This was my entry into BlankSpace's architectural #FairyTales2016 competition earlier this year. I hope you like it!

The Botanical Vivarium

By C Izundu

C. Corbett

***

The seed floated on the hint of a wind for an age. It had strained, carried, lifted itself over rolling hills, darkening forests, divided furrowed fields, across seas and rivers and along the rocky shores of frigid freezing lakes. The seed had travelled, tossed by a wind, toing and froing. In time, the seed came over a settlement and drifted lazily down toward the world below.

Far below on the ground, there played a girl called Carolina, who was of no more than 10. As she hopped and skipped about in the garden, she stopped to observe the incredible creatures that lived there: the iron-winged butterfly and the humble ruby-shelled ladybird. Whilst peering closely at its crystalline shell, a delicate seed wafted its way down and landed on the leaf in front of her. She plucked it up by its slender stem and studied it carefully between her fingertips. She spun it by the bine and observed its form. Its most noticeable feature was the large, silvery filigree husk. Its edges were corrugated and the seams glinted in the light with each turn. At its centre was a small round glassy globule. Deep within, liquid of a honey hue turned slowly.

Her eyes widened: Carolina knew she had come across something quite special. At the bottom of her garden is where she often buried her treasures, and this newfound oddity would find its home there. She brought the seed to her lips, whispered, “Goodnight”, and gave it a small kiss. And with that, she placed it carefully in her tin box and went inside to go to bed.

***

The smell of earth was damp and intoxicating. Carolina could feel dewy grass beneath her face. As she slowly lifted her head, she came face to face with a warm, wet nose. Large shiny eyes stared right back into hers and a warm breath met her own. Intrigued, she asked with a soft voice, "Who are you?"

"I am Gloria Bendita. I am a guide, of sorts", the hare replied.

The glacial white peaks of the mountains in the distance glowed in the dark green of lowland plains. The smell of the verdant surroundings was rich and heady. A velvet black sky was just visible through holes in the foggy mist. As the mist cleared, she could see the pinpricks of light and the glow of the moon.

Getting to her feet, Carolina continued: “What is this place?”

“This is the Botanical Vivarium: it is a shell lace grand bazaar borne of the seed you saved. Its columns shoot up like saplings and its vaulted canopy spreads to provide the finest of shade and protection. Its filigree skin is perforated with patterns of celestial bodies and at its seams are golden threads that bind and tailor this incredibly light, yet strong structure. You see, nature was incredibly efficient in creating this place. All that you come across inside this space are relics, all a part of the garden of your dreams. Everything that will help sustain life on Earth can be found here, safely sealed for all to enjoy. The Vivarium is a place where you will learn to be more intertwined with nature in how you live: buildings, like trees, grow from seeds, and are nourished by roots. This building was grown from your seed, Carolina. It is your responsibility to look after this place, and ensure that it is loved and respected.” 

Approaching the great expanse of vaulted canopy before her, a sequence of enfilade corridors unfolded ahead. Each of the rooms merged seamlessly into the other, only taking moments to form and fill the space with its wonderments. The building was a light and perforated single-surfaced structure. Its delicately tailored arches spanned across into the distance and its vaults reached high up into inky blackness above.

***

The Light Room                     

Walking through the rows-on-rows of gracile furrowed and ridged columns, a soft, pale blue glow was building ahead on the horizon. Delicate glass baubles dangled from the canopy and trilled and tinkled with a soft humming. Upon closer inspection, some of the vessels housed fluttering fireflies. As Carolina approached and cupped a bauble, they warmed to her touch and responded with a comforting luminescence.  The glass baubles began to gleam and glisten in various shades of pinks, golds, coppers, greens and blues.

“Light is one of the most important elements on Earth, Carolina”, Gloria said. “Without it, the basic things that we need to survive would not exist. It’s a powerful thing: with it can come a calm illumination or anything be destroyed with a flame.” Carolina touched the baubles of light gently and took in the spectacle of each vessel.

***

The adjoining room had glass crescent moons strung on silver chains that fused the cosmos and the earth in a series of intricate hangings. Each of the artefacts offered an intimate look at nature’s beauty; its artistry perfectly preserved in these time capsules. The pendants were filled with different species of plants, flowers and succulents: blue hydrangeas, deep red solidaster blooms, love-drunk blossoms. The terrariums were thriving sealed gardens that flourished into masses of lush greenery. The arches of the shell lace structure were like trellises, brimming with climbing plants whose sweet aroma caught Carolina’s nose.

“How do the plants grow so big when they’re all sealed up?”

Gloria Bendita began: “Each terrarium forms its own self-sufficient ecosystem. Through photosynthesis, the plants acquire the energy needed to grow by absorbing sunlight. Oxygen and moisture in the air are also created in the process; the moisture builds up inside the bottle and "rains" back down on the plants. Leaves that fall to the bottom of the bottle rot and produce the carbon dioxide needed for photosynthesis and nutrition.”

Carolina was astonished that with just a little bit of sunlight, the plants could flourish even in this unique environment, essentially creating a micro version of the Earth in a bottle.

***

The next room offered the olfactory crescendo. The pipework was fluent with its motion and interconnections, weaving through each other and flowed like music on the lips of a flutist. This intricate labyrinth of metal tubes connected a huge network of casks, vats, and globes, and these housed liquids of rich jewel colours; they had amber, fuchsia and emerald flowing through their veins. The room seemed like the circulatory system for the building, where all the plants that were growing in the Terrarium Room became something sweet and edible.

Whilst deeply inhaling the sweet perfumes and licking her lips hungrily at the edible delights of nectars, the jovial bliss of the night was suddenly broken. The dull crunch of imploding glass ripped through the Vivarium. The once warm light that accompanied the two friends through the space flickered and turned cold. Carolina turned around and saw that everything that she touched had begun to disintegrate and erode.

“What’s happening, Gloria?!”

“This is the work of Man’s hand on nature, my dear. As beautiful as it is, you must learn to respect it and preserve it. The Vivarium and everything you see before you is about to vanish.”

Carolina was not ready to leave. She had just become accustomed to her new verdant surroundings and was not going to let them go that easily. She turned again and saw an ornate orb on a stem vibrating quite violently. She tip-toed right up to touch it, but it was just out of her reach…

*

Carolina woke with a start. A thousand tiny beads of cool sweat were peppered across her caramel skin. What she saw, was it real? All the wonderment that she experienced, and her new found appreciation for the world and how it worked.

And what an enchanting wonder it was.