The Valley of Flowers

By Jack Dey

A distant rumble echoed up and down the steep green valley walls; then a gentle breeze rippled across the valley floor stirring a patchwork of yellow, pink and blue, making the colourful tall stems of happy flowers seem to giggle softly and sway gently in the giddying silence. Patches of blue sky peered around the tall cliffs, partially obscured by lazy clouds hanging deftly and close to the rocky peaks. A monolithic giant, draped in the royal green velvet of deep rainforest, towered high above the trail and stood guard over the entrance to the enchanting scene, making sure only the invited found the secret, narrow breach.

Something was beckoning, tugging at her heart strings and drawing her onto the path, urging her to keep walking. Step by step the trail led her deeper into the valley, tantalising her senses with each guarded step and piquing her curiosity.

Where was she?

Suddenly, the valley erupted into whispered laughter, adorable impish laughter echoing across the valley floor and entangled among the swaying flowers. She searched around trying to identify the voices, but they remained shy and hidden from her view. Then the sky opened and a warm, gentle shower drizzled over her, flooding her mind with childish delight as she tasted drops of water sweeter than honey. The rain began to teem down on her and as it did, the impish laughter increased; she heard a giggle trickle over her tonsils and then an echoing laugh bubbled up from deep inside her and spilled out into the rain. In a moment of ecstasy, she peered up at the sky and the mountains surrounding her and twirled on the spot, pirouetting like a ballet dancer, lost in excited elation and sending her long gown whirling around her.

As suddenly as it came, the rain stopped and a gentle breeze caressed her face, dancing with her, calling to her in a loving whisper, “Elly... Elly... come to me, pretty lady,” enticing her down into the valley while its call halted her ecstatic dance.

The voice made her heart burn within her and she searched among the flowers until she saw a beautiful young man standing on the path, beckoning to her with an outstretched arm. She gazed at the gesture for a moment, hesitating and a little confused, but then his haunting green eyes peered into the depths of her heart and overpowered her emotions, gently pulling her towards him...

A gentle, easy read that will captivate your heart and hold it prisoner as it pleads with every word to take you deeper into an enchanted world of mystery, valour, romance and redemption.

“So did you ever work out Dramble’s riddle?”
Elly shook her head. “No, even to this day it puzzles me!”
“How does it go again?”
“Out of your heart, the tears I keep and when I am no longer, your knowledge is complete,” Elly recited verbatim.
“I think I just solved it.”
“Where?!”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jack Dey
• Release date: Dec 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310478543

Jack Dey

Jack Dey, born to adventure, lives in the beautiful rainforest of tropical North Queensland, Australia. He has three loves in his life: Jesus; the Editor—his wife of 30 something years; and writing adventure novels. He is the author of MAHiNA; Paradise Warrior; Aunt Tabbie's Wings; The Secrets of Black Dean Lighthouse; The Legend of Ataneq Nanuq; The Valley of Flowers; La Belle Suisse (co-authored with Dodie La Mirounette); Zero; Naive; and Brindabella's Prophet. He is currently researching and writing his latest book, Apostate. Jack writes only to please Papa God and considers his writing a ministry, demanding nothing from the reader for his e-books. If you like Jack Dey’s books and would like to support his ministry, please consider praying for the team at Jack Dey and telling your friends about his other titles. New books are constantly being written with the intention of being a pencil in Jesus’ hand and bringing joy and encouragement to you, the reader.

Book preview

June 6

Dear Diary,

Today was the worst day of my life. Mum dropped by to see Dad but I was hoping she’d come over to patch things up and move back in with us. My hopes evaporated when I peered through the curtains in my room and saw ‘him’ sitting in the driver seat of her car, waiting for her to finish talking with Dad. Turns out she’d only dropped by to deliver the divorce papers and she didn’t even take the time to stop by my room and talk with me.

I feel really hurt!

Things have been tense around Dad since she dropped her bombshell and moved out. The walls are so thin in this house and sometimes I hear him crying late at night in his room, although around me he tries to maintain his composure, but I can’t help thinking their breaking up is somehow my fault. Maybe if I had been a better daughter, not so moody or so fat, maybe if I was prettier or helped her more around here... IDK!

