Prologue
It was Saturday. Mom was making cookies, Dad was taking a bath, I was sitting in my room, and Sadie was playing with her Barbie dolls. Everything was fine until I heard those fateful words. "Ire, Raymo, ire!" Sadie had said. At first I didn't know what she meant. Sometimes I wonder if that made the difference between having a sister and not. But I try not to think about it. The police say it was an accident. They try to explain to me, the fragile twelve year old boy, that it started in the kitchen. That Mom turned the temperature up one degree too high. But I know better. And so does Mom. It was arson. But the police won't listen to a fragile twelve year old boy. As for Mom, they say she was too close to the fumes. That they messed up her brain. But the only person I know with a messed up brain is that police officer. Sadie could've told them if she were still alive, but then again, who would listen to a cute little six year old? That's how they left us. Just standing there, watching our house burn to the ground. And they also happened to have recently gotten the information that the insurance company we use was part of a big scam and that we were never really insured. As for our money, they believe that it has been stored in some secret underground tunnel system. Yeah right.

It seemed like there was nothing else to do, so we just started walking. And we kept walking for four days. On our second day we had crossed into some woods. We really didn't care where we were going as long as it involved food. One day, I woke up to the smell of burgers. My stomach grumbled, and I remembered what I had been trying so hard to forget. I hadn't eaten in four days. So I roused Mom and Dad, and we set off in search of the burgers we could smell so strongly. Just when we were about to give up, the woods gave way to a beautiful valley. There were shops, houses, and people. Everything you need to survive and be sane. There was even a school! But the most beautiful part of the village was right in the center. There were two houses directly across from each other, each with very different designs. The one to the right was plain yet elegant, and the one to the left was colorful and eloquent. But that was not what had caught my eye. The real beauty was the garden in the middle.

Bump.

Bump