flash fiction written in 2011, revised in 2024

There’s this place—a garden, you may say, a garden sanctuary, where you could escape life’s coils and just relax, where your mind sets free and imagination runs wild—a real place.

But it’s hidden. It will reveal itself only when someone really needs it and is on the verge of tears.

But one day, a boy by the name of Billy Bluegrass was walking through a field, his heart heavy with the weight of his parents’ constant bickering. In his tears, he stumbled upon a patch of heaven, a true marvel to behold. In that instant, as he bathed in its ethereal beauty, his tears ceased. The world’s troubles melted away, leaving him in a state of blissful freedom.

He has returned every day since then, even calling it “Nature’s Heart.” His parents haven’t fought since that day. They never noticed Billy’s disappearance day by day but didn’t care. Billy noticed the change in his parents and grew depressed. The gloom of his aura spread across Nature’s Heart. The sanctuary that was once bright and cheerful was now dark and terrifying. Realizing the horror of Nature’s Heart, Billy left.

Nature’s Heart continued crying. Billy’s disappearance was too much for the sanctuary to contain. Years went by; seasons cycled- but still no sign of him. Nature’s Heart began sulking, soon leading to its death.

Billy never returned. Seventy years passed. “Nature’s Heart” was now “Nature’s Hell.”

Four days after Nature’s Hell, there was finally a visitor, Billy Bluegrass. He had returned for the last time. Nature’s Hell found it to be less dark than it was.

Billy sat down on the bench where he had always sat. He remembered how Nature’s Hell used to be, ignoring all the dead trees around him. He smiled, noticing a tear escape down his cheek. Billy never moved from the bench.

I wrote “Nature’s Lullaby” 10 years ago based on the story I wrote above. I apologize for the popping and static in the recording; that’s what happens when I’m playing on a keyboard right next to an electrical device (lol).

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