that’s a nice idea but I failed, how could I possibly go back to the Wise Ones and fail and never see my mom, without finding the truth, that’s even here”. He chuckled and said, “Well Luna, my name is Terra and I’m here to help you. Just like your mother you get so sad when you think you've failed or did something wrong. Look at the map closely Luna, what do you see?”. “The lake, tree, and meadow”, I said. “Yes, and what else?” Terra asked. I paused looking at the map, seeing if I missed any details. Then i saw it. The moon was reflecting in the lake and Sapphire Falls was never on the map. Which meant it was a magical waterfall. This also meant that Sapphire Falls appears at night on a full moon and the moon had to be reflecting directly in the middle of the lake. Terra patted me on the back and said “Good job Luna, I knew you would figure it out. I realized you knew when your eyes looked happy again, just like Celeste. Well, I must be off”. “Wait!” I said, “all of you have visited me: Aqua, Aura, and now you, Terra, will the fire spirit come visit soon?”, Terra nodded, “Yes he will, in fact I think he will tonight. You’re going to need his help with opening Sapphire Falls and coming out for that matter”. Then Terra vanished.

With that I was  in high spirits and waited until nightfall to see Sapphire Falls and discover the truth. I decided since I couldn’t do anything until then I would get some sleep. As night fell I, woke up feeling refreshed and ready to take my adventure with the help of the fire spirit of course. The moon was directly over the center of the lake and it was indeed full. I waited for Sapphire Falls to appear but nothing was happening. Terra said I would need the fire spirits help, so I waited until something happened. A few minutes later before me the fire spirit appeared.

“Hello Luna, I am Pyro and I am your last helper on this mission of truth. I know I might be the wrong person to help since we are by water right now, but I’m not here for my element. I’m here for my magical ability. I am the most powerful of the Great Elements, therefore, you see I know the most magic. It seems like I am boasting but I assure you that I’m just telling you this because one day you will know a lot of magic too. I will show you how to get into the falls and I will help you get out when your mission is completed, getting out magic is always a little harder than getting in”. Pyro chuckled. “Take out your book and turn to the section where it says Luna Magic. Now I want you to recite these words very clearly as you move your hand in the shape of a star”. I was so excited there was magic named after me. I did what Pyro told me and I recited the words. ‘Look up into the sky, there you will see the moon shining bright. When you look on the lake below the moon has a blue glow. Now the power of the stars give me strength to reveal the truth of this lake’. With that the lake parted and the water rose up into the sky and created a waterfall right in the middle of the lake. But this waterfall was different, it flowed with sapphires. This was Sapphire Falls. “Alright then”, said Pyro, “I’ll be waiting out here, give me a shout when you’re done, just go on in”.

I went to get in the lake but my feet wouldn’t go past the water. I could walk on it. I looked back at Pyro and he said “don’t worry about it, remember you are originally a spirit you don’t have the same effects on the elements that humans do”. With that I was so excited I ran across the lake and straight through Sapphire Falls. Once inside everything turned bright white. Then people all in white appeared before me and asked me, “What is your question child?”. I answered “My question is, 'What is the secret of the harmony between photosynthesis and cellular respiration?”. They vanished and a huge flower spirit appeared before me. The flower spirit said, “We will tell you all child, so just sit and listen”.

“I am the mother of all flowers. My name is Lily. I will tell you something about photosynthesis. Water comes up through my roots by little hairs on them. Then that water travels up one of three paths to get to my leaves. Carbon dioxide enters my leaves by my stomata which are tiny holes on the outer layer of my leaves. Once those two things are in my body photosynthesis starts to take place in the chloroplast organelle of my cells, it makes my food like a kitchen. But before I have all of that I need sunlight, it’s very important because without it the light energy won’t turn into chemical energy that make sugars. But after getting my food, the sugars are done being made and I have a waste product of oxygen. I will get rid of that through my stomata, the same place where carbon dioxide comes in. Once I have my sugars, which is in the form of glucose, I break them down and use them as energy and food. The final thing I’ll tell you is that when the process of photosynthesis is done, the products are glucose and oxygen, these are important to me and help guarantee that my life will continue because I use the glucose for food and energy plus I keep some oxygen to help break down the glucose and the rest of it I release so you and all the other animals can breathe clean, refreshing air.” After that a great light shone. Then where Iris once stood a large dragon was in her place.

“Hello child, my name Onyx and I will tell you about cellular respiration. Glucose, the sugars that Iris told you about enters mine and your body through eating food then it breaks down in the intestines and is then released into your bloodstream. Oxygen enters our bodies through gas exchange and diffusion, its commonly called breathing. We get our energy from ATP which the food we eat creates. ATP stands for Adenosine Triphosphate, that is high concentration of energy within a molecule. ATP is important because its the life energy that all living things need to survive. In the cellular respiration process a waste product is made called carbon dioxide. We exhale carbon dioxide to get it out of our bodies so that the plants may take it in. We don't need it! You see, all livings things besides plants use cellular respiration to live, except for plants of course”. Then Onyx disappeared into the great light that had come before and a voice spoke to me as visions of scientific equations came before me.

