The Rosebed (Olivia's Garden)

Robert meets Olivia at a party and the two form a friendship. Eventually, he stumbles upon her mysterious garden, with its lush greenery and moving trees. What secrets could Olivia be hiding in it?

Prologue

The late-summer sun was starting to set, casting its golden rays lower with each passing second. Cool, elongated shadows cast their spiky fingers in the wilting haze of the last Monday of August. Autumn was in the air.

Olivia looked up from the fresh mound of dirt which she had been toiling over for the past hour and a half. This will be such a nice rosebed once I'm all done, she thought as she straightened her back and sat up on her knees, eager to fully take in her work. She passed a tired hand over her hot forehead and took off her gardening gloves, appraising the position of the new rosebed she had just created. It was located practically in the centre of the back garden, with a row of pear trees flanking it on one side and a small gravel pathway leading to the house on the other.

Feeling fatigued from the events of the day, Olivia lowered her body to the ground and lay down beside the rosebed. She rolled over on her side, facing the fresh mound of dirt and pressed her ear against the ground. She thought she heard a faint heartbeat from deep beneath the earth. Sighing, Olivia looked up at the sky, recalling the events of the past few days…

Chapter I - The Party

It all started when Maggie - Olivia's best friend -  invited her over for a house party. Olivia didn't want to go at first, since the majority of the party's guests would be new to her and she wasn't very socially inclined. Maggie, however, had been so persistent that it was hard to say no. Judging by her friend's enthusiasm and covert smiles, Olivia suspected that there would be someone at the party whom her friend wanted her to meet. The party was officially supposed to be in honour of the first day of summer, but more than anything, it was just a merry get-together.

The party was on a warm and humid Friday evening. Crickets chirped in the grass and a dog barked in the distance. Olivia walked to Maggie's house along the quiet suburban street. Her friend lived just a couple of blocks away from the old family estate occupied by Olivia - her family home was the oldest in the neighborhood. The surrounding houses had been built much later, with some of them close to 200 years younger than Olivia’s mansion. 

The sun was almost hidden behind the horizon and the air was thick with mosquitoes by the time Olivia reached Maggie’s house. Nonetheless, she had worn one of her most cherished summer dresses and even put on some lipstick for the occasion. As she walked up the stone pathway to Maggie's house, Olivia heard laughter wafting from the open living room window. The party had begun. Knocking twice on the heavy oak door, she entered without waiting for a reply. 

As soon as Olivia entered the front hall of her friend's house, she was accosted by the salty (and somewhat unpleasant) smell of raw fish. She made her way towards the living room, the smell growing stronger with each step, making Olivia feel faintly sick. Maggie had never been one for fish, making the stench that much more enigmatic

Maggie, who only became aware of her friend's arrival when Olivia had already entered the living room, fleeted over and beamed at her. "You won't believe who our guest today is!" She chirped eagerly. 

Without waiting for Olivia’s reply, Maggie pulled on her friend's arm and steered her towards a tall man in a blue sweater, who was shyly standing in the corner with a glass in his hand. Although

he wasn’t particularly handsome, there was something charming in his demeanor and his eyes had a decidedly kind twinkle. Olivia decided that she rather liked him.

Hopping excitedly to his side and grabbing him by the elbow, Maggie breathlessly introduced the two confused people to each other (the man's name was Robert) and flapping her hands in a childish way continued, "Rob is my childhood friend. The oldest one I have ha ha ha! Apparently he ran away right after college to become a sailor and has been away basically for forever - for the past few years anyway - but has finally carved out some time to visit family and friends - including me!"

Rob laughed awkwardly and glanced at the floor. Olivia could tell that he was embarrassed, although she couldn't figure out what of, exactly.

"Come on Maggie. Don't be so dramatic,” he said, “everybody's busy these days and I'm nothing special." Rob gazed into the distance, somewhere above Maggie's shoulder. Olivia though he looked unhappy to be here, however when his eyes met hers, he smiled. An open, genuine smile.

"Don't be silly," countered Maggie, "this is such a treat for me. By the way, Olivia, Rob has brought some fish with him as a gift!" 

Olivia - who had been smelling this gift from the moment she set foot inside the house -  cleared her throat and in a polite attempt to appear friendly asked, "what kind of fish is it, Rob?"

