Bella Blue's Garden

"Derg, I wonder who will live in the big house now?" the tiny, winged girl asked. The large toad blinked twice before replying, "Anyone will be better than the monsters that just left, my little Bella Blue." The two of them were sitting on a rock watching the sun set on another day in The Garden. Or, what was left of The Garden.

The Garden had once been a happy place. The kindly humans cared for and lived in harmony with the residents. They tended to every need with love and joy and were rewarded in return with the sheer beauty of life in The Garden. The flowers bloomed, the bees buzzed, and fairies flourished. Birds sang as they splashed in the little pond with a waterfall. The toads serenaded the residents in the evenings while the lizards darted about during the day. All was peaceful and serene.

Then the unthinkable happened, the loving humans moved away. A new family replaced them in the big house that overlooked The Garden. They quickly tired of tending to the needs of the plants that made it a welcoming home to so many. Children were allowed to tear up plants and break the limbs off the trees. Water that was so vital to all who lived in The Garden was turned off and no longer flowed. These humans could not see the beauty or feel the pulse of life here and chose not to listen to the fairies, the birds, or the toads. They did choose to destroy a place of beauty simply because they could. They set concrete in place of green grass, reduced the nourishing trees down to firewood, and dug up flowerbeds that hid many secret homes. The new humans were stilling the heartbeat of The Garden.

After many moons and the loss of most of the inhabitants of The Garden, Bella Blue and Derg noticed some activity at the big house. Large boxes were being brought out of the house and loaded into big trucks. After a few days of this, they no longer saw the family or heard the noise from the children. All was quiet; for a while.

A few weeks went by before they noticed a truck pulling into the driveway of the big house. It looked just like the one that had left with the unkind humans. Bella Blue and Derg watched with interest and fear as a man and a woman started walking around what was left of The Garden. The woman kept shaking her head as she pointed things out to the man. Bella Blue and Derg quickly hid as the couple approached their hiding spot by their rock. The lady looked back and smiled as she passed by and then continued back to the house.

Bella Blue and Derg woke to much noise in The Garden the next day. The lady was there early directing a group of men in various activities. She had them tearing out the concrete pathways, they were digging large holes and planting trees, one was cleaning out and repairing the old pond and waterfall. Yet another was laying in sod and replanting large areas of grass. The lady was digging in the old flowerbeds and setting bulbs into the ground next to rows and rows of new flowers she had planted. The Garden was becoming a haven again.

After many days of this, Bella Blue and Derg noticed a few of the old Garden residents coming in to see what was happening. Several decided to come home to stay when they saw the magnificent changes including the water once again flowing in the pond. The lady came out just before dark one evening with two items in her hands. As she headed towards their rock, Bella Blue and Derg quickly hid again. The lady placed the two items in amongst the newly planted greenery, waved, and walked back to the big house with a smile.

Derg was the first out of hiding and said to Bella Blue, "There is writing above the openings of these two things, can you read them?" Bella Blue came to stand in front of them with Derg. With tears streaming down her face, she replied, "The one on the right is called "Toad Hollow" and the one on the left is "Fairy Croft."