Celestia POV

At dawn I woke up before anyone else. The hotel suite was still quiet, so I used this time to take a shower. The bathroom was simple and I found myself missing the intricate shower heads at home. Was I sinning because I wasn't happy with what I had, because I wanted more? When I was in Heaven I used to dream to go to Earth and explore everything I couldn't before. I was told it was dangerous and tempting. Now that I'm here I find myself second-guessing each feeling and overthinking the simplest things. Does wanting a luxurious shower head make me just as bad as demons? It had to be different, but the way I was taught made it seem that the step itself didn't matter, what truly mattered was which direction you were stepping toward.

After everyone woke up and got ready, we used the rented cars and headed toward Glencoe. I didn't mind the quiet of the car ride because my mind was going over every decision I made while I was down here. What if it was a test? To see if I will succumb to evil's embrace or not. I don't know how much time passed, but the trees started to get thicker and there were beautiful flowers on the side of the road. "We are almost there." Dad stated from the driver's side. We parked the car and went on foot toward the ticket center, where we paid and entered. The place looked deserted.

"If you need anything or you are lose, you can call this number and I will come find you to lead you to the main building. All the clubs and teachers are off duty right now since you requested a private visit for your family, but we can arrange something for another day if any of your kids are interested in gardening. I hope you have a pleasant experience at the Chicago Botanic Garden!" The woman, who gave us the tickets exclaimed before leaving to go to her office once more. 

"Okay, do you guys want to stay together, or explore in groups?" Dad asked us.

Weston was quick to answer for everyone "Let's separate into groups, I can explore on my own around the staff area because flowers aren't my thing, but you guys can go ahead and see all the plants and trees. Isabella and Dad decided to explore the rose garden first, while I walked forward without any direction. Mateo and Asher were trailing behind me. 

I had no idea what to look for. My mother's words floated back to the forefront of my mind. "Find me while the light is still hiding behind the world just gracing us with your presence. Explore the garden that once made you wonder why we had to live separately from the humans."

Okay, I am exploring the garden, but I still had no idea what to look for. "Aurora!" Mateo called from behind me. Swiftly turning around I looked at him in question. "There is a map here, if you want to go somewhere specific."

"Nope, I just want to explore."

"Our little sister is an adventurer Mateo, like one of her big brothers!" Ash voiced from near us. It sounded like tease, which had Mateo shaking his head.

"Do you like exploring things too, Ash?" 

Smiling at me and falling in step next to me Ash answered "I love traveling. Seeing the world and all it's glory, it makes me feel alive. Maybe that's why I still haven't decided what I want to study in college." He felt so uncertain.

"Do you even want to go to college?"

My question had him faltering his steps a little. He felt surprise after that and doubt. "I'm not sure, but I don't want to disappoint my family. Both our parents went to college, Mateo graduated from the same one even and Weston's probably going to get a soccer scholarship after he graduates high school."

I assured him "Whatever you decide to do, I won't be disappointed. You don't have to go to college if you don't want to. Is there something else you want to do besides travel?"

I was sure we were having a normal conversation, but his feelings told me otherwise. Ash felt secretive, he was still debating in his soul whether or not he wanted to tell me. He couldn't trust me and I felt awful about that. Not that I was being very trusting myself, considering Weston was the only one from my human family I told about my origin.

"I'm still thinking, not sure, but I do want to get to know you better. I missed a lot of time and traveling seems superficial compared to getting to know my sister and bonding." Now I felt even worse, he wanted us to bond... and I keep everything a secret from him. I'm probably the worst sister ever. 

Mateo had somehow taken the lead and had us exploring the various gardens in this place. They named them differently, and all were more beautiful than any other garden I had seen, just like I remember from my first visit here. Overall, there were twenty-seven different gardens filled with almost three million species of plants. I think this is my second-favorite place on Earth, next to the Iguazu Falls.

The pathways and arches were made with such precision. You could clearly see the lines between the human and divine touches here. On one hand the beautiful architecture of the paths, arches, benches, and fountains showed how beautiful a human creation can be. On the other hand, the divine touch could be seen in the various plants, flowers or weeds that occupied the different gardens. It could also be heard in the flow of the water, all the insects and birds that provided an enchaning sounscape, which made you immerse your mind in the nature surrounding you.

