Garden of Empress Cassia Read online

  Mimi stood up, the white water surging around the foot of the rock. She focused her mind on a spot in the middle of the next boulder, forgetting about the space in between. She counted to three, asked Uncle Ting for help, then took a huge leap. Her feet landed perfectly this time. Gaining her balance, Mimi jumped easily onto the bank.

  There was no path this side of the creek-just a ledge sticking out from the cliff. She sidled along, her back flat against the rock until she reached a clearing. She could hear Gemma’s voice.

  ‘These pastels are unreal! My garden is just as good as Mimi’s.’ Gemma stood back, admiring the huge drawing she had created on the rock face.

  ‘I didn’t think you could draw as well as that, Gem. Let me have a go,’ came Phoebe’s impatient voice.

  ‘Stop!’ yelled Mimi.

  ‘Hey, Smells, you’re just in time to see me put the last stroke on my masterpiece. Tomorrow, when everyone comes to the park, I’ll be famous!’

  The light from the fire flickered onto the cliff face. An icy finger ran across Mimi’s neck and down her spine. Gemma had drawn a dark and terrifying garden. It was like death itself.

  ‘Get away!’ Mimi yelled frantically. ’It will suck you in!’

  ‘What did you say?’ The two girls doubled over with laughter.

  ‘I know it’s good, but come on now.’ Gemma scoffed. ‘You’re just jealous because my garden’s better than yours.’ Gemma held the box of Empress Cassia Pastels high in the air as if it were a trophy. ‘I can draw just as well as you can, now these are mine.’

  ‘Hey, Gem, what do the words say?’ asked Phoebe turning her head sideways to decipher the scribbly writing on the rock.

  ‘It’s brilliant. Came to me in a flash. Listen.’ Gemma touched each word as she read the inscription, ‘In the Garden of Darkness all nightmares begin . . .’

  Suddenly, a great mass of clouds rose out of the garden. It had the force and the sound of a gigantic whirlwind. And out of these clouds appeared repulsive serpents with whipping tongues and blood red eyes. They crawled and twisted and devoured each other.

  ‘Get away from it, Gemma!’ cried Mimi. But the garden had already begun sucking her into its putrid black mouth that opened and closed like a weeping sore.

  Mimi grabbed Gemma by the waist and pulled. It was too late. Gemma’s head and arms were already trapped inside the Garden of Darkness.

  Under the storming clouds, there was not a blink of wind, only a deathly quiet. Gemma opened her mouth to scream. A long, hoarse groan was the only sound that came out. She looked around in horror at the twisted trees and the bleak landscape. A full moon was rising above a cold, black lake but there was barely a glow. It was as though a giant web had been spun across the sky.

  Gemma tried to run, but the bottom half of her body was still outside the garden. She could feel a pulling and a tugging; on the outside from Mimi and Phoebe and on the inside from a much more powerful force.

  Then she saw something moving in the shadows. A hideous snake-like creature with slimy skin and evil green eyes came crawling and slithering towards her along an undulating wall. She tried to scream. But it was as though her lungs and throat were stuffed with cotton wool. Gemma was helpless.

  As it came closer, she could smell its hot and fetid breath on her face like a rotting, fly-blown corpse. Then its claws gripped her shoulders, pulling and dragging her down into its jaws.

  ‘Quick, Phoebe, help! I’m losing my grip!’ yelled Mimi.

  Phoebe fell to the ground and desperately hugged Gemma around the knees.

  ‘It’s too strong. I can’t hold her either,’ Phoebe yelled, as the Garden of Darkness sucked Gemma further and further into its centre.

  Mimi suddenly felt a cold hand on her shoulder. She screamed.

  ‘It’s only me,’ shouted Josh over the tremendous noise.

  ‘Oh, Josh! Just in time. Quick, grab Gemma. The garden’s sucking her in.’

  Josh held Gemma around the waist, Mimi took her thighs and Phoebe pulled at the ankles. It was a deadly serious tug of war.

  ‘We can’t let it beat us, try harder,’ screamed Mimi, suddenly feeling herself being pulled towards the garden. ‘On the count of three. Let’s do it. One . . . two . . . three . . . PULL!’

  With the very last burst of strength left in them, they finally dragged Gemma free, falling backwards on the ground in an exhausted heap of bodies, arms and legs. They lay there stunned and exhausted.

  ‘What did you see in there?’ Phoebe whispered.

  But Gemma didn’t answer. Her face was deathly pale. Mesmerised with fear, her eyes were still fixed in terror on the writhing mass that was the Garden of Darkness – the beginning of all nightmares.

