Ashdown was the same as it had been when Chris had last been here: cold, wet, grey, and creepily bereft of people. Except this time, it seemed, there was no one calling him anywhere or there wasn't anyone else being transported here. Just Chris and Chris alone, with whatever else was in this world. His hands went to the strap of his bag and he clenched it tightly, his head whipping around as he tried to get his bearings outside of "damp and obnoxious".

It only took him a second to recognize him as being somewhere in the middle of the city, near the Autoshop that he sometimes went to when his car broke down. Mentally he calculated the route he'd take and then with some trepidation, took his umbrella out of his bag, shook it out, and started walking.

While he wasn't intending to stay, he did want to start at the forest and maybe ask Heliodora about the other kids. It seemed like a reasonable place to look at the least, it was big and plausible and while Chris hadn't paid the most attention last time he had gathered that the library in the place was weird and the highschool was. Well. Another place, another time for that. He didn't want a repeat of the voice.

It didn't take long for him to find himself a few blocks farther, getting closer to the forest. He could tell in that way you could smell it, an earthy yet floral smell that reminded him of when he was younger. Of when he was a kid and him and Hyejin would dig up handfuls of herbs from his mother's garden, korean mint and doraji and chamomile, planted mostly for his dad since he liked it in tea. It smelled exactly like that almost and Chris wondered if an herb patch was planted in the state park. It was the other side of Ashdown and Autumn had mentioned she was taking potion lessons with Pax, so maybe it was for Pax?

It was an easy smell to follow though, just using his nose, and Chris let his mind idle back to that garden. His mother hadn't kept a lot of things between the houses, a hassle for people who moved frequently, but the one thing she did do was garden. It was practically half his childhood, helping her dig up what she planted, mostly herbs since they were quick to grow and not too much of a bother if they died or the occasional vegetable she indulged in. She did it to save money mostly, but Chris also know it was just something therapeutic that wasn't housework. Now that Chris and Hyejin had grown up, he knew his mom had fully started going into it, started planting flowers along with her herb garden. She had started back in their house in Jejudo, but he knew that if they moved back to Ashdown, he'd be helping soon in their backyard.

As it was, he was mostly weeding and dealing with the herb garden in the backyard of his parent's house. His mom hadn't asked him to, but he liked it as much as she did and it was nice to save some money and have things on hand. Like tea, while the chamomile had been originally for his father, Chris had grown to use it in his tea too. It was probably the herb garden that was helping keep his grocery bill down, since he drank so much tea. Maybe he could convince his mom to try and apple tree next. Could Ashdown grow apple trees? He'd have to figure it out later.

The smell was getting heavier and then something popped into Chris' vision and he blinked rapidly, gripping the umbrella in case he'd have to use it as a weapon. The herb smell was strong now and he realized, he hadn't walked to the forest but rather what looked to be a garden, if the vine covered gate was anything to go by. Tentatively he walked up to it, trying to peer past the gate to see inside. It wouldn't hurt to take a peek, right? It was somewhere to look too, in case there was a clue here. He inched forward, hand brushing against the gate, and to Chris' surprise it swung open rather easily. He only had a moment of hesitation before he stepped inside, feet crunching against the pebbled path.

The garden was amazing, to say the least. Some of the plants he recognized and others were completely new, growing in completely new colors. Lavender that looked to be a deep red, bright purple roses, wisteria blooming black. His hands trailed through the foliage lightly as he walked, soaking in what he could. It was amazing that this existed in the other place, something as whimsical and magical as this. He couldn't help but linger among the plants, take in as much as he could and wonder if he could transplant part of the plants to grow in the backyard. His mother would be thrilled by the purple roses and was the red lavender any different from regular version? It certainly smelled different when he went in to get a whiff, it smelled of cinnamon and cloves and ash, energizing and bright and something almost spicy.

There was more than just flowers and herbs he found as he walked, vegetables growing up and around (were those tomatoes? they certainly looked like they were in agony) in little plots and the occasional fruit here and there. There were trees too, lemons and what looked like to be blue pears and... white apples. He stumbled to a stop before that tree, wondering if the fruit was edible or not. It certainly looked amazing and he peered around the tree, managing to (luckily) spot a lizard taking part in an apple before skittering away at Chris' prying eyes. With that to bolster his confidence, Chris reached up and plucked at the fruit, rolling it in his hands (ash and clove, what an odd smell) before taking a bit of the fruit.

The reaction was all at once interesting and uncomfortable. It tasted of nothing, despite the juice of a normal apple, and it was ridiculously cold even ignoring the temperature. The texture too was awful and Chris only managed a few chews before dropping the fruit to the ground and spitting it out. He swiped a hand over his tongue to confirm he wasn't bleeding and then stared mournfully at the tree.

It was Ashdown, of course he couldn't get an apple tree that didn't produce whatever that was. It was a reminder, as rude as it was, that it was time for Chris to leave the garden. He had come here for something and, as enchanting as the garden was, it wasn't somewhere to loiter. Quietly he retraced his steps (and was that whispering he was hearing? he ignored it resolutely, clenching his umbrella a little tighter all the same) and found himself back through the flowers before finally he stood before that gate.

With a reluctant hand he reached out and gently brushed his fingers against the iron, like it had worked before. The gate didn't move and Chris frowned and then pushed on it a little harder, wondering if maybe it just swung inward. Still, not a budge. With a final, desperate try, he threw his weight against the gate and only found himself slamming against cold iron.

Chris was trapped in the damn garden.