I ‘HATE’ coming home to an empty house after school, too. It freaks me out and I check behind each door and in every cupboard, then lock myself inside my room once I feel kinda safe. Scaredy cat, maybe... I guess. I should stop watching horror movies before bed. It’s pretty late when Dad finally walks in from work and I’m sure I can smell alcohol on his breath. I try my best to take the load off him and I know I can’t cook to save myself, but he usually doesn’t want any dinner anyway—don’t blame him really. So I end up eating in my room... I feel so empty and alone!

Sorry, Diary, I smudged your beautiful pink pages with my useless tears. Don’t go away, Diary, I need to blow my nose... I’m back. Did you miss me?

Tina knows something’s up, but I feel too embarrassed to tell her. She keeps asking me if I’m alright and I keep telling her I’m fine, but I know she knows something’s wrong and she won’t give up until she’s got the ‘gos’. She’s spending a lot of time with Danny Dickson lately, too. Yuk...! I can’t stand the guy, but Tina likes him and I think she’s intending to go all the way with him. I hope she thinks about it a lot before and isn’t making a big mistake. I don’t know what I would do without my BFF!

I just don’t get life and what it’s all about. It all seems so pointless and sometimes I feel like the world would be a better place if I just died! No one would even realise I was gone or miss me once they found out, I’m sure. Although! Mr Bryce stopped again to have a chat in the hallway at school. He’s always so positive and encouraging and I always enjoy talking to him. Wonder if he wants a daughter? No, I guess not! He reminds me a lot of Grandpa Dan. I wish he wasn’t so sick and we could spend time together again. Why does everyone want to leave or get sick when I’m around?!

I should finish now, Diary. I still have some homework to do but I feel too depressed and can’t be bothered. It’s only maths and I can’t stand maths!

*~*~*~*

Elly Parker’s finger hovered over the start button on her small laptop, contemplating watching another horror movie before turning out the light and trying to sleep. The movies seemed to resonate with the horror of her short teenage life and in some strange way, the images on her screen shocked her into a fantasy world, leaving her own desperate world far behind and in the shadows. She drew in a long breath, holding it trapped in her lungs while she studied the outline of her pink laptop.

In a moment of decision she released her breath, closed the screen with a click and checked the bedside clock. It was just after midnight and the passageway light was on, signifying her father was still up. She combed out the length of her long blonde hair, the hairbrush crackling with static electricity at each deliberate stroke. When she had finished preparing for bed, she reached for the bedroom door handle and cracked it open. In a raised voice, she called to her father, Goodnight, Dad!... No answer.

She sighed and closed the door again then made her way to her bed and climbed in, pulling the blankets up to her eyes. Soon after making a mental check of her surrounds, Elly disturbed the neat blankets partially covering her face and reached for the bedside table, extinguishing the light and reducing her room into a confusion of darkness and shadows. With a sharp motion, she pulled her arm back into the safety of the blankets, her eyes slowly closing and soon she drifted into another world...

*~*~*~*

A distant rumble echoed up and down the steep, green valley walls. Then a gentle breeze rippled across the valley floor, stirring a patchwork of yellow, pink and blue, making the colourful tall stems of happy flowers seem to giggle softly and sway gently in the giddying silence. Patches of blue sky peered around the tall cliffs, partially obscured by lazy clouds hanging deftly and close to the rocky peaks. A monolithic giant, draped in the royal green velvet of deep rainforest, towered high above the trail and stood guard over the entrance to the enchanting scene, making sure only the invited found the secret, narrow breach. Something was beckoning, tugging at her heart strings and drawing her onto the path, urging her to keep walking. Step by step the trail led her deeper into the valley, tantalising her senses with each guarded step and piquing her curiosity.

Where was she?

Suddenly, the valley erupted into whispered laughter, adorable impish laughter echoing across the valley floor and entangled among the swaying flowers. She searched around trying to identify the voices, but they remained shy and hidden from her view. Then the sky opened and a warm, gentle shower drizzled over her, flooding her mind with childish delight as she tasted drops of water sweeter than honey.

The rain began to teem down on her and as it did, the impish laughter increased. She heard a giggle trickle over her tonsils and then an echoing laugh bubbled up from deep inside her and spilled out into the rain. In a moment of ecstasy, she peered up at the sky and the mountains surrounding her and twirled on the spot, pirouetting like a ballet dancer, lost in excited elation and sending her long white gown whirling around her.