" Oh uh, sablefish. It was our favorite at sea. Easy to catch!" He laughed, a loud, clear laugh. A charming one.

At that moment, Maggie's cousin Charlotte, who was a chef in one of town’s most prestigious restaurants, called everyone over to the table. Rob sighed with relief and made his way to the dining room, beaming at the people around him. Olivia and Maggie followed suit.

The two friends found a couple of empty seats at the main table (an extra, smaller table had been pulled out from the attic to accommodate the large number of people) and sat down. Rob sat at the opposite end and was immediately swallowed in conversation. He was, evidently, the star of the party. Charlotte, after thanking Maggie's sailor friend, who blushed profusely, cut the fish into pieces and everyone set about serving themselves.

Munching on a piece of fish, Maggie turned to her friend and said, "Rob is wonderful, you know. He's always been so brave. Although I never suspected that he would become a sailor. He never even spoke about the sea, as far as I can remember."

"What does he do out at sea?" Asked Olivia, aware of how unknowing she sounded. In reality, she had never known a sailor before and was deeply uninterested in what people did out at sea.

"Oh," said Olivia airily, "something commercial. He said he crosses the Atlantic between North America and Europe and has been in the most interesting situations. He told me that once, his ship had been stuck in a hurricane - and with the captain sick, no less…"

Olivia's mind wandered away from her friend's words and her eyes turned back to Rob. He was busy chatting with yet another friend of Maggie's. No doubt telling her of his wild and fearless adventures at sea. Olivia watched with amusement as he speared a piece of fish with his fork and studied it with suspicion. A sailor, she thought, who catches sablefish in the Atlantic. 

The rest of the party flew positively by. People chatted, mingling with each other and drinking coffee. A few times, some effort was exuded on the part of some overzealous guest to organize some collective game, but the idea never survived past its initial stages. The party ended at half past twelve, as the crowd thinned out and the voices died down. After saying goodbye to Maggie and entering the front hall, Olivia found herself once again beside Rob.

"Do you live far?" He asked coyly, putting on his summer coat.

"Just a couple of blocks away," replied Olivia, sitting down to put her shoes on.

"W-would you mind if I walk the way with you?" Rob asked and immediately added, "I would love to see more of the neighborhood, you know."

Olivia smiled, "sure."

As the pair walked down the street together, Olivia kept glancing at Rob. She had half expected him to talk the whole way to her house, since he had appeared so talkative at the party. However, he was completely silent. Sometimes he would glance behind him, as if to check if anyone was following them and every now and then he would clear his throat.

Olivia decided to break the ice herself. Shattering the dead silence around them, she blurted forth the first thing that came to her mind, "how do you like it on land?"

"It's fine. Better than I remember," Rob seemed taken aback. He glanced sideways at Olivia and was shocked to see that she was obviously fighting a giggle. Her arms were wrapped around her middle, and she was biting her bottom lip.

"You know, don't you?" He blushed and looked away. 

Olivia took a deep breath. For a moment, she contemplated telling a lie to spare his feelings, but decided that a professional liar such as Rob would see right through it.

"Yes," she said quietly, and added, "There are no sablefish in the Atlantic." 

Olivia chose to leave out all the other details that had prompted her to question Rob's story, such as the fact that Maggie had apparently been completely unaware that her friend was a sailor before today. In any case, nothing was as telling as his obvious blunder with the fish. 

To Olivia's great surprise, her companion burst out laughing. "I knew you could tell!" He smiled at her with his charming and apologetic eyes."Do you want to know where I was all these years? But only if you promise not to tell!"

Olivia nodded solemnly. She knew enough to figure out that he had been lying, but she wasn't a good enough psychologist to tell in favor of what he was doing it.

Rob sighed and picked up his pace, so as to outrun Olivia - and possibly his mysterious past.

After a pause, he said simply, “I was in jail.”

Olivia stopped in shock for a second, but quickly came to her senses and hurried to catch up with him. She had not been expecting this. At worst, she had expected him to tell another lie, and at best, to admit to having been unhappily married this whole time.

"Don't worry," he continued, "I didn't kill anyone. It was a stupid mistake on my part and I admit to my guilt. I believe in paying for your mistakes. And I paid for mine in full." 

