“This party’s getting boring.” Alex mumbled while tossing his empty disposable cup of soda in the air and catching it afterward.
“Expecting something exciting to happen at your younger sister’s party?” Brad caught the empty glass when Alex tossed it again.
Alex gave him a knowing look. His eyes sparkled as an idea flashed in his mischievous mind.
“Come to think of it. We haven’t seen your sister since the party started. It’s supposed to be her event, but she’s nowhere to be found.”
Alex didn’t respond for a moment. His eerie silence and malicious eyes made the temperature drop.
“She’s an introvert. She hates people. Even me.”
“I shouldn’t have come to a children’s party. I’m eighteen. I’m outta here.” Brad stood in the attempt to leave, but Alex stopped him.
“Wanna do something fun?”
Without his friend responding, Alex dragged Brad to the back of the house, to their garden. A place no one paid attention to. No one but Macy—Alex’s younger sister.
The loud party music, blending with the parents' and children’s laughter, faded in the background the moment they closed the door which led to another lawn. And as their feet touched the Bermuda grass in that garden, nimbus clouds spread across the sky, blocking the radiant king of the sky.
“KEEP OFF MY PROPERTY! IT’S A WARNING!”
Signage greeted them, and Alex grinned.
“Sounds like a challenge!” he exclaimed. “I like putting my courage to a test! That sign only tempts me more.”
“Nah, thanks bud, but I’ll pass,” Brad murmured. “Macy’s creeping me out.”
“She’s only six. You’re eighteen and a coward,” he teased.
Brad simpered. “Are you sure she’s a normal introverted kid, not a brainiac tiny scientist?”
Alex gave his friend a querying look. Brad looked at him and then to the corner of the garden where the sign hung. It was only when Alex realized that a short silhouette stood behind the golden rosary bushes.
Both teens jumped in surprise when the figure stepped out of its hiding, revealing itself to them. She was a cute female doll.
She smiled at them and said, “Welcome to Macy’s world! A place like no other. My name is Bridgette.”
The teens didn’t respond, so Bridgette continued.
“My dear visitors, please follow me. Master Macy is waiting for you.”
The doll walked a few meters away from them like a little butler but dressed as a maid. Bridgette stood three feet tall, with strawberry bob-cut hair.
It took them two minutes to reach the center of the vast garden filled with various blooming red flowers and tiger orchids. Amidst the flowery lawn was a huge peacock maze.
“Cool, right?” Alex bragged when a sliding glass door covered with vines and crawlers opened.
“Since when did you have a garden maze inside glass walls and roofs?” Brad’s jaw dropped. “It’s like a labyrinth. Is there a minotaur waiting to devour us?”.
Alex’s eyes glint at his friend’s words. “Do you want to see one? What would you do if there is indeed someone—or something—waiting for you?”
“Knock it off man! You’re creeping me out!” He punched Alex's arm teasingly.
“You’re bored. I’m bored. Let’s play hide and seek. Let’s find my sister.”
As they kept walking while looking at the jaw-dropping futuristic designs on the walls: one depicted flying cars and people on their winged sandals while the rest displayed a hologram of concrete and brick houses moving from one place to another, the speakers on the pillars boomed with Macy’s tiny voice.
“Hello brother, dearest. Hello Brad. Welcome to my paradise, intruders!”
They heard arguments behind the microphone after Macy greeted them.
“Who is she talking to?” Brad hissed in Alex’s ear while scanning the area for any human, but there was none. They couldn’t see any door that may lead them to where Macy was speaking from. “Let’s get outta here. I don’t feel good about this.”
“Nah ah, Brad. You can’t resist the temptation of going in, right? Then, you must face the consequences of your action,” Macy said, making Brad fidgety. There was no way she could hear what he whispered to Alex.
“Thanks for the welcome, sissy, but I think we must leave. Sorry for the intrusion,” Alex said in a modulated voice.
“Oh no, Alex. You should’ve thought about it prior to going in. Besides, I only have one rule for those who barge in?”
“What rule?”
“YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE COME IN IF YOU WANT TO GO OUT ALIVE!”
Upon saying that, the room they were in shook like there was an earthquake, cracking the walls. Scorpions and other deadly spiders emerged out of the crevices, swarming the two teenagers who screamed at the top of their lungs as they swatted the arachnids away from them.
“Ahh!”
“Alex and Brad!” the biology teacher called their names as she strutted towards the newly- awakened boys’ seats. “This isn’t your bedroom. And it isn’t time to sleep either. You really can’t resist the temptation to sleep in my class, eh?”
The friends blinked to clear their visions. Their teacher’s annoyed face welcomed them. Behind her was the whiteboard where images of spiders and scorpions flashed from the projector. Then, they looked at each other with furrowed brows.
“Did we have the same dream about Macy?” they asked each other, totally disregarding their teacher’s presence.