I was awoken by a sound at midnight. I sat up straight wondering whether the sound was real or in my dream.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I felt something cold in my hand. I turned on the lamp to see what it was. It was a key. I looked closer. It was quite big and heavy, and it smelt of rust.

Then something strange happened. I felt my hands being pulled by the key. The pull got stronger and stronger until the key dragged me out of my room into the corridor. It pulled me across the ground, towards the hall in the front of the house.

I walked in the hall until the key pulled me into a corridor. This corridor was illuminated by scattered rays of sunlight with specks of dust. Soon I was standing in front of a door that I had not seen before. It was a heavy wooden door shaped like a dome. The rays that illuminated the corridor seemed to be coming from behind this door.

There was a rusty lock on the door. The key placed itself inside the lock. Then it turned. With a single click, the chains around the door fell on the floor.

A beautifully carved door revealed itself. As it creaked open, a brilliant light flooded the corridor. But the light had a certain coolness to it. It didn’t feel piercing to the eyes. The more the door opened, the more my jaw dropped at what I saw.

A dirt path that led to an open space. There was luscious grass everywhere. Little poppy flowers of orange, lavender and pink colours were spread across both sides of the pathway. Some of the trees had their roots hanging from their branches. In the feet of the great old trees were colourful mushrooms, glowing in the shade of the dense foliage.

I walked ahead and a gentle, cool breeze began to blow on my face. A baby bunny hopped right ahead of me, stealing glances now and then to make sure I was following. The baby bunny led me deeper and deeper into the forest until the dirt road disappeared.

The thick canopy of trees allowed very little sunlight to penetrate this area. But a few rays escaped the foliage and bowed to the ground, giving this place an unearthly golden glow. The grass was soft. There was a small stream of water. I couldn’t resist the temptation to dip my toes in it.

I saw some animals peaking from behind the bushes. A deer came and, maintaining a cautious distance, began to drink water from the stream.

Some birds flew a bit closer to where I was sitting. A dove flapped its milky wings. A red-tailed nightingale perched up on the branch of the tree I was leaning against and started to whistle.

The little bunny returned with its friends. They had brought branches of apples and grapes. I washed them in the stream. They tasted better than any apples or grapes I had tasted before. I was mesmerised by the tune of the nightingale and the animals began to sit beside me.

I felt my eyes closing. A calmness overcame me as I drifted between the state of wakefulness and sleep.

Then I felt the golden light of the sun dimming and I knew it was time to go home. I got up slowly, trying not to disturb the other animals. They looked at me earnestly. The nightingale had stopped singing.

“Oh please, don’t stop singing,” I said to the nightingale. “Sing for me a song of farewell as it is time for me to leave.”

The deer came closer and I petted him. Then all the animals snuggled in and I petted them all one by one.

The baby bunny started hopping in front of me and I followed it back to the entrance. Then I bid my goodbye and the huge, wooden door creaked shut. There was no longer a key in the keyhole.

As I went back to my room, I felt peaceful, but also a little sad, for I didn’t know if I would ever visit that enchanted garden again.

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 11th, 2025