They walked the rest of the way to Olivia's house in silence. The air between them had turned awkward and both of them avoided looking at the other. Olivia wanted to reassure Rob that this piece of information didn't change anything, but she wasn't sure that was true.

 The houses gradually became fewer and fewer, as they approached the old, sprawling estate. The trees became bigger and one could hear the chirping of crickets more clearly.

When they reached Olivia's gate, Rob suddenly turned towards her, and glancing nervously at the ground, said, " I would love to see you again."

"Then you probably will," said Olivia and without waiting for further conversation, walked through the wrought iron gate and up the pathway to her front door.

Chapter II - The Tree

Almost a week had passed since Maggie had hosted her party and Rob had met Olivia. And almost every day since then he had contemplated driving up to that great estate and popping in for a surprise visit, but could never bring himself to actually do it. For starters, he wasn't sure if Olivia lived alone  - and was too embarrassed to ask Maggie about it. Besides, he didn't know her schedule and wasn't sure whether she would actually like to see him. He knew he could always get her phone number from Maggie and call her to set up a date, but he was too afraid of rejection.

Today, however, he had an excuse. He had been visiting with Maggie and a few other friends when he inquired about Olivia's whereabouts.

"Oh," Maggie said, " she's probably at home. She does that sometimes - just shuts away and no one sees her for days." 

Glancing at Rob she added with a twinkle in her eye, "you can try visiting her if you want."

Thus, armed with Maggie's permission and the hope that Olivia wouldn't chase him away, Rob approached the imposing wrought iron gate surrounding her house. He looked around for a knocker or bell, but there were none to be found. After considering for a minute, he decided to push forward. No reason in giving up this soon. 

Reluctantly, he pushed the iron gate open. Peeking inside, Rob took stock of the situation. Facing him was a large brick house with an imposing front porch and two large picture windows. However, even more magnificent were the house's grounds. Large trees of various sorts flanked the house on all sides. Flower beds full of various blooms interspersed them and shrubs closely hugged the brick walls.

Rob slowly made his way up the front walk, taking plenty of time to appreciate the lush greenery and bright colors of Olivia's garden. Walking up the great house's walkway, he carefully peeked into one of the picture windows, although he found that there was little to be seen, since most of the room's insides were obscured by heavy drapes. Taking a deep breath and trying to fill himself with as much confidence as he could, Rob knocked on the heavy front door. Silence. He waited for a minute and knocked again. Silence once more. 

Where could she be, thought Rob. Maggie said she's supposed to be at home. Is she sleeping? Lifting his head, he looked up the sturdy brick wall. If she was sleeping, it was probably best to leave. Suddenly, he thought he heard a noise from somewhere behind the house. That's right, he thought, she's in the backyard! After all, someone has to take care of all the magnificent greenery around him.

Closely following the facade of the house, Rob quickly rounded its curve and walked along the side wall. Reaching the back of the house he stopped abruptly. The view that met his eyes was so unexpected that he involuntarily uttered a short gasp. The back garden was filled to the brim with various trees, shrubs, flowers and beds. Apart from a narrow pathway cutting through this abundance of nature, Rob couldn’t see a single spot not filled with some form of vegetation. As if in a trance, he ambled forward down the winding stone pathway. After a few seconds of walking, he came upon a sight so spectacular that it took his breath away.

A colossal, sprawling tree stood at the very end of the pathway. It’s trunk was a wonderful reddish color, interspersed with colorful flecks. Its leaves were a light, fresh green. A strange sweet smell floated down from the small white flowers nestled between its leaves. Later, when thinking back on the events of the day, Rob would’ve sworn that the tree was emitting a golden light.

Rob stood as if in a stupor, staring at this wonderful freak of nature in front of him. He had never seen anything like it before. Time slowed down and the air around him became heavy. He was later unable to recall just how much time had passed before a soft breeze rustled through the tree’s leaves and brought him back to life.

Panic surged through his veins as he realized that he had been standing in someone else’s yard the entire time - uninvited. What if Olivia suddenly came out into the garden? He’d scare her to death! Quickly turning around and walking back up the pathway, Rob avoided looking around himself, lest he see something even more astounding. He traced his way back to the car he had parked by the curb, and without looking back, rapidly drove away.

