Magic Garden

There was once an apartment located in Leninsky Prospekt, Moscow, where lived a family, who owned two dogs, and a small cat. One dog, a dalmatian named Cherry, and another a Jack Russell Terrier named Bella. Outside the apartment block was a small park, the park had two children’s play areas with swings, and slides. Plus, a court to play football or basketball. The park benches were situated at equal distance along the two pathways, which led to the four entrances of the small urban park. There were many trees, and a brick building to house community equipment to maintain the park in all seasons. The locals called it – the Garden.

There were many of these small parks dotted around the numerous apartment blocks, where neighbours walked their dogs, or just walked around themselves. Depending on the season, these parks were the communal areas to meet their neighbours and catch up on their lives.

It was winter, and the snow had covered the garden with a blanket of white, where you could not distinguish the pathways, the buried benches, or the submerged children’s play area. John was tasked with walking the two dogs each day, first in the morning, and then last thing at night. He tried to make the walks interesting, by meandering through the trees, off-piste, away from the snow-ploughed pathways. It was quite a community event, the nightly walk, as many dog owners came together with their dogs on the snow-covered football court, and the dogs’ played games around their owners, rough and tumbling in the snow and ice, racing in ever decreasing circles, as the various dogs chased each other for no other reason than a good doggie time.

John the man, Cherry, and Bella the dogs found out one wintry night that this was no ordinary garden, it was a Magic Garden.

In the garden there were four trees standing tall, distinct and erect. They formed corners around a dip in the ground, with its burnt and charred embers surviving the blanket of snow. In the autumn time it was used as a fire pit to burn the fallen leaves and branches. Cherry and Bella always pulled John around the four tall trees as they circumvented the charred ground. One night, the dogs pulled him round and round in circles numerous times and ran to the charred dip in the ground. They all fell. Now when I say fell, they dropped below the level ground of the park into a small cavern. Above their heads were the roots of trees. Now below the ground level the entire world was completely different. To start with, there was a cave hole entrance in front of them. Where previously there was a snowy winter landscape now the blinding sunlight shone and lit up the entire underground cavern.

As the dust settled, what appeared in front of the fallen threesome took a long time to comprehend. There in front of John, was a huge giant of a man, with skin of jet black, with white spotty blotches. His eyes shone as black diamonds, and he had a red ruddy nose. The strangest sight was the red studded collar around his neck. Lying beside the erect giant was a beautiful elfin girl, with long ash blond hair, and a pink studded collar around her neck. When John looked down at himself, he had grown four paws.

The black giant then spoke “John you are an oaf! These walks are tedious and far too short, and we don’t have time to pee – “He stopped and then looked at his body, raised both arms, and looked down along the body, and down the muscular legs. His mouth remained open, but he became speechless. With the dust swirling around in the cavern, the visibility remained blurred. The girl was struggling to get to her feet. She continued complaining “Plus, I don’t get time to play and chat with my friends….Oh my!” She then stopped mid-sentence. She started stretching, and looking around her body, she was speechless, as was Cherry. Although John was shocked by the conversation, he wanted to object and put his side to the story. He started to speak, and what came out of my mouth was growling barks. He was unable to utter any words.

Cherry and Bella had been too busy inspecting their newfound body shapes and sizes to look in his direction. When he moved towards them and appeared out of the veil of dust which was denser, at his lower dog level. Gradually his snort and dog’s face appeared from the dusty mist. Then he came into full view and saw the shocked look on the faces of Cherry and Bella. They both dissolved into laughter. The only recognizable part of the man named John remaining was a pair of bicycle trousers, which had shrunk to fit his hind legs, and sticking out from a split in the seam was a small tan colored tail.

“John, you look so cute!” They both screamed with laughter. Then Cherry scolded, “This will teach you not to bring my ball.”

Bella was still admiring her new body and then observed without looking up “I’m so beautiful, my friends Yip and Yap will sniff…” She paused at the thought, as the vision disappeared, and a confused look of concern crossed her face, and her mouth gaped open without uttering a word.

“Where are we?” said Cherry. At least she or now he was retaining some sanity in those bewildering moments since the fall into the Magic Garden. “Let’s get out of this smelly, dusty place” Cherry, the now black and white spotted male human suggested.

Cherry and Bella walked to the cavern entrance, and John trotted behind them.

What sight greeted them in the sunlight was even more unbelievable. The cavern entrance opened to a ledge on the side of a mountain, the vista below, was of a tropical jungle scene, with illuminating brightness, and a sweltering hot sun beaming down from a cobalt blue sky. A complete contrast from the wintery Leninsky park they had left behind only moments ago.

Bella and Cherry both said, “What’s this?”

“A jungle.” John barked in an audible reply.

