“Garden” A short story

I’ve decided to take a small interlude from my book reviews, as I want to re-read the books just before I write a review. This is just a little short story I wrote, comments on improving writing style, ect?

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The Garden

I had woken up this morning expecting today to be like any other day. On the contrary, I soon found it to be evolving into a day like no other. It began with a simple request from my mother. “Jack,” She asked me.  “Will you please weed the garden?” I, of course, was not at all excited about my newly acquired task. Grudgingly, I told her I would, even though I had no desire to.

To begin I first raided the tool shed, finding myself a good shovel and a rake. Once I had those, I went straight to the garden and began to turn up the soil. The morning sun soon became hot, and I began to tire. Still, I continued, so as not to leave the project unfinished. As it was there were plenty of other things I aspired to do later that day.

As I dug on, turning up each shovel-full, I noticed a very large weed by the far side of the garden. Determined to be rid of it, I hastily went over. I soon found that there was not only one, but several. Gritting my teeth in
frustration, I yanked up weed after weed. Without noticing it I began to stray farther and farther from the small garden in which I’d begun. Perhaps it was the hot midday sun that clouded my mind, for I didn’t notice until the sun began to set. Hot and tired, I glanced upwards in
confusion, wondering how the day had passed so quickly.

Instead of finding myself in the familiar territory of the backyard, I was in
the middle of some huge garden I didn’t recognize. Large bushes blocked my view. In an attempt to see above them, I stepped up onto a large rock. What I saw, however, was miles and miles of hedge in all directions, as far as the eye could see.

I stared at it for a moment in disbelief. Where was this place anyway? I never imagined that I’d gone this far. Sighing, I turned to go back the way I came, but I found that instead of one pathway, there were three. I chided myself for having gone too far. To add to my troubles, the garden pathways were brick, leaving no trace of my footprints. I looked at each path in turn, trying to decide which one I might have come in on.

I finally decided on the one to the far right, walking at a quick pace as I
was eager to get back home. Half an hour later, I still had no idea where I was. Then suddenly something bright and green caught my eye. A small smooth green stone lay on the brick walk. I picked it up and stared at it admiringly, before placing it in my pocket. Pleased with my find, I continued on. The night air was beginning to get cold. I shivered and wished I hadn’t left my hoodie on the porch.

For the next few hours I continued on down various pathways, choosing another pathway when I came to a dead end. I wearily trudged along in the darkness. The only light came from the glowing moon, which was shrouded in clouds. Strangely, the stars couldn’t be seen at all. Time passed by agonizingly slow. I wondered what time it was, and I kept trying to check the watch that I’d forgotten to put on. My stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn’t had anything for lunch or dinner. It was hard to keep my mind off of the subject of food.

I was tempted to scream in desperate frustration as I came upon yet another dead end. Instead I laughed aloud at my own stupidity. I was right next to the wooden trellis covered in ivy that I seen in the beginning. I had been going in circles. The maze was beginning to get aggravating. I turned to select the middle path, hoping against hope that it would be the correct one. Two hours later my fears were confirmed. I now  wandered aimlessly as I’d completely lost my sense of direction. I walked slowly as there was no need to rush.

Suddenly a cloud passed over the moon, and I felt a chill creep down my spine. The wind picked up and the bushes rustled around me. For some reason I felt as though someone was there. I quickened my pace and glanced behind me. There wasn’t anyone there. “Oh Jack, you’re imagining things.” I told myself. Then I heard a sharp crunch. I whirled around to see a shadow escaping behind one of the bushes. I tried to tell myself it was nothing, just the wind moving through the bushes, but when the shadow got bigger I panicked.I took off at full speed, running as fast as I could to escape the growing shadow. Now I heard loud thumping, definitely footsteps, but I didn’t dare look back. I came to a dead end. Terrified, I dove forward into the bushes, and clawed my way through. I felt thorns pierce my skin. “Jack.” A voice called loud and booming. I tripped on a root and fell to the ground. I pinched my eyes shut,
expecting the worst.

Then I opened my eyes. I found myself to be at home, safe in my own bed. “Jack!” My mother called, hovering over me. “Jack are you alright?” She asked, a worried wrinkle showing on her forehead. I blinked in confusion before sitting up. “You passed out in the garden, I was so worried.” She told me, looking a little calmer now. I didn’t respond. It had all felt so real…Something small tumbled out of my pocket as I shifted my position. It was the stone I’d found earlier. I held it up to examine it in the light. “What a strange stone.” I murmured. My mother stared at it for a moment. “Jack, its a bean..” She smiled. “Why don’t we plant it.”