Mya's Mystical Garden

By Tonya Warner

"Don't pick the flowers!" Mya's mother has told her so many times; but on a hot day in the beginning of summer, Mya is so bored she can't help but try it. Suddenly, she is whisked away on an adventure through time and space where each flower she picks brings her to another life-changing decision.

As Mya picks different flowers, she learns that each one has a meaning. By decoding the hidden significance in each blossom, Mya discovers the skills that she needs to make it home and to grow into a kinder, stronger young woman. Before her adventure is over, she has to face a struggle to fit in at school, a dangerous risk at a burning building, a difficult decision about honesty, a brush with social inequality, and a chance to help others toward understanding and forgiveness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: May 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9781638816751

Book preview

Mya’s

Mystical Garden

Tonya Warner

Copyright © 2022 Tonya Warner

All rights reserved

First Edition

NEWMAN SPRINGS PUBLISHING

320 Broad Street

Red Bank, NJ 07701

First originally published by Newman Springs Publishing 2022

ISBN 978-1-63881-674-4 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63881-675-1 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

To my beautiful and imaginative daughters who helped bring this book to life.

Contents

Alstroemeria

Begonia

Daffodil

Gladiolus

Hyacinth

Forgiveness

Friendship

Caution

Honesty

Strength of Character

Alstroemeria

My mom loved to garden. She planted all kinds of flowers. Personally, I found them incredibly boring. One hot summer day, not long after the school break began, I was watching my mom busily watering her flowers—again! Although it was summer, I wasn’t feeling very cheerful. My best friend Victoria had stopped talking to me during the last week of school, and I was feeling pretty lonely.

Victoria and I had become friends after the time she had picked me first for dodgeball in second grade. I had never been very good at sports, and watching the other kids get picked for teams before me had been embarrassing.

On the very last day of the dodgeball unit, Victoria was one of the team captains, and it was her turn to choose. She shockingly chose me first, and everyone gasped loudly, which made it even more embarrassing. There were obvious whispers and snickers as I slowly walked to Victoria and stood beside her. It was such a weird feeling being picked first and then being able to peer back at my classmates as they waited to be called.

Victoria stood tall and wrapped her arm around my waist. This is my best friend, she proudly asserted. She is the kindest person I know, and I don’t like how you have all treated her. And I don’t care if you don’t want to be on my team. We had been best friends ever since, even though some of the other kids were mean and called her Stinky Vicky.

I sighed. We had been best friends for all of second and third grades after that, but now, she didn’t seem to want to spend time with me at all. I wasn’t really sure what had happened, but now that Victoria wasn’t talking to me, I only had my mom to hang out with all summer. And all she wanted to do was pull weeds and pour water on plants.

I rolled my eyes, and then I did something Mom always told me to never do—I picked a flower out of her garden!

She noticed right away. Gasping loudly, she shouted, Mya, I told you to never pick my fl…

But she trailed off. Why? I realized I couldn’t see or hear her anymore. How had it gotten so windy? Where was I? I found myself surrounded by big old trees, but they were nothing like the familiar ones in my backyard. I could feel myself starting to cry.

Just as quickly as it had started, the winds calmed. A cool breeze swept away my tears. I felt a sense of peace, and suddenly, I wasn’t scared anymore. I realized that I did recognize the trees, but they weren’t the ones at home. They were the trees from the schoolyard. I looked down and noticed my hand was still clutching the flower I had picked from the garden. Because my mom had taught me