  Mimi felt a drop of rain on her face. Then she felt another and another. She looked up into the darkening sky. The rain fell over the park, splashing the rock face with arrows of water, destroying the garden, and cleansing the surrounding earth.

  ‘Let’s get outta here. This place gives me the creeps.’ Josh pulled his shirt collar up around his neck. ‘How did you find us?’ asked Mimi, gathering up the pastels.

  Josh bent down to help her. ‘Eliza knew where Gemma was all the time but didn’t dare tell anyone. Finally, she confessed.’

  They walked in silence along the bottom of the cliff towards the bridge that crossed the creek, further upstream. They didn’t notice the rain. Gemma was like a zombie. She hadn’t uttered a word since being inside the garden.

  The creek was still swollen and flowing fast. Josh crossed the bridge first, then Phoebe, while Gemma and Mimi walked side by side.

  Mimi held the box of Empress Cassia Pastels close to her body. She could feel them, warm and vibrant against her heart. She knew they belonged with her. ‘I’ll never let you out of my sight,’ she whispered. ‘My precious pastels. You’re a part of me and I am a part of you.’ She clutched them even tighter.

  She didn’t see Gemma’s eyes widening into a mad stare or her sideways glance, nor her hands reaching out. It only took a split second. And by the time Mimi realised what was happening, it was too late. With the anger and fury of a violent tornado, Gemma wrenched the box out of Mimi’s hands, ran to the side of the bridge and hurled it into the water. ‘Good riddance!’ she screamed, as if she could push the pastels under with her voice. ‘You vile and evil things. Go back to where you came from.’

  Mimi watched in horror as the Empress Cassia Pastels bobbed on the surface for a minute, then were gone, swallowed up by the torrent of raging water.

  ‘Gemma, what have you done?’ Mimi cried.

  ‘I’ve done everyone a favour,’ she screamed back.

  ‘But you can’t destroy the pastels. Don’t you know that? They’ve been around for thousands of years.’ Mimi choked on her tears. She raced back along the creek, searching the water frantically with her eyes, hoping the box would surface again or get caught between rocks. But it was no use. The pastels were lost to her forever.

  Mimi walked back to join the others. Tears streamed down her face. She couldn’t even hate Gemma. There were no feelings left inside her anymore. ‘I did you a favour, Mimi.’ Gemma’s voice was quivering and her body shaking uncontrollably. ‘If you’d seen what I saw in that repulsive garden, you’d have done exactly the same thing. I’ll have nightmares for the rest of my life.’

  From her bed, Mimi could see the cold empty space where the Empress Cassia Pastels used to lie. Thoughts tumbled over and over in her mind like waves crashing on the shore. She tossed and turned on her pillow. They’re probably floating in the sea by now, she thought. Who’ll find them next? I hope it’s someone good. Mimi’s only comfort was little Peppy, snuggled into the doona beside her, belly up, snoring loudly. And the garden. I won’t ever see it again, either.

  The sweet scent of the cassia flower came into the room and a hush silenced her thoughts. Mimi heard the swish of silk but didn’t lift her head from the pillow. A new idea was forming. A shiny, clear thread of a thought: T
he garden . . . it is still here . . . it might have gone back to the space between Heaven and Earth but it’s growing inside all those people. Miss Sternhop, Mr Honeybun, Mrs Jacobs, Mr Hol . . . I mean Ed, and all the others it healed. And if it’s in them, it must be in me as well. This thought comforted her.

  Peppy twitched and whimpered. ‘It’s all right, Peps.’ Mimi gently stroked him.

  So many people have changed because of the pastels and the garden. Gemma won’t be giving me a hard time anymore, I’m sure of that. Nightmares for the rest of her life – that’s punishment enough.

  It took Uncle Ting’s death to make Dad change. That’s pretty drastic. I guess instead of the Garden, it’s Uncle Ting inside him now. Hi, Uncle Ting. You’d be glad to know Dad’s lightened up a lot lately. No more pressure about school work. I couldn’t believe it when he said he’d take me to a movie . . . That’s a first. He’s happy now too because I speak Chinese with him. Never realised before but it comes in handy when you don’t want other people to know what you’re talking about. And Mum’s happy, because we both are. That’s Mum . . . keeper of the peace.

  And Josh? Well . . . he’s just cute and nice and sweet and a really, really, really good friend. Best friend I’ve ever had. Only friend I’ve ever had except for Miss O’Dell and Peppy.