As suddenly as it came, the rain stopped and a gentle breeze caressed her face, dancing with her, calling to her in a loving whisper, Elly... Elly... come to me, pretty lady, enticing her down into the valley while its call halted her ecstatic dance.

The voice made her heart burn within her and she searched among the flowers until she saw a beautiful young man standing on the path, beckoning to her with an outstretched arm. She gazed at the gesture for a moment, hesitating and a little confused, but then his haunting green eyes peered into the depths of her heart and overpowered her emotions, gently pulling her towards him, desperate to experience the love he was offering.

A rasping clamour broke into her fantasy and before Elly knew what was happening, the scene had evaporated like a steamy breath into a cold atmosphere, sending her into a tailspin and searching frantically about the sunlit room for evidence of her intrigue and the green-eyed young man. She sighed, slapping the alarm clock into silence with an agitated hand and fell back to her pillow, exasperated and grieving for the lost opportunity for romance. It took her moments to realise she’d been dreaming, but the ecstasy she’d felt and the beauty of the young man haunted her.

If only she hadn’t hesitated...!

Even as she peered around her empty room, the emotional depths of her encounter still remained and she longed to return to the gentle, enchanting world in her dream.

*~*~*~*

Chapter 2

Replaying the fading emotion and frustrated by her hesitation, the green-eyed apparition captivated her heart, entangling her desires in a unknown world of enchantment and leaving her desperately pining for the romance of her dream. She dragged her distraught outline from her bed, quickly dressed and critically assessed her appearance in the reflection of the full-length mirror covering the doors of her built-in robe. The reflected image of her seventeen-year-old figure described the features of a mature young woman, but held captive in the final year of her childhood by the less than flattering high school uniform. She teased the idea of applying a light shade of makeup to help her feel more appealing, however the school rules forbade any such attempts, even for seniors and were staunchly policed.

As she stood examining her reflection, an electric tingle sparked through her senses, reawakening the memory of the romantic close encounter, stealing the focus from the image reflected in the mirror and back to the ethereal dream man once again. A pleasing sigh escaped her lips, remembering how the young man made her feel, while a haunting desire to search the back roads of her imagination and reconnect with her apparition overtook her. However the romantic memory was waning fast and she tried desperately to hold on to the fading image of another world, a world where love existed, while she attempted to make sense of her own desolate world, a place without love.

Her thoughts suddenly jolted out of the fantasy and her attention fixed on her reflected impression once again. Unimpressed with the gawky uniform and yearning to break free of the bonds of childhood and launch into womanhood, she sighed heavily. I feel like a frump in a bag. She teased her thoughts again and wondered what her dream man would think of her offering, imagining his thoughts while her blue eyes did a final critique from every angle, twisting her body in front of the mirror.

Elly was a senior at Armadale’s exclusive Don Patton Senior High, nestled in the foothills of the Darling Range and overlooking the vast tracks of Perth’s distant and smoggy sprawling skyline. The school was designed to cater for the elite of Armadale’s hillslope families, but Elly’s dad was struggling to keep up with the ever-expanding fees and assure her continued presence at the exclusive school. She’d be happy to leave and get a job, however her parvenu mother had other ideas and now that her mother had left, maybe her dad might reconsider.

A quick glance at the bedside clock alarmed her and she broke from the mirror, making a sudden grasp at a nearby pile of books needed for the day’s tuition. She seized the bedroom door handle and twisted it, unlocking the access into the passageway, intent on making her way to the kitchen and grabbing a quick bite before catching the bus to school. As she entered the passageway, she pulled the door closed behind her, noticing immediately that the passage light was still on. A sudden stab of apprehension clawed at her heart, wondering what this could mean. Her father was always imploring her to economise, and leaving a light on all night was akin to the crime of murder in his book. Elly carefully searched the passage into the kitchen, pursuing any indication that her father was near, but finding it empty she continued her search into another part of the house. Still clutching her schoolbooks, she approached her parent’s bedroom and listened at the closed door, hoping to discern any sign of life. She held her breath, intently listening and then after a long moment released it, wondering whether she should dare to open the door and invade his private sanctuary. She decided to knock and see if he was still in bed. Dad! Are you in there?!

She waited anxiously, but there was no answer.