Chapter III - The Invitation

A couple of days had passed since the incident in Olivia’s yard, when Rob’s phone suddenly rang. It was a humid, rainy evening and he had spent the whole day indoors, bored out of his mind. Picking up the receiver, he was pleasantly surprised to hear Olivia’s voice on the other end. He hoped that she was unaware of his earlier visit.

“Hello Rob. It’s Olivia. Maggie has been telling me that you’ve been asking about me and I - well - I was wondering if you would like to come over to my house tomorrow afternoon?

Robert actually had an appointment with the mechanic tomorrow in the afternoon, but he was sure it could wait. 

“I would be delighted to,” he said and quickly jotted down a note to cancel the mechanic.

“Great,” said Olivia, “I don’t often have guests, but it’s nice to have someone over once in a while.”

After hanging up,  Rob sat still for a while, remembering the magnificent tree he had seen earlier in Olivia’s garden. Maybe he would have a chance to see it again. He would love to find out what kind of tree it was.

----The next day----

Olivia bustled around the house, getting ready for Rob’s arrival. She rarely cleaned, but today she had dusted the numerous pieces of furniture cluttering her dwelling and even mopped the floors. As a last touch, she drew aside the heavy drapes in the living room. Most of the time they were drawn together, but she knew that most people liked light.

Rob knocked on the door just as she was setting out the china for tea. Wiping her hands on her dress, Olivia walked into the front hall and opened the door to see Rob standing awkwardly on the front porch. He was holding a cake in one hand and his umbrella in the other (it had been raining earlier in the day). Taking the cake from him, Olivia ushered him into the living room and towards the small coffee table she had just set.

“A wonderful house you have,” he said, as Olivia poured tea for both of them. “Is it a family home?”

“Yes,” answered Olivia, pushing the sugar bowl closer to her guest. “It goes back centuries. I believe it is almost 300 years old.  Most of the furniture in here is almost as old.” She laughed merrily and Rob visibly relaxed. “I live here alone now,” she continued and seeing Rob’s face harden again added hastily, “Oh no! My parents are alive. They just had to… uh… move away…” Rob decided not to pursue the subject.

The rest of the tea party went by pleasantly. Olivia told him about her childhood and how she had actually lived abroad for most of her young years, before moving into this house after her mother inherited it from her own parents. Rob told her about his own childhood. He had grown up on the other side of town and had met Maggie in primary school when they were seated together in math class. He told her that he had always wanted to work on a news station - his father’s job.

When it was time for the two to part, both felt as if they had known each other for ages. Olivia had even shown him her father’s praised collection of ancient spearheads. When he had asked her where the man got them, she had only shrugged mysteriously.

Rob insisted that he must help Olivia clean up, and without waiting for her acquiesce, picked up his teacup and saucer and made his way for where he believed the kitchen was located. Olivia followed suit.

As he set his dishes in the sink, he glanced out of the kitchen window, which faced the back garden and was conveniently slightly elevated above it. To his great astonishment, Rob couldn’t find the magnificent tree which had so mesmerized him that day. He pressed his hands onto the counter and craned his neck in order to see the yard better.

Olivia quizzically stood beside him, wondering what he was looking for. Was there someone walking through her backyard? She peered out of the window herself, but couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Was it the sheer amount of trees that so captivated her guest?

“Is there something wrong?” She asked carefully.

“Oh! No. Nothing. I was just wondering where the tree went…” Rob’s voice faltered as he realized what he had just said.

Olivia’s eyes widened and she took a step back. The teacup shook in her hands. 

“What tree?” She asked in a trembling voice.

Rob reddened as he felt around for words that might save his situation. He could say someone had told him about it. But who? He couldn’t possibly name Maggie because that would be too easy for Olivia to check. Otherwise, he didn’t know anyone else who explicitly knew Olivia. In the end, he decided to go for the truth, especially as his hostess was very good at parsing out lies.

“A few days back,” he began, “I decided to visit you. No one answered the door so I decided to walk around to the back to see if you were in the backyard. You weren’t, but I did see a magnificent tree. The most beautiful tree I had ever seen. It was there.” Rob pointed out into the garden where he had earlier seen the tree.

