If The Moon Fell Down Tonight

Eventually you both knew that you couldn’t stay in the secret garden forever. But as the sun began to dip down behind the hills and the sky turned a scarlet purple color, you knew that it must be late, and Jake would be wondering where you were. Not that he didn’t know where you were, of course, but what was taking you so long to get back into the house. You stood up, stretching your arms far above your head and stretching onto your tip-toes, bending backwards, your back cracking with a satisifying snap.

That felt good... you thought lazily, scratching the back of your head. Luke stayed on the ground, looking at you, watching every motion you made.

When you did look back at him he had his eyes closed, and his face was peaceful. If he wasn’t propped up on his elbow, he could have been sleeping. The wind carried a lock of his chocolate brown hair across his face, and you noticed how much he had changed since you had last seen him. From the way he was stretched out, he looked like he had grown. His hair was longer, and he had a tired aura about him. He looked…older. Like it had been years and not weeks. The shadows had begun to creep further and further into the garden, and you looked up in time to see a huge flock of geese soaring overhead.

If only I could be like those geese… you thought wistfully. And Luke and I can be geese together.

You couldn’t help but giggle, the thought sounded so odd. Luke opened his eyes, looking at you like you had lost your mind.

“What?” You said playfully, before jumping on him. You heard him grunt from surprise and roll over. You poked him in the ribs and he doubled over: he was ticklish. So the tickle war began. Although it wasn’t long before he found out that you yourself was ticklish as well, and him being so much bigger than you, he had the advantage. Soon he had you on the ground, squealing and kicking while he mercilessly tickled your ribs.

“O-kay! S-stop! Y-ou wi-n!!” your sentence was all choppy and it sounded like you were having a seizure in the way that you would laugh and then try to say something. Suddenly Luke stopped and immediately sat back on his hunches, his eyes gazing at the door. You stopped laughing and followed his gaze, before hearing what he did: soft footsteps, still about 10 paces away, but fast approaching. You hadn’t realized how dark it had gotten, and that Jake would definitely be worried. In a flash Luke was gone, and that last you saw of him was his hair as he managed to jump up on the wall and scramble down the opposite side, leaving you alone in the garden. But you couldn’t worry about him right now. There were bigger things to worry about.

Surely the person who was almost just outside the door heard you? You had been so loud, there was no way that that could have been noticed. You winced as there was a soft tap on the door. You hesitated before getting up and walking to the wall, your hand hesitating on the knob that would swing the door open. But the tap came again and you opened it, facing none other than Jake himself.

His hand was still in the air, and his surprised expression was replaced by one of relief.
“Oh thank God you are here! I thought maybe you wandered of!” He said exasperated, pulling you into a hug. “I was worried about you.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you…” you trailed off, looking at the ground.

“It’s quite alright, I just didn’t think that anyone could be alone in a garden for such a long time,” he peered over your head. “And not have done anything the whole time!”

He must have been implying at the fact that you hadn’t planted anything, but you quickly changed the subject.

“I’m a little hungry…” you trailed off suggestively, looking toward the mansion.

“I figured you would be, so let’s get you out of the cold and back into the house,” he said, smiling. It was only after he brought it up did you realize how much the temperature had dropped, now that the sun had disappeared completely behind the hills. He shrugged off his jacket and dropped it across your shoulders when he saw you shiver, before taking your hand and leading you through the maze of the garden. You looked behind you just in time to see Luke hiding behind a bush, his gaze apologetic. You suddenly had an idea, and looked meaningfully and him before reaching into your pocket and pulling out the spare key, dropping it on the ground. It landed silently, and you prayed quietly that he had seen it and would investigate it once you were out of site.