Elly nervously reached for the door handle and clasped it in her hand, hesitating before twisting the knob and cracking the barrier open. She cautiously peered around the room from her position at the door, but everywhere she scanned the area was in chaos, seemingly from her father’s attempts to remove a painful chapter from his life. The pictures of her mother were missing from the wall and even the bedside drawers she used were turned upside down and her personal items scattered about the floor. The bedding had been reefed from its base and deposited about the room, while memorabilia lay in scattered piles of turmoil. Elly gazed dumbfounded at the turbulent mess, but her father was nowhere to be seen.

She ventured a few steps into her father’s domain, imagining his pain etched into the very fabric of this intimate place he had shared with her mother. As she scanned the destructive scene, her eyes rested on two tiny velvet boxes lying open, crushed and discarded on the floor. She quickly tiptoed over to the place they were lying and squatted down to investigate. A large diamond ring lay next to one crumpled box and a gold band lay a little distance away, still contained in another. The consequences of the actions were clear. Her mother had rejected and broken her vows to her father by callously thrusting the symbols of her commitment back at him and he had responded by forcefully discarding the rings in a vain hope of erasing her from his memory.

It soon became evident that her father was not in the house and she began to wonder whether he had come home at all last night. With a heavy and anxious heart, she made her way back into the kitchen, trying to concentrate on the looming school day instead. As she approached the kitchen table, a scrap of paper lay in a crumpled heap towards the centre as if it had been thrown there. She stared at the note for a few uneasy seconds before willing herself to pick it up and read its content. As her eyes scanned the messy paper, she recognised her father’s handwriting and then the seven words scribbled across it tore at her heart.

Won’t be back until after this weekend.

*~*~*~*

Elly’s worried gaze reflected in the dirty windows of the school bus while she sat staring absentmindedly at the hilly scenery passing by the moving vehicle. The noise of younger students reverberated around the cavernous transporter, but she had blocked it out, concentrating on the ramifications of her father’s note instead. A nagging thought held her captive, pondering whether he had discarded her as well, in the fervour to distance himself from any reminder of her mother. The implications of spending the weekend alone in the house just added to her burden and a frustrated tear formed in the corner of her eye. The recollection and the curtness of the note made it appear overwhelmingly…

He had rejected her, too.

She reached up to her face and swiped at the recalcitrant tear with her hand and ordered it not to make a scene. Instead, she tried to concentrate on her dream and the young man who had filled her emotions with longing; but to her dismay, the dream had faded and along with it, so had the strong feelings. She searched her memory in a vain hope to reconnect with the joyous sensations the young man had invoked in her; but it was gone, destroyed by the cruel reality of her bitter world and all that was left was just a faint hint of a tender and warm afterglow.

The rumbling movements of the school bus shifted into a tight turn and the action shook Elly from her musings. In front of her, the school buildings perched atop the hillside came into view and for now, she needed to forget about the dramas happening at home and redirect her thoughts into her school environment. The bus squealed to a halt at the entrance to the buildings; a cacophony of babbling noise assaulted her senses as the bus aisle filled with young teenagers eager to alight the lumbering vehicle. Through the bus window, Elly scanned the moving mass of humanity milling around the classrooms and waiting for their day to begin. She searched the faces, looking for Tina’s familiar figure, hoping she’d be able to add some comfort and normalcy into her crumbling world.

Soon she recognised Tina standing by a group of older teenagers, surveying the mass of exiting bus passengers, obviously searching for someone. Elly’s face crumpled and revulsion rose when she saw Tina holding hands with Danny Dickson, as if he had been suddenly and forcefully grafted onto Tina’s body. As soon as Elly climbed down the steps off the bus and reached the sidewalk, Tina recognised her friend, broke from Danny’s clasp and excitedly rushed over to meet her, engulfing her in a BFF hug.

Elly, am I glad to see you! Tina gushed.

Elly warmly returned Tina’s embrace and momentarily gazed past her to Danny Dickson, waiting impatiently for Tina to return to his side. Tina caught Elly’s disapproving glare staring past her and back at Danny Dickson.

Come on, Elly, he’s cool. Give him a chance, Tina implored, an adoring smile lighting her lips as she gazed back at the dorky teen boy and nodding her head as if he had given her an instruction and was demanding a response. "You’re my best friend forever, right?"

Elly nodded, wondering what Tina was leading up to.