  Mimi’s mind was like a covering of freshly fallen snow – all grey thoughts had disappeared. She relaxed into her bed, ready for sleep to come. Then, as a petal of a cassia flower brushed her face, a young girl, with rosebud lips and wearing a gown of the finest yellow silk, walked into Mimi’s sweet dreaming.

  ‘Empress Cassia –’ she whispered.

  ‘It is here, it is there, all at the one time, Mimi.’ The voice was like a bellbird in a quiet mountain forest. ‘Can you not see it?’ She gracefully flicked back her long sleeve embroidered with birds and blossoms, then waved her arm as if she was standing in the middle of the garden itself.

  Mimi pushed back her doona and sat up in bed. She looked to where Empress Cassia was pointing, but saw only the blank wall of her bedroom.

  Empress Cassia bent down and put her face close to Mimi’s. The scent of the sweet flower grew stronger. ‘Reach down deep inside yourself,’ she said. ‘Let it come . . . come slowly to the surface. The garden is there but you must help it to grow. When you hear your heart sing – the garden will appear.’

  Mimi closed her eyes.

  ‘I can . . . I can feel it,’ Mimi whispered, as the garden welled up inside her. The Dragon Wall, the Lake of Secret Dreams, the mountains and temples and finally the Pavilion of the Mysterious Way played like a movie on the blank wall of Mimi’s bedroom.

  ‘Now come. Draw the garden with your heart. You no longer need the pastels.’ Empress Cassia took Mimi’s hand and together they went out onto the deserted street. It was dark except for the greenish glow of the streetlight. The rain had washed everything clean, leaving a clear, warm summer night.

  Mimi could feel every detail of the garden inside her now. And even though the old pastels she used were broken and dull, the lines and colours were just as vibrant as before. The Garden of Empress Cassia was coming to life once more.

  ‘Draw upon it as you will, it never runs dry –’ said Empress Cassia. And in that whisper she was gone . . .

  The Valley Spirit never dies,

  It is called the Mysterious Female,

  And the Doorway of the Mysterious Female,

  Is the root of Heaven and Earth.

  It is there within us all the while,

  Draw upon it as you will, it never runs dry.

  Lao Tzu 400 BC

  Also by Gabrielle Wang

  The Pearl of Tiger Bay

  When Annie moves with her family to the seaside town of Tiger Bay she finds a place full of strange sadness, and the mysterious reclusive Madame Olenka who lives in a grand dilapidated hotel at the top of the cliffs. Can Annie and Madame Olenka, a former circus performer, bring life back to the town of Tiger Bay?

  The Pearl of Tiger Bay was shortlisted for Best Children’s Long Fiction in the 2005 Aurealis Awards.

  Also by Gabrielle Wang

  The Hidden Monastery

  From the moment Peng fell from the stars as a tiny young creature, he and Jax have been connected. But it is not until twelve years later, when Jax stumbles across a monastery hidden deep in an ancient rainforest, that he begins to discover his destiny – and what it means to be a Peng master . . .

  Also by Gabrielle Wang

  A Ghost in my Suitcase

  The flute music stops, and my breath catches in my throat. Silence falls like a veil. Then I hear something – no, I feel it in my chest. ‘Steady yourself,’ Por Por whispers. ‘It’s here . . .’

  When Celeste travels to China to visit her grandmother, she uncovers an incredible family secret. And with this secret comes danger and adventure.

  If Celeste is to save her family and friends, she must learn to harness her rare and powerful gift as a ghost-hunter . . .

  From the award-winning author of

  The Garden of Empress Cassia

  Also by Gabrielle Wang

  Meet Poppy

  (Our Australian Girl: Book One)

  It’s 1984 . . . and Poppy lives at Bird Creek Mission near Echuca. Poppy hates the Mission, especially now that her brother, Gus, has run away to pan for gold. What if Poppy escaped, too? Would she survive alone in the bush? And would she ever find Gus, whom she loves more than anything in the world?

  Meet Poppy and join her adventure in the first of four stories about a Gold Rush girl who dreams of a better life.

  Read more about Poppy:

  Book Two: Poppy at Summerhill

  Book Three: Poppy and the Thief

  Book Four: Poppy Comes Home

  I would like to thank Hazel Edwards for all her support and encouragement while writing this book.

  PUFFIN BOOKS

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  Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  First published by Penguin Books Australia, 2002

  Text copyright © Gabrielle Wang, 2002

  Illustrations copyright © Gabrielle Wang, 2002

  The moral right of the author/illustrator has been asserted.

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  Designed by Marina Messiha, Penguin Design Studio

  Cover photography © Getty Images

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  ISBN: 978-1-74348-464-7

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