Olivia’s face ashened and she slowly placed her teacup onto the counter - so as not to break it. She took a deep breath and let it out shakily.

“There is no such tree. You can see all the trees I have. You must’ve imagined it.”

With that being said, Olivia turned away and walked rapidly back into the living room. It was obvious that Rob’s welcome had worn thin. He walked back into the front hall by himself, put his shoes on, gathered his umbrella and walked outside. He contemplated momentarily on going back to the backyard, just for a second. Maybe the tree simply wasn’t visible from the kitchen, but he decided against it. Olivia might see him and he had already soured their relationship enough.

Chapter IV - A Surprise

The next day Rob received a call from Maggie. She said that Olivia had a message for him: he was not to bother her again. As she relayed the message, the curiosity in Maggie’s voice was tangible. She was obviously quaking to know what had happened between them. All Rob would tell her, however, was that he would keep Olivia’s request in mind and to please send his best wishes to her.

After Maggie’s phone call, Rob poured himself a cup of coffee and decided to think things through. What could Olivia possibly be hiding? Where had the tree gone? Did she truly not know anything about it? Could he have really dreamed of the whole thing? There were decidedly more questions than there were answers. Picking up the phone again, he dialed Maggie’s number.

-------

Olivia, in the meantime, was sitting by one of the windows which looked out into the backyard and thinking through some things of her own. In particular, she was thinking about what Rob had said the day before. Apart from feeling angry at the fact that he had entered the grounds of her house without permission, she was also scared of just how much he had actually seen and what he truly knew. She felt bad about cutting him off, but she had acted out of panic. She knew she had to save herself - and all the others.

With a shake of her head, Olivia snapped back into reality. She had promised Maggie that she would visit her today. No doubt her friend would have a lot of questions for her and she wanted to get this all over with as soon as possible.

-------

Rob saw Olivia leave her house and head down the street towards Maggie’s place. He waited for a few seconds and stealthily snuck across the street. After leaving his car in a nearby store’s parking lot, he had hid behind a huge lilac bush across the street from Olivia’s house, where he had spent the past hour and a half. Maggie had promised him that she would invite Olivia over to have a talk with her during yesterday’s second phone call. Little did she know that he had planned to sneak over to the mysterious estate and inspect its peculiar grounds while their owner was away.

Slipping through the wrought iron gate, Rob glanced quickly behind himself, and satisfied that no one was watching, proceeded to the back garden. He knew what he was looking for. With sweaty hands and an increasing heart rate, he slipped onto the gravel pathway leading through the garden. As he tiptoed along the winding path, he had the sudden uneasy feeling that he was being watched. As if a hundred invisible eyes were boring into his body from all sides. He glanced around himself nervously, but there was no one in sight. Reaching the end of the pathway, he stopped and stared in front of him. Nothing. The tree was gone.

 Rob took a step back and felt himself sway. He reached out with his hand and felt for a trunk to steady himself. Could he have actually imagined it? Pressing his hand against a nearby oak, he peered into the thick vegetation to the right of the pathway. To his great surprise, he thought he saw a beam of golden light emanating from the thick foliage of the trees and bushes. Blinking rapidly, he staggered towards it, using his hands to clear away the myriad branches ripping at him - as if trying to stop him. Finally, he reached the source of the light. 

It was the tree. 

Rob stood stupefied in front of it, taking in the glorious view. It existed. His delight, however, was shattered within the next second as his mind cleared. How did it get here? Glancing to the left of the tree, Rob saw another one just like it, but a tad bit smaller. As he shook his head in astonishment, his eye was caught by another beam of golden light, coming from the other side of the garden. He swerved his head. Another tree. It was identical to the first two, but its light was more feeble. A jolt of terror ran through his body. His heart throbbed in his ears. Rob didn’t know what he was scared of, but the feeling was so intense and primal that he ran out onto the path and beat it out of Olivia’s garden as fast as he could. 

Chapter V - The Nightmare

Robert spent the next night in a cold sweat, unable to sleep. He kept imagining the various terrible things (beings?) that could have been hiding in that garden. For some reason, the vision of those trees did not have the same effect on him as that very first tree he saw at the end of the pathway. Instead of feeling peace and joy he felt fear. He kept imagining terrible little people sneaking out with knives from within the hollowed out trunks of the trees. He imagined that someone (or something) had followed him home and was now sneaking down the hallway to his room.