The garden itself was the perfect combination of both the human and the divine, like two sides of a coin. Kind of like me... My divine nature came from my mother, but my human side came from my father. Both are unique, both have their weak and strong suits. I just had to make sure evil didn't use my weaknesses against me.

I can't expect to hide forever, so I had to fight back. Like tending to this garden, so the weeds don't suffocate and steal all the water from the beautiful flowers. The magnificence around me was a result of hard work, so I had to also work hard on myself if I want metaphorical "flowers" to bloom inside my mind rather than a demon's evil teachings. I don't care if all the Nephilim before me couldn't resist, I was going to prevail - good was going to triumph, whatever it takes.

...

A little after noon, Dad had called Mateo and told us to go back to the main building. They had lunch catered for the day. Weston was curious "Why do we have so much food here?"

His Mom answered "I thought since we booked the whole place for the day, we can compensate the staff that stayed to tend to our needs, so I ordered for them too. I know we are paying extra to have the place to ourselves, but we can still be nice to them." I was surprised that Isabella had also got food for the few staff members on duty left today in the garden. That was very thoughtful of her.

Whenever I tried to figure her out and dive into her feelings more, she alwasy knew I was watching. It's like she had eyes on the back of her head or something, very observant. Mateo was also like that, but his Mom was better at it. Nothing I felt from her so far, told me she was corrupt or evil. I remember my first day with her, I thought she was suspicious. Now, I think she just wants acceptance from me. Why that is, I still hadn't figured out, but there was no malice of any kind.

While everyone was helping to set the tables the staff brought out for us, Wes took my hand and led me to the water's edge. We were overlooking a part of the lake and the beauty of it still surpised me. "Okay, I did some digging, while you were exploring and I think I know what we are looking for."

Now I was curous. "What do you mean?"

"The staff was helpful and they were eager to tell me about something that's been happening for a while in the garden. It's not public knowlege yet because they can't explain it." Now that was intriguing. "Every morning, at dawn a kaleidoscope of butterflies has been gathering near one of the benches. They are there every morning, no exception. Even when people try to approach them, they aren't flying away. Once the sun rises though, they disappear."

"It's like your Mom's message said "while the light is still hiding behind the world just gracing us with your presense," He was looking at me like I should understand what he meant but I didn't. Huffing he continued "Your name, sis. Aurora means dawn and the butterfly cluster is only active at dawn.

"What do butterflies have to do with my mom?"

"Well, that's on you to solve, but I'm thinking we have to be here in the morning before sunrise to figure it out." My shoulders slumped and I didn't have an apetite after hearing that. We were so close and yet so far away. There is no way they would let us come back here before sunrise.

After lunch Mateo and Dad opted to use one of the computer rooms in the giant building to work. Isabella was annimatedly talking to one of the staff members, while drinking tea. I guess she makes friends fast, which had me feeling jealous. I wish I could be so good at talking to people and making friends. Maybe then, I could convince the staff to let us come at dawn.

...

Wes was walking beside me, while Ash was looking at his phone and taking all sorts of pictures on our afternoon walk. We explored the rest of the garden and saw some amazing places, that we hadn't seen in the morning. This place was really big. I was quiet, which Wes noticed and commented on. "Don't worry Rory, I'll find a way for us to see it." He conspiratorily whispered the next part, so Ash didn't hear him. "We can even hide somewhere in the garden and spend the night here, like in the movie - Night at the Museum. Then in the morning, even if we get caught at least we would have found answers."

I giggled at that. The movie was pretty funny. Florence had decided we need to watch something fun one afternoon after I came back from the hospital, so we watched all four films from the franchise. I liked them.

I looked to my right before we crossed the bridge, but Ash had stopped a while back and was just staring at a tree. I focused and felt intense jealousy consume him. "I know that look Captain Sonar, you've read me plenty of times now, so I can recognize when you do it." I looked up at him ready to defend myself, but he stopped me before I can utter even one word. "No need to justify your snooping into people's feelings to me. Go talk to him. He feels left out, plus he's the emotional one of the King brothers, so he needs you.