“The equation of photosynthesis is six molecules of carbon dioxide and six molecules of water. Then sunlight causes the reaction to create sugar and oxygen. The reactants in this equation are carbon dioxide and water while the products are glucose and water. The equation of cellular respiration is the direct opposite of photosynthesis. With glucose and oxygen being the reactants and the products being water, carbon dioxide, and ATP, energy. These equations are similar by how they use the same molecules that react to each other giving energy and food to either plants or humans and animals. But they are different but how the equations are flipped and cellular respiration also creates ATP at the end of the process. This also means that the real truth about photosynthesis and cellular respiration is that they depend on each other. Without one of them the harmony is thrown off and either the plants or the animals will suffer from it”. The voice left and the people in white appeared before me again.

In their hands was a little red and green egg. I asked, “What is the egg for?”. They said “it’s to show you how animals and plants live in harmony”. Then the egg turned into a rose. The rose shook a little then one of the people in white signaled me to come closer. I looked directly over the rose and it opened. When it did there was a baby dragon inside. Then they said “ See, child this is why photosynthesis and cellular respiration must keep in harmony because without in the miracle of life will not occur. Then the rose with the baby dragon disappeared and the people in white started floating back into the distance. “Luna”, they said, “has your question be answered?” I nodded with the biggest smile and said, “Yes, it has been fully answered thank you ever so much”. They said to me “Come again if you cannot find the answer to your questions Luna, we will always help you discover the truth”. Then they vaded into the white light where they once stood. I said, “thank you again, and I’ll take you up on that offer”. I called out to Pyro to take me out of Sapphire Falls. Then in a blink of an eye I was back on land.

“Did you get what you were looking for Luna?”, Pyro asked. “Yes, very much so. I got more information than I could of asked for. I am so excited, I have the answers about the harmony of photosynthesis and cellular respiration. The Wise Ones will surely accept me as one of them and now I can go see mom whenever I want.” “Yes, you will, In fact, why don’t you see her now?” Then Pyro stepped aside and behind him stood Aqua, Aura, and  Terra. Then they parted and there stood my mom, Celeste.

I ran with my arms stretched out and I hugged her so tight. I didn’t let go as she held me just as tight for a while. She let go just enough so we could look at each other. She kissed my forehead and said, “Oh my child look how you’ve grown, it's been so long and I’m so proud of you.” I said, “Thank you mom, and I missed you so much”, as I looked up into her eyes. We talked a little more about how much we had missed each other and what had been going on back home, in the human and spirit worlds. Then I got to know my mom and the Great Elements more throughout the rest of the night. In the morning everyone had to get going, after all they were ones that made sure the Earth stayed in harmony.

So, I gave my aunts Aqua and Aura, my uncles Terra and Pyro, and my mother Celeste the biggest hug and the charms I had been holding on to for them to remember how thankful I was for their help and to have a family. The Great Elements waved goodbye and went off in their different directions. But before my mother returned to the moon, she gave one last hug and as I handed her my moon charm she handed me a star charm and said, “this is so you always remember me, my child, Luna”. Then as she left she used her magic to teleport me back home, then I went straight to the Wise Ones hall.

I ran in and asked for an audience with the leader of the Wise Ones for I had the answer to their question. When I walked in to the office of the leader I saw the man that spoke to me at the library. I was shocked but I introduced myself as Luna, star spirit, daughter of the moon spirit Celeste. He was then in shock and very intrigued at what I had to say. I told him about my whole adventure from the moment I met him. I told him about the Great Elements and my mom. How they helped me to discover Sapphire Falls which would lead me to the truth. I then gave him all the information about the harmony of photosynthesis and cellular respiration I had. As I spoke he wrote down everything I said and when I was done telling him about my grand adventure and all the knowledge I had gained he nodded and smiled. He said thank you for my service to the Wise Ones and to the kingdom of CelestialGem. Then he stood up, shook my hand and asked me if I would like to join the Wise Ones so that I could help with many of the unanswered questions. He also said that the King and Queen would probably be interested, if I could tell them more about the spirit and how we can get nature back in harmony again with humans. I gladly accepted and from that day forward I have helped the Wise Ones and the kingdom keep in harmony.

I still visit the Great Elements and my mom. I can visit them any time I want. You see, when the charms were exchanged they all used their magic to make the charms gates into the spirit world. So, whenever I want to visit any of them, I simply hold the charm and say their name and next thing you know I’m standing next to them. I’m glad to say that everyone is doing really well and so many questions have been answered. The kingdom is also at full magical energy and harmony again.

Overall, I am really happy that my dreams came true and I finally have a family. It’s funny when you think about it that such a huge event happened that would change my life forever all started with a question that couldn’t be answered. A simple question, too, for that matter- about how photosynthesis and cellular keep in harmony with each other and how it helps our world function correctly.

Well, I’m thankful that you took the time to read my story and learn about something new today. Remember if you're ever wondering about something don’t be afraid to ask the question. And if no one can find your answer find it yourself because finding the truth out about a secret is always the best feeling and a true adventure.

Fin’

Author's Note

This isn't perfect by any means. I just your opinion on if the story works or not. I also intend on making it longer to put in more fun learning things.