 Rob had always prided himself on being practical and level-headed, but that garden had completely left his senses in disbalance. He tossed and turned the night away, only falling asleep when the first rays of dawn began to creep across his room. 

As he fell asleep, he saw himself falling into an abyss, and suddenly he was lying on the cold ground, surrounded by trees and flowers on all sides. A hazy figure appeared at his feet. It was Olivia. She was covered in leaves and dirt and was holding a shovel in her hand. She stood looking at him. Suddenly, she threw the shovel to the side and walked the length of his body over to his head. Rob tried to speak, but his voice refused to work. His arms wouldn't move and he couldn't feel his legs. He was frozen. Without breaking eye contact, Olivia lay down beside him and turned her head towards him. 

“Oliv…,” he finally managed to croak. His lips felt stiff and cold.

“Shhh,” whispered Olivia, “Plants can’t talk.”

-------

Maggie was late for work - for the third time this week. It wasn’t her fault that her alarm clock was so quiet! Quickly downing some coffee, she rushed to the front door and was about to leave when the phone rang. It was Rob. He sounded breathy and rushed, as if he had been running.

“Maggie, it’s me,” he stuttered breathlessly, “S-so what did, uh, what did Olivia say?”

Maggie rolled her eyes and glanced at the clock above the kitchen stove. Although she was usually happy to indulge in some gossip, at this very moment she wished that people would take care of their own interpersonal problems. Preferably without dragging her into them.

“She said that she wouldn’t like to associate with you anymore. Her exact words, by the way.”

“Why?” Shouted Rob, momentarily forgetting himself and almost letting go of the receiver.

“Geez Rob, I don’t know. Anyway, I have to hurry off to work. We can talk more later, if you want.” She hoped that he wouldn’t want.

Maggie slipped her shoes on and grabbed her bag. She thought back to yesterday’s conversation with Olivia. Rob was probably better off not knowing that she hadn't told him the bmost interesting piece of information that Olivia had let slip during their talk. It’s best for Rob that we don’t associate. 

-------

Olivia saw Rob make his way across the street and towards her house through her window. She watched as he walked through her gate and towards the front door. With a sigh of resignation, she walked into the front hall. So it has to be, she told herself as she opened the door and let the disgruntled man in.

“Hello Rob,” she greeted him in a quiet voice - speaking more to herself than to him, “I knew you wouldn’t listen.” Without waiting for a reply, she turned around and led the way into the living room. 

Rob followed shortly behind her. He didn’t know what he was going to say or do. All he knew was that he had to get to the bottom of this. The garden had seeped into his brain and poisoned his thoughts. He needed to purge himself of this poison, before it drove him mad.

Olivia sat down on the familiar chintz armchair beside the fireplace. The same one she had sat on when Rob visited her those fateful few days back. He tentatively sat on a chair beside her. Unsure of what to expect, his muscles refused to relax and his jaw clenched tightly. 

Olivia gestured to the low table in front of them, “Have some tea.”

“I’d rather not,” said Rob. The first words he had spoken thus far. Somehow, it didn't occur to him that she must have known he would come.

“If you don’t drink, I won’t tell you anything.”

Rob gingerly picked up a teacup and sucked at the murky brown liquid grudgingly. It tasted bitter. He looked at the table for sugar, but there was none. Olivia watched him, her own cup untouched. He cleared his throat.

“What do you have to tell me?” he asked hoarsely, and added: “where is the tree?”

Olivia looked at him for a few seconds. Then, she got up without speaking and walked slowly over to the fireplace. Standing in front of it, with her back to Rob, she said in a quiet, sad voice:

“I am the tree.”

Rob spit out the little bit of tea that he had been harbouring in his mouth in shock. He carefully put his teacup back on the table and tried to stand up. Uncooperative, his legs buckled under him and he fell back on the chair. Olivia turned around and looked at him. Her eyes were deep and tragic. He waited for her to continue.

“My family is cursed,” she began finally, “It’s a terrible curse. It turns all of us - all members of our family -  into trees. The curse increases with age. Whereas little kids turn into trees only several times a year, the elderly completely stop being human.”

