u/EatCornEveryday

I tried to include as little spoilers as possible, but in case you want to experience the heartbreak yourself, you should read the story before reading my post, it's quite a short story anyways.

So, I've bought this collection of the Armitage Family Stories by Joan Aiken at a second hand book shop. It's an old book with even older stories and I've read in it every once in a while. The stories didn't really catch me and at first I didn't connect with the style of writing. But they were sweet and innocent children's stories, so the book has become my feel-good-literature, a sort of reading safe space.

Now I've just finished the book's title-giving story "The Serial Garden" and am left with all hopes shattered while my heart is in pieces. The ending truly hit me like a ton of Brekkfast Brikks. And while this is very niche and I'm certain not many will know or remember the story, I need to get this out while the wound is still fresh.

I think my expectations play a big role here. It starts off just as innocently as the other stories in the book. There are almost no challenges, and those that do come up are overcome with little to no effort. The amount of luck that is needed for everything to come together seems implausible but I'm willing to turn a blind eye, it's my reading safe space after all. And this story draws me in more than the other ones: I really enjoy imagining what it would be like to find my own magical garden.

But then the unthinkable happens. It's all been there, the little hints, but I didn't want to see them. I didn't think the author would be that cruel. >!And to burn it completely... There's not even a chance of digging it out of the trash. Even worse: the nibbles of the mouse did affect the actual garden - what does this mean for princess Sophia Maria Louisa of Saxe-Hoffenpoffen-und-Hamster now? Still, I'm not willing to give up hope yet: maybe they find another way to rebuild the garden? Until I turn the page and it's actually the end of the story (I know there's a sequel but as far as I know Joan Aiken only wrote it after readers begged her for it so it wasn't planned). The quiet and peaceful resignation of Mr. Johansen is what killed me.!<

I can only imagine how many tiny hearts must have been broken when I as a fully grown adult, who wasn't all that invested in the Armitage family, feel empty and hopeless after finishing the story. >!It reminds me of all the times my own childhood games and stories were interrupted by my mother with the vacuum cleaner, threatening to vacuum up everything that wasn't tidied up by the count of ten - oh, the horror! And the many, many stories that never got finished because of her need for tidiness. Well, I don't blame her.!<

I don't really know what I want to share here other than my renewed realization how powerful words can be and my admiration for the author. While I find it hard to hold back my tears, I'm also more inspired than ever and my mind is trying to think of a way the story could progress from here, leading to a happier outcome - even though I wouldn't want to change a thing about this beautifully crafted ending.