The smell of freshly dug earth hit my nostrils as soon as she pushed the door open. I glanced to the right – the infamous shovel that was previously in her trunk was right there.

I shrank away from the tool involuntarily. Turning around, I saw Jade staring at me, the usual lines from scowling on her face straightening themselves. She actually looks… calm and at peace?

Then the surroundings caught my attention. Whoa.

I found myself in a garden of sorts, filled with plants. Pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, bell peppers, you name it.

Still reeling in shock, she led my unwitting feet to a small enclosure in the corner of the greenhouse. The fluffy white bundle of fur bounced around upon seeing her. Jade reached out, pulling leaves from a nearby head of lettuce, passing some to me.

"Bunny! It's still alive!" I jumped up upon seeing the familiar fur ball, unable to contain my excitement at the sight of the rabbit again. After the pet fiasco with Sikowitz, I wasn't sure what to do with it. I didn't want to send it back to the animal shelter; that would be cruel, but I wasn't sure how to take care of a pet and didn't want to kill another one accidentally.

I mean, I killed my goldfish after all, after I somehow managed to leave it flopping in the sink when I was changing the tank water.

That also reminded me of the first time I saw an unexpected side of Jade when she appeared at my doorstep, two days after our teacher refused the rabbit as a replacement pet. I opened the front door to her usual scowling face, and she marched into my house, demanding to see the bunny. It was the first time I ever saw her express anything other than anger, sadness, or smirking when she is maliciously happy.

Her face lit up and she jumped up with a squeal, running over and gently picking the bunny up to cuddle in her arms. I was still standing there stunned with my mouth open as she stroked the rabbit's fur, and she somehow still managed to point her scissors at me, warning me not to breathe a word to anyone about what I just witnessed.

Her last words before she slammed the front door shut in my face with the rabbit in her arms was, "I'm taking your bunny."

Of course I complied. It's not as if anyone would believe me if I told them I saw Jade West squealed like a little girl. And there's also the threat of her stabbing me if I spilled anything. Besides, I was beyond relieved when Bunny was finally taken off my hands. I saw how well she handled the rabbit, unlike me – I was holding it by its ears when I transported it to and fro the cage, just like the magician I saw on tv when they pull rabbits out of their hats. If she saw that, I don't think I would have lived to see her garden.

Though in my defense, I really thought that was the correct way of handling a rabbit.


Jade snapped at me, bringing me back to reality. "Of course he's alive! What did you think I was going to do to him?"

"It's a he? I just knew you would be a great owner for Bunny, since you mentioned you love rabbits on your 'Things I love' video on The Slap that you posted previously. So yeah, I figured he would live a good life with you. It's just that I didn't expect him to live in such a… rabbit paradise."

She said nothing, seemingly deep in her thoughts as she picked up the little furry animal and started hand-feeding him. As Bunny munched on the fresh leaves from her hand, she held him out to me. "Here, you can hold him too."

I carefully took the rabbit from her, holding him close. He must have recognized me, as he did not panic when I pushed a piece of lettuce to him.

As Jade watched the both of us, I stole a few glances at her face to see it glow in a way I had never seen before. It was like seeing the mean, nasty and evil Jade West demeanor disappear, replaced by some sort of calm smiling Jade from an alternate universe.

That's it. Jade West's garden must be a portal to a parallel dimension, and when she gets in here, the mirrored Jade East appears.

Still smiling, she eased Bunny back into his enclosure, before crossing her arms to look at me again. "So Vega, this is my favorite place in the world. I actually just wanted to show it to you, and Beck agreed I should. Besides, I thought you would want to see how Bunny is doing."

"You could have just told me that, without making it seem like you're going to kill me or something." I grumbled slightly, rubbing my still aching wrist.

With a smirk, the Jade West we all know and love was back. "Well, where's the fun in that?"

The parallel universe portal must have transported Jade West back again.

Before I could refocus my thoughts, she grabbed my wrist again, this time pulling me over to some huge teddy sunflowers in the indoor garden. Materializing a pair of shears out of nowhere, she snipped off a few stalks of the flowers, thrusting them into my hands. "These are for you. I want to replace the sunflowers I destroyed the other day in your house. They had such big petals, and I just could not resist cutting them off."

I looked down at the fluffy bright yellow flowers. As I gingerly touched the tiny petals, I hoped that I won't accidentally crush them. It would almost be like crushing Jade's heart felt attempt at watering the small bud of our friendship if that happened. "Thank you, Jade. They're lovely."

"Of course. I grew them. They remind me of rabbits."

"I didn't know you like sunflowers. I thought you hated them, since you did destroy an entire vase of them."

"Well, just so you know, I don't like them. I tolerate them, just like how I tolerate you."


That was the nicest thing Jade West had ever said to me. I'm still not her friend, but her tolerating me is a giant step up from hating my guts.

Wait… She grew those sunflowers especially for me?!

She handed me a basket with a shrug. "Since you're already here, I guess I would have to feed you to make sure you don't starve to death. Pick whatever vegetables you like. I can make salads for the both of us. Whatever you do, do not go near that door."

I followed her perfectly painted black fingernails with my eyes as she pointed towards a section of the garden hidden behind yet another door. As I stood there still gaping at her like an idiot, she rolled her eyes at me before picking up a huge watering can and disappearing behind some plants.

When I finally regained enough of my senses to move my legs again, I felt my heart pound as I turned to eyeball that wooden door. It looked nothing special, just like the one I went through when Jade dragged me into her garden. But she specifically warned me to stay away from that section of the garden.

What secrets could she be hiding there?

Could it be… dead bodies? That she uses to fertilize her plants?!

My curiosity gnawed at me, and I looked around to make sure Jade was not standing anywhere near me. Seeing that she was nowhere to be seen, I crept towards the forbidden door.