Suddenly, there was a small trumpeting sound. The sound was unseen but originating from around the bend in the pathway to the left of the ledge. Unexpectedly a herd of miniature elephants rushed beneath their legs and paws. The main herd charged past, followed by a miniature baby elephant the size of a pinhead, struggling to keep up with the main herd. Something had startled the miniature elephants; whatever it was; was also climbing the pathway to the left-hand side. Noisy squawking sounds could be heard from the direction of the winding path, before its owner, a huge parrot appeared. It was equal in size to the man-sized Cherry. The huge parrot stopped and looked at the threesome through blinking its eyes and then opened its beak to speak.

“Nice day for an elephant hunt, don’t you think?” It squawked and continued its stuttering bird walk following the tiny elephants upwards along the mountain pathway.

Bella and Cherry both turned and looked down at the transformed John in the form of a dog’s body. “What’s that?” They said,

“Tiny elephants, and a bloody big flightless parrot.” John barked.

Cherry then said with excitement “Let’s go down there, I need a pee.” Pointing with his newfound finger, to the scene below. Bella was not so excited about the suggestion, she said primly “I’m not so sure, those trees might scratch my beautiful skin, and those leaves will get tangled in my long flowing hair, I don’t want to look a mess.”

John barked “I want to go home. I want my body back!”

“Nonsense.” Said Cherry loudly, and then over his shoulder, as he wandered down the pathway to the left. “John, you took us out for a walk, the tables have now turned, you are the dog now, you have to follow us, and behave yourself, or it’s on the lead for you!”

John thought to himself; Cherry, you pull me along on the walk normally, seems I can’t win either way; neither as a man or a dog. He followed Cherry and Bella down the path towards the jungle. As the pathway meandered around the mountain downward to the jungle, they noticed that there were several other cavern entrances, small holes into the mountain side. Just as they were adjacent to one of the cavern holes, there was a large thud, sounding like an object hitting the cave floor. Moments later, a tall thin man appeared, with long and untidy blond hair, and large ears. His face was oblong shaped, with protruding ears, and long hair, he looked like a dog. Dust from the cavern burst out, around, and behind the man. Coughing out the dust, he introduced himself “Greetings fellow explorers, my name is Kicks, I’m from Leninsky Prospekt 21, if you are coming downhill, you must be from further out of town.”

Bella said, “Kicks! We didn’t recognize you for a moment. Where’s Tanya, your owner? It’s Bella!”

Kicks replied, “Bella, wow! Didn’t recognize you either! Tanya? I lost her in the big park, but I can’t stay long. She will get worried, and anyway I have a tin of beef stew waiting when I get home tonight; my favorite!”

“Hold on!” John barked “How do you get out of here, back I mean?”

Kicks laughed “First time, eh?” That must have been a shock to you all. It’s easy to go back to your cavern of Leninsky Prospekt 18, the numbers are carved in roman numerals above the entrance hole, go inside, and reach up to the tree roots, and pull hard. You’ll be back in the garden in a flash!”

Bella looked at Cherry, and suggested “Cherry, we need to go back, Mama has a chicken dinner ready for us tonight, we can always come back, we know how to get here, as long as that stupid John remembers it is four times around those trees, nothing less, nothing more. Kicks and Marick, Yip and Yap have been telling us about this world for ages. This is the best walk in the world, leading to an exciting world of adventure, and I have such a beautiful body and form in this world, I might even stay, except it is hot and humid, and this “jungle” is certainly not maintained like Leninsky Prospekt 18. I don't see any gardeners or maintenance men down here. Seriously, I have my standards on walks!”

Cherry reluctantly agreed. Cherry and Bella started to walk back to cavern 18 with the roman numerals, with John trotting faithfully behind.

They all entered cavern 18 and reached up to grab the roots of the tree. John the dog, wearing black bicycle trousers, with a tail sticking out of the seam, couldn’t reach them, for one thing; he didn’t have hands, he had paws, and it was way above his canine head. Bella and Cherry looked down at the struggling dog below them.

Cherry said “Now you know how we feel! Shall we leave him here Bel?”

Bella replied, “I was contemplating the same Cherry, but he does give us a lot of petting, and food sometimes, and anyway, we need him for walks.”

Cherry agreed “You are right Bel, he needs us now, and we need him later to get back here again.”

Cherry lifted John up into his huge arms, and at the same time pulled on the roots. In a flash they were again in the garden. Back to their original forms of a man and two dogs, John had a lot to consider, and was still deep in thought, as they crossed the apartment entrance threshold, and he removed his winter coat and gloves.

“Good walk?” Shouted Irina from the living room.

Hanging up his coat, he replied. “Yes darling, met Kicks, what’s for dinner?”

The two dogs licked his face, as he took off their leads. Both dogs were sending silent messages, unaware to John.  “Next walk we are going to that Jungle.” They silently said.