When I awaken, I find myself in the same corridor as before. I imagine a whole day must have passed in the space of time I was unconscious; there is only darkness through the stained glass windows, and I cannot see the coloured panels.

I continue down the corridor, finding a small door to my left. I open it to reveal yet another puzzle room.

The walls are black, the floor consisting of creaky, darkened floorboards. There are four tables with different coloured tablecloths on them; red, green, purple and blue.

On three of them, terrifying looking dolls with no eyes seem to stare blankly at me through their empty eye sockets. The dolls each have their own coloured robes; green, blue and red.

I realise immediately I have to swap the dolls around until they’re on the tables that match their clothing. I do this, slowly. Moving red first, then blue then green. It takes all my effort, because the dolls are surprisingly heavy to lift, like their bodies have been laced with lead.

Once this is done, I hear a clicking sound, and a door appears directly in front of me. It wasn’t there before.

I find myself in a room filled with grass. I can still feel the walls pressing in, however there is an air of peace to the place.

I walk through a small pathway as rose creeper vines run along the walls, reaching the roof. All the roses are strangely different colours, red, white, blue… even green. I didn’t know roses could ever be green.

There’s a bench at the centre of the room, sitting above the grass. I spot Kai immediately and beeline for him.

“Yo.”

“Kai,” I breathe, sitting on the bench next to him.

“You’re almost there, Kyungsoo. This is the top floor.” Kai flips his tail to the left.

“I’d try that door first,” he tells me.

“Thanks… I’ll get you out of here,” I assure him. Kai purrs in content, curling up on the bench.

“I hope you do.”

I nod, giving him a pat before I stand, walking across to the door Kai pointed out. I open it to find what looks like a living room of some sort, the floor no longer grass and leaves; but instead, dark maroon carpet.

I spy a table with a light cream tablecloth, on it an assortment of cakes and teacups. However, I can see no one occupying the seats. There are yellow roses in vases, but they can’t be having a tea party, can they?

I walk across to the left side of the room, noticing three beds pressed very tightly together. I can hear the ticking of a clock somewhere, but I can’t see the clock myself.

I find a door, and it leads to another strange, small study. I jump, as it slams closed behind me with a loud thud.



Wizard’s Diary

Then a boy came over to play. A cute boy with wide eyes and dark hair.

I learnt from the cat his name is Kyungsoo, I hope we can be friends.



I back away from the desk, slowly. I exit this room and return to the room with the grass floor. I find another door immediately across from the one I just entered, and I march across to it.

Kai seems to have fallen asleep, but I don’t wake him despite myself. I’m not sure if I can trust him anymore; what if he is in league with the wizard?

I shake my head.

That’s stupid. It’s stupid of me to think that. The wizard must have magical powers and he must have overheard. How else would he know my name? Kai would definitely not give it to him, not after the wizard trapped him in this place… would he?

I leave the room, shutting the door behind me.

No. Kai would not do that.

I find myself in an almost pitch black room. There is a lamp hanging over the pages of a book, and I take it off the desk, flipping it so I can read the cover.

“The Talkative Plants,” I read aloud.

“The flower ladies are beautiful, and can speak. The white flowers are the most beautiful of the garden. When touched my rain, oddly, their petals glow.”

I think for a minute. Was there a white flower in the other room? I spotted behind the bench a tree, but maybe there is more I must discover. I read on.

“The red grasses are knowledgeable, but they are always lying. Be careful when talking to them. The yellow flowers are lovely to a fault; the pollen produced in these flowers is strong enough to kill or give you life.”

That seems to be it; the rest of the pages are blank. I look across the room, picking up the lamp and carrying it with me. There are two doors to the left, though both are locked.

A tall, metal birdcage sits beyond the second door, and I walk across to it. I peer inside, only to find a small, fragile bird beating its wings together unhealthily. It lets out a shrill tweet and I realise it is injured.

The bird is caged, just like me. I am the small, injured bird trapped in my own cage, this house of blackness, evil and death.

Red grass springs up just underneath the wall beyond the birdcage, the blades of grass seemingly whispering to one another quietly. I can’t make out what they’re saying exactly.

I press my palm to the wall and sigh. Dead end. I turn back, squeaking as I hear a loud pained moan coming from the second locked doorway.

“Medicine?” it breathes.

“Got medicine?” there is a wheezing, hacking, coughing sound, and I shake my head. Yellow flowers, if that book is correct. But where are the yellow flowers?

There is the chance though, that by giving this person the yellow flowers they will die.

“You want to know how to make medicine from the yellow flower?”

I almost scream, turning around. The red grass is talking to me.

“I forget what exactly the proper way is… it was either cutting it up or uprooting it.”

“I think it was uprooting and plucking it.”

“No, the three ways are incorrect. You should just give up now.”

I stand back, watching in disbelief. The blades of grass are arguing with each other. Blades of grass.

This isn’t normal at all…

I turn back around returning the lamp to its rightful place. Once it is placed on the table, I turn around screaming.

There’s a giant skull, sitting on the chair. I hold a hand on my heart, trying to steady my breathing. I think I’m hyperventilating. It wasn’t there before, was it?

I think my eyes are playing tricks on me, so I go to touch it. To my horror, it is real, sitting there. Where did it come from? I scowl, picking it up. I suppose I’ll need it for later.

I return to the grass room, dragging my feet along the ground. I’ve just about had it with this awful place; I don’t want to be here anymore. But then I remember Kai has been here much longer, and as much as I’m doing this for me I’m doing this for him as well.

I find a flower, a white flower sitting beneath the tree behind the bench. I walk over to it, and it sways its petals at me.

“How do you do?” it says.

“I… uh… nevermind,” I stutter.

I go across to the other room. Yellow flowers for healing, right? There were yellow roses having a tea party before. Maybe this is the answer?

I enter the room, making my way across to the table. I hear the flowers laughing as I approach, and I take an empty seat beside one of them. I clear my throat.

“Hello?”

“We were wondering when you’d talk to us,” one of the bunches cackles.

“Yes indeed. There is one sick, and we have the cure. You want to help him, right?” another asks.

“I do.” I tell it.

“Well, there’s one thing you’ll have to do for us first,” another tells me, and I swallow.

“We need you to rip the petals off the white flower. That flower thinks it is so beautiful, standing proudly in the green grass. It has no powers, only the ability to talk; we can talk too.”

“We are much better than the white flower. We need you to teach it a lesson, rip away its beauty by capturing its petals. I want to hear it scream.” There is a dark chuckle.

“Um… OK?” I say with wide eyes.

“Kill it,” one of the roses repeats over and over, like a mantra.

“Kill it, kill it, kill it, kill it, kill it…”