Chapter 4: Blackwood Garden

Blackwood Garden is stunning in the spring when everything blooms. luscious Dogwood trees line the edges and sitting directly in the middle of the garden, is a gorgeous 98 foot tall Oregon White Oak tree that is 209 years old. Gorgeous flowers like roses, lilies, gardenias, dahlias which are my favorite, and random herbs fill the rest of the garden. I'm drawn to the Earth like light draws in a moth, so when I moved here to go to college I fell in love with the garden.

Blackwood is a decent-sized town close to the coast in Oregon. The founders of the town named it Blackwood because of how hauntingly pitch black the woods surrounding the town get at night. Blackwood is known for being a historic city, with most of the original buildings on the square still standing and in fantastic shape. Which is honestly surprising since they founded the town back in 1859. I guess the town's people just really want to keep up the historic vibe.

It's such a stunningly beautiful town. Sometimes I feel like I'm living in the Victorian era with how the aesthetic is here. I swear this place looks like it's pulled straight out of a movie with its amazing scenery, and with how luscious the trees are.

It only took us about ten minuted to walk to where the garden is located. It sits at the back edge of the town and right before the entrance of the Blackwood forest. I immediately go sit down at my favorite spot in the garden, which is at the base of a little koi pond they have near the old oak tree.

I look down at my reflection in the water and straighten out my thick wavy jet black hair. I close my deep sea-blue eyes to take in the amazing feeling of euphoria I always feel when I come here.

I open my eyes when I hear Evelyn talking. "Vii, we're heading on to class now! Do you want to come with us, or do you want to sit out here for a few more minutes?"

She knows how much I love this place, so she probably assumed I'd want to stick around longer. I lay back on the soft moss underneath the oak tree as I say, "You guys can go on, I just want to lay here for a minute and clear my head."

The three of them give me a wave as they head back toward the school. I stay laying on the ground for what I thought was at most five minutes before I finally sit back up. I pull my phone out of the back pocket of my black skinny jeans to look at the time, "Holy shit dude! How is it 8:40 already?!?"

I guess I was laying there longer than I thought..

I stand up and brush off my navy blue tank top before throwing my simple black backpack over my right shoulder. I head toward the exit of the garden that leads toward the center of town, when I see something moving in the woods from the corner of my eye.

"Is someone there?" I yell loud enough for whoever or whatever it is to hear me.

Just what I fucking needed.. I'm alone, ten minutes from town, and there's some fucking creep hanging out in the woods watching me..

I look around the lining of the woods, when I see what appears to be a person watching me from the darkness of the forest. I take off in a full on sprint toward the town.

Who the hell is that? How long had they been watching me..