Danny has a friend who has a car and we have arranged with him to go away camping for the weekend, but here’s the catch. My parents wouldn’t let me go, until I told them you were coming with us.

"You what, Tina?! I like your parents and I don’t want to lie to them!" Elly was indignant.

"Yeah, but if you come with us you won’t be lying. Come on, Elly, for me... please! Danny’s friend is way cool too and he has heard about you and wants to double date with us."

*~*~*~*

Chapter 3

Elly grasped at her schoolbooks and pressed them against her chest, crossing her arms and locking the books into her grip as she stepped down off the school bus. The day had been reassuring in its familiarity and normalcy, but now as she walked the five minutes to her home, her heart pounded and her head began to ache in anticipation of a new domestic nightmare unfolding. She hadn’t seen much of Tina all day and when she did happen to glimpse her, she was attached to Danny Dickson and surrounded by his crowd. Elly longed to confide in her best friend about her own troubles, but Tina was too distracted with Dickson to even notice her.

As Elly dawdled along the sidewalk, the well-known housefront came into view and shook her from her fractured thoughts. Unkempt lawns and dry, spindly weeds protruding above shrubs and bushes advertised to the neighbourhood all was not well within the Parker residence. Elly ambled up to the front door and grasped her books precariously with one arm, then reached around her neck for the gold chain and the front door key. With an unsteady hand, she leaned in to the door and threaded the key into the lock and twisted the tumbler, carefully pushing the door open once she had withdrawn the key, and hoping her father may have changed his mind about not coming home. She stood on the threshold for a moment, listening to the sounds of the big, empty house. In an anxious voice she called out, Dad!

But no one replied. Then with the gaze of a commando searching for a hidden enemy, she measured each step cautiously throughout the building, wondering what she would do if she came upon someone intent on doing her harm. With her anxious search coming to an end, there was only one room left to check. Her eyes stared for a long moment, pondering the door to her father’s room and hoping she would find her desperate parent cleaning up the mess and assuring her she was still an important part of his shattered life.

She listened intently at the closed door and then slowly reached for the doorknob and twisted the handle, causing the door to give way under her guidance. Then pushing it further open, even now the chaos of the morning lay where it had fallen and in the pandemonium, nothing seemed out of place. Elly stared at the destruction so eloquently contained within the four walls, pondering the devastation with harrowing trepidation and feeling like she had been an innocent victim, too, callously discarded onto the bedroom floor with the other reminders of her father’s turbulent pain. Elly sniffed back a tear, trying to convince herself that he still did care about her and the present circumstances would pass once he had had a chance to process his grief, but the thought wouldn’t help her cope with the next three nights alone. Closing the door to the scene and satisfied the house was empty, she flicked on the kitchen light and then the passageway light, apologising in her thoughts to her dad for wasting electricity. Finding the door to her room once again, she pushed it open and locked it behind her.

The familiar surrounds of her sanctuary brought Elly immediate relief and even if the world beyond her bedroom was in tatters, the world inside it was not. She reached for her pink laptop, ran her fingers over the keys in an appreciative caress and then gently depressed the start up button. After manipulating the computer’s start up sequence, the familiar scene of her and Tina in an embellished hug, set as her desktop image, danced across her screen. It was a photograph her dad had taken only months ago when they were still a family and Tina was staying the night, just before she became interested in Danny Dickson.

The sudden repulsive thought of Danny Dickson tore at her insides, and Tina’s animated plea to join her on a double date with Dickson and his friend on a dubious weekend camping trip rang alarm bells within her head. Being in Tina’s company on the weekend instead of being alone had its appeal, but she suspected Tina’s motives for the trip were to carry out her desire to go all the way with Danny, instead of enjoying a fun time together. The more she pondered the situation and the more Dickson’s greasy features came into her mind’s eye, the more revulsed she became. Even the thought of being in close quarters with Dickson was starting to make her feel creepy, and then another disturbing thought flashed across her imagination. What about Dickson’s friend? If he was as creepy as Dickson, which she suspected he was, what expectations did he have of her?

Elly’s stomach was in knots as she tried to put the distressing thoughts out of her mind, but she only had tonight to think about her answer before delivering her decision on Friday morning at school. She had promised Tina she would ask her parents and now that her dad was nowhere to be found, the decision was hers alone, leaving her in a quandary. She knew Tina was