• .....These plants seemed to live. Each breeze was a gentle intake of air, each minor gust a soft exhale, the breath of wilderness perfumed the vines and mingled with the flowers. The beads of dew seemed painted on; the very scene of beauty was one that seemed, almost, false.
    .....It was only in fairy tales that perfection was personified like this, surely, this landscape was imaginary, it was a sham; but at the very thought the vegetation seemed to giggle. The bushes held close to its buds and its flourishing flowers, the trees held strong to their supple leaves green, the very grass itself was shivering with strength that stretched from ripened green pigment to the hidden roots beneath.
    .....One could simply lose themselves in the beauty, the mere bursts of color could enthrall and cast enrapture upon a wandering soul or lonely being. It seemed to be the very meaning of its existence, this little of plot of splendor, to hypnotize and mesmerize whoever dared step foot upon it.
    .....The sweet and lightly colored flora would draw attention, the sturdy girth of tree trunks would bedazzle. These beauties had reason to.
    .....These beauties were merely a diversion, for they hid what was truly there. This plot of splendor was anything but, it hid repulsiveness. It hid evil. The landscape that was so pleasing to look at thrived on wickedness, beneath the beauty, tangled with the roots, hid former glory.
    .....A civilization crushed, a doomed society, lay at rest beneath. The landscape was but an epitaph, and it thrived upon it. Wars of greed and malevolence had slowly taken its toll upon the once proud nation, and slowly, surely, the beginnings of this landscape began to form. The outskirts of the country saw the beginnings, the plants furthered their reach, inch by inch, crawling and claiming, conquering places where all hope had surrendered. It took place by place, asserting rule over areas that had nothing left.
    .....The society killed itself. Driven with its greed and sinful desires the nation went towards the inevitable, there was no hope for anything else. Eventually all life was extinguished, it was impossible for it do anything other. The beauty was given full reign and it smothered the once strong nation, hiding it from view.
    .....Beneath the bushes, with its lovely petals, beneath the trees, with its sturdy girth, beneath the grass, with its strong roots, lay that nation. Beneath it all, it slowly decomposed, it festered and released the remnants of its past, providing the nourishment that was necessary for such beauty to prosper. But the cities and its people were nearly dust; any and all traces of wickedness were nearly expired.
    .....The landscape will soon ache for nourishment, and it will begin to search for a replacement host. It’ll take hold of whatever it can, for it seems that people are slowly evolving and learning from the mistakes of those that have gone on.
    .....Should a poor soul, a fresh corpse of walking sin, step foot upon this scene, it would surely be lost. For if they loathed anything, it was hunger, it was desire. They wouldn’t stand for it.
    .....These plants seemed to live.
    .....And as their sustenance grew slim, they would slowly lose their brilliance; that which would enthrall would not even be worth a second glance. The flora would show why not a single living creature seemed to reside amongst them, for they seemed alive, they were alive. Only hunger would reveal the true beings that drank in the greed, beautiful still, as apparitions, grotesque imitