1 A Rest in the Garden

In a small, quiet, and peaceful neighborhood, lived a girl named Alice Amari. She was seemingly a normal girl, and as always, went to the nearby spring garden to pick all kinds of beautiful flowers to sell for the little flower shop she owned. She and her mother used to run the shop together but soon after three years of business, her mother, Akaria, fell sick due to an illness (Cancer more specifically) and needed money to pay the expensive medical fees and rent for the house they lived in.

Alice and her mother weren't very rich not because they didn't have any money to begin with but because her father devorced her mother. He had a devorced with Akaria after finding out she gave birth to a girl. He was a very biased person and took every last bit of money they had when he didn't get the son he always wanted. Despite being poor, Alice was a beautiful 17 year old girl with long golden hair, from her father, as bright as the sun, and bright blue eyes from her mother, glistening with happiness like the ocean. To top it all off, she also had smooth, perfect fair skin.

She was commonly known for her looks which helped her little flower business thrive and earn more money which she hoped would be able to add up to a big amount, enough to pay for everything they owed. Even though she looked innocent and cheerful, Alice has a secret. Other than picking and selling flowers, she was specified in herbs and poison. Ever since the day she was born, she had a sharp sense of taste, smell and hearing but never told anyone. She also knew a little about defending herself with material arts which she thought would be handy for protecting her mother from thieves when walking (didn't want to waste money on a taxi) to the the hospital. There was a total count of five attempt thefts that week, according to Alice's photographic memory that is.

Everything was fine, Alice had everything under control. They can survive....right? The worst was yet to come, her life was going to be changed one evening. While she in the garden behind their house picking thr flowers, she noticed a mysterious blue one which she had never seen appear in the flower bed furthest to the east. The flower under the sunset made it seem like it was transparent. She couldn't help but to take a gentle sniff of the new flower without giving much thought into it. The smell was light, elegant and sweet.

She picked the flower and wanted to show it to her mother as a surprise, but a sudden flash back went through Alice's head.

Her mother's voice clearly stated these words, "If you ever encounter a blue, seemingly transparent flower which you've never seen before, run. Don't touch it, don't smell it, run. It's a rare, highly poisonous flower and can cause you a miserable death if you encounter it."

With that said, she slowly lost her consciousness as the world spun around her causing her to fall down on the fresh, green garden grass. If only she'd remembered those words earlier. Maybe then, she won't have to take a rest in the garden. Was her sense of smell and knowledge in poison too low?

Thinking about what had just happened, she opened her eyes to a blurry room with voices. Her vision was so blurred that it was as if she was blind. The voices got louder and filled the air surrounding her.

"Maybe I'm going through all the memories I have before I die..." she thought as she wished to live longer. When she regained her consciousness again, she was in a bedroom.

"Am I dead? Is this where I'll get-" before finishing her thoughts, Alice noticed a sharp pain at her stomach and saw blood. It was definitely the work of poison.

"This..This seems to real for someone who's dead, perhaps I'm still ALIVE?" She took a breath to calm herself but the wound was overbearing. Someone had probably stabbed a poison dagger into her stomach, aiming for death. But something didn't feel right to Alice. The atmosphere felt insanely different. Too different. Did she travel through time or to another universe?