"Wes, you are plenty of emotional too, even though you try and hide it behind humor." He rolled his eyes at me, heading back to where Ash is standing.

"Ash! Look after our know it all sister, I'm going to find Mom."

Coming up beside me Ash felt curious. "What happened?"

"Wes just hates it when I reveal his own feelings to him before he is ready to understand them."

"Is he okay?"

I smiled at that. "He will be fine. How about you?

Shrugging, he unconvincingly exclaimed "I'm good!" but his feelings told a different story. We walked a little more just looking out toward the lake. There were green headed geese, which I didn't know the species of, but they were pretty. Ash took some pictures of me with them in the background and we even took a selfie. I decided I would confide with my brother about everything. He might think I'm crazy or pity me like Wes did in the beginning, but it will be better than this. We are family, I don't want him to feel jealous of his own brother or sad that we don't have a relationship like that because of my secrets.

"Ash, do you want to spend a day with me when we get home from this trip? Maybe we can hang out and talk, just the two of us?" I was nervous asking him, but I needed to mend the rift that was forming between us.

He looked up surprised and mumbled "Sure."

Not much later than that, we came upon a secluded spot with a giant willow tree. I instantly remembered the spot. This is the bench we sat at when I asked mom why we had to live separately from the humans. I found it! The closer we got to the spot, I could see someone sitting there, like a mirage. A man with an old-fashioned suit, a cane and a top hat. He was feeding a family of geese with something.

Ash voiced the question I had "I thought we bought out the place for the family visit. That guy doesn't look like a grounds keeper or a staff member."

"Maybe he already had a ticket for today before us." Even as I said the words out loud I didn't believe them. He looked different. I couldn't explain how, but he wasn't human. His aura wasn't angelic, but it was more powerful than a human's aura.

I had no idea what kind of supernatural being he was, but I was certain he wasn't human, angel or demon, since I've been close to them before and can recognize them. While Ash was on the phone with someone, my feet started walking on their own. I felt like I had to go to him. Maybe my Mom sent him with a message, or maybe it was wishful thinking. I walked up to him and gulped, suddenly feeling like I overstepped.

The man looked about my Dad's age or a little older. He had the most distingctive features. He looked up and I saw mismatched eyes staring at me. His hair color was also unique. On the side of the pale blue eye his curly strands were dark blonde, while on the side of his brown eye, the color was darker brown. His facial hair was also that way, which made him look like a man with two faced fused into one.

"Hello, little Celestia. Somehow I thought you'd be taller. Nephilim are remembered mainly with their impressive height, but you're the opposite." He knew about my identity, but unlike the carnival when the demon found out, I wasn't afraid.

"Who are you?" It felt like the right question to ask.

Smiling, he answered "A friend of your mothers. I am Janus. I came here as a favor to her, to open a door. You will have no more than 365 seconds before that door closes, so choose wisely before you are stranded and caught. The balance of the world might depend on it, as I'm told."

In the next moment a gust of wind almost knocked me in the water, but as I opened my eyes I saw a beautiful sight. Hundreds of different colored butterflied appeared on the water's edge. They were mesmerising, the more I looked at them the more I saw something strange. At first, it seemed like they were flying around randomly, but I saw a rip forming among them and on the other side, the sky was a blue hue I would associate with dawn, and there were no clouds, like on our side. The butterflies were forming a doorway to another place.

"Aurora! What are you doing?" I heard Asher behind me. It sounded like he was running toward me, but I couldn't stop now. I was so close to the answers and all I had to do was go through the doorway. I walked the few steps it took me to get in the middle of the butterfly cluster and felt goosebumps all over my body. Before I got to the other side, I felt someone taking my wrist. The electrical feeling intensified and I was suddenly on the other side with Ash holding my hand.

Where do you think the doorway leads to?

How will Asher react to the mysterious place on the other side?

Question of the day: What's your favorite childhood game?

A/N: Hello lovely people! I'm trying to be consistent with my updates, but we will see how it will go in the future. Below, you can see an actual picture of the place where the last scene in the chapter is taking place. It's from the Chicago Botanic Garden. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead!

P.S. I don't own the rights to this picture, all credits go to the photographer!