Rob felt his head spinning. For a moment he thought he must be dreaming. But no, this wasn’t a dream. The bitter taste of the tea in his mouth was real, as was the cold dread in his chest. It was a nightmare, but a waking one.

Olivia continued: “You can usually feel it - the change coming. You learn to. Whenever I feel it approaching, I isolate myself. I tell everyone that I’m going to be busy or sick, and I hide in the garden. With my family.”

“That tree then,” Rob murmured, “that wonderful tree - was you?”

“Yes,” Olivia sat back down on the chintz chair. She watched Rob for a while, choosing her words - and how much she should divulge. “My parents and grandmother are also in the garden. My grandmother hadn't been able to turn back into human form for almost two decades, whereas my parents stopped only a few years back.” 

Rob passed a weary hand over his eyes. They felt gritty and heavy. His head throbbed.

“Who cursed you?” He asked weakly.

“It was my grandfather. I mean, it was his fault. He was the head of a logging company and he once - many, many years back - logged down a whole forest, out to the west of the country. It had once been a beautiful reserve, full of diverse life forms. The forest was wild and completely uninhabitable by humans - except for one woman. She  was a hermit who had run away to the woods in her youth and had lived most of her whole life in them. She cursed my grandfather - and along with him, the rest of our bloodline - after she had to watch his home being razed down tree by tree.”

Rob tried to lift his head in order to get a look at Olivia, but it was too heavy. He closed his eyes and felt himself drifting. Hurriedly, he opened them back up, so as not to lose consciousness.

"What about the other trees? Are they your family?" he rasped through stiff lips. Finally managing to raise his head a bit, he looked at Olivia. She smiled at him. A slow, unpleasant smile. It was the smile of a cat before it pounces on its prey.

"Yes," she said. "No one is spared by the curse. But there is a way to break it: Every single person in our family must plant ten trees, shrubs or flower beds in their lifetime. This must go on for ten generations and only then the curse will break. The hermit told my grandfather that much." Olivia paused and leaned back in her chair. She folded her arms and studied the pathetic figure in front of her. "But that's not all," she continued, "the plants will only take root if they're nourished by the blood of a living human. For every plant that we give life to, we must kill a person."

With these terrible words, Rob's eyesight grew dim and distorted. He thought he heard a voice, but it was the blood rushing in his head. He fought to stay awake, counting his breaths, feeling each heartbeat echo in his ears. 

Suddenly, he felt a pulling on his arm. Someone was trying to push him off his chair. He tried to resist, but his muscles wouldn't cooperate. As he toppled, he felt himself being caught by something that had been placed in front of him.

Olivia gently pushed Robert from his seat onto a wheeled chair. She adjusted his body and placed his legs on the footrests. He was keeping up incredibly well. Most would have fallen into a deep sleep by now, but not Rob.

Inside her heart, Olivia felt deeply sorry for the limp body swaying in the chair in front of her. But she knew that what must be done, must be done. Besides, she had warned him. She had basically begged him to stay away. Wheeling the chair out of the living room, she set course for the back door, which led directly into the garden.

Rob felt as the chair under his body hit the bumpy ground. His foggy mind pictured that he was at sea. He felt something sharp jabbing at his arms and through his half-closed eyes saw a million empty faces staring back at him. He tried to focus on one, but it vanished as soon as he made eye contact. Suddenly, the bumping stopped.

Olivia stopped the chair in front of a small shallow grave to one side of the pathway and carefully tipped it over. Rob fell onto the soft, moist dirt. He groaned softly and tried to roll over, but his limbs were too weak. Olivia crouched down beside him and helped him onto his back. 

"I'm sorry," she said, "I really am. But you yourself have said that mistakes must be paid for. Do you remember? You said this the first night we met. You left out the most terrible part though - that some mistakes are simply too big for one person to pay for."

With these words, she picked up a shovel that had been lying nearby and stood up. Without any further ado, she began to throw dirt onto the body on the ground. 

Epilogue

The sun had finally set, coating the garden in darkness. Mist was descending over the lush vegetation. Olivia slowly got up from the ground. It was time. She had been feeling it all day - the full ache in her limbs, the heaviness in her joints. Standing at the foot of the rosebed, she slowly spread her arms to the sides and closed her eyes.