Chapter 35: Into the Gardens (Part 1

Chapter 35: Into the Gardens (Part 1)56

(Robert Quick, August 6th, 2011)

I was feeling irritated and wanted to be alone. Rooms filled with raucous laughter flowed past me as I quickened my steps, hurrying through the Sun Room to the outside before I could snap at anyone else.

My feet moved as if of their own accord, following some internal need that I wasn’t quite aware of. I passed the signs for the Tree House and the Southern Veranda, and followed the sign marked Gardens. Underneath was a secondary wooden sign nailed to the bottom of the first that read: Domain of the

Werepanda — Beware!

It was contrariness more than anything else that persuaded me to step boldly off the brown tile and into the gardens. No one told me what to do, certainly not some shoddily made sign.

Someone cleared their throat nearby.

A thick, solidly-built asian man appeared. I don’t mean that he came from somewhere else or out of the bushes. One second he wasn’t there and the next he was. He wore one of those prototypical pointy, round hats with a wide base, and a simple brown robe.

“Be welcome.”

56

Curiously, neither Into the Gardens (Part 1) nor Into the Gardens (Part 2) were officially listed as part of Our Strange and Wonderful House. However, comments from the day of their release make it clear that they were intended, and always perceived, as furthering Our Strange and Wonderful House’s narrative. We have elected to reinstate them as true Chapters — given that they are not spun off from any preexisting entries, they cannot in good conscience be termed Appendices, and their lack of insertion into the official list of Our Strange and Wonderful House entries should be understood to be a mere oversight. 75