For the first time in centuries, the rare golden roses began to wilt. They bloomed forever, and as far as anyone knew, they never died. But not anymore.

Normally Seamus wakes up by the early cock’s crows, but today he woke up by the shouts of horror and dismay. His brother dragged him to the garden of the golden roses.

Several people were crowded around the garden; photographers, villagers, journalists, which made it impossible to see a thing. He climbed up a tree and squinted at the garden.

Instead of a golden view, the garden was filled with brown, weak and crumbled roses. Everyone was gossiping, taking pictures and thrashing Mr. Josh, the gardener who took care of the roses.

Seamus couldn’t believe his eyes.

After everyone cleared away, he checked over at the garden. He always did. The view of golden roses always relaxed his heart and he loved to breathe in the pleasant smell. He stared at the garden; the more he stared, the more his hopes were killed. Sighing, he was about to turn when he heard muffled laughter from the bushes.

“Who’s there?”

The bush rustled and he could hear some very heavy footsteps running rapidly.

Curious, he followed the sound of footsteps, trying catch up with a small figurine. He followed the stranger through the forest, which was the way to their rival village, The Coral Village.

Now that he was closer, he could make out the guy; a man dressed in a blue uniform, and on the back it was written: The Coral Mines. Seamus was short of breath; he couldn’t run any further.

He picked a palm-sized stone nearby and hurled it at the stranger’s head. The stone clobbered the stranger’s head, sending him sprawling at the ground.

“Who are you?” Seamus said, holding him down.

The man tried to get out of Seamus’s tight grip, but he held it tighter. He warned the man that if he didn’t say his actual motive of coming here, he would crack his skull open with a heavier log.

The man burst into tears. “I’m sorry, but it’s not my fault! Please forgive me!”

“Why are you sorry if you’re not at fault?”

“I’m Ben. Actually, I work at the Coral Mines which supplies the water for those roses. And, uh, ever since your village had defeated us by having finer crops, our leader decided to ruin the reputation of your village. So he, uh, spoilt the mineral water for the roses.”

He put his hands over his head, prepared for Seamus’s blow. But Seamus’s mind was racing.

“I won’t hit you,” he promised, “but only if you cooperate with me.”

***

Heart pounding, he straightened his Coral Mines cap and stepped in the factory. His plan was simple, yet risky. He trembled to think what would happen if he got caught.

Suddenly he got stopped by a security guard. Seamus cleared his throat. “Good afternoon,” he said in a rough tone, avoiding eye contact with the guard. “Why have you stopped me? I’ve been working here for three years. If you don’t let me go, I’ll kick you out of your job.”

The guard let go of him at once, and he made his way to the manager’s office. He passed by loads of pipes and machines until he finally reached.

Mentally prepared, he knocked the door. A loud, coarse voice ordered him to come in.

He was immediately greeted by a strong smell of lemon and bleach. Drumming his fingers on the desk, the manager, Mr David, looked up from his file. He was a bald man with several freckles across his face. He straightened his tie, and said, “Ah, Ben! Finally, you came. What’s with your skin?”

“Been spying all day,” Seamus said in falsetto.

 “Excellent,” Mr. David said in a satisfied tone. “Well?”

“The roses are completely rotten-”

“Brilliant.”

“And everyone’s blaming it on the gardener.”

Mr David stood up, thrusting his fists up in victory. “Mission accomplished!”  He shook Seamus’s hand. “Thank you, Ben.”

“Congrats, boss,” Seamus growled through gritted teeth, pressing Mr David’s hand tighter than usual. There, his village was drowning in shame, and here he was grinning as if he just got an extra candy. But Seamus couldn’t expose him here with all the security. The perfect place was his village.

“Sir,” Seamus said, “would you like to see the disgrace of the village by yourself?”

“Sure!” Mr David said. “Let’s go.”

They went to Seamus’ village. Yelling at top of his lungs to gather all the villagers, Seamus then ordered his friends to grab Mr David and not let him escape.

Mr David was astonished; he shouted, struggling to be free from their strong grip, only to be held tighter. “Let – go-!”

“Until you say the truth, we won’t let you go that easily!” Seamus said over him.

Mr David, after giving up all hope of escape, blurted out the truth. Gasps echoed through the village as the villagers glared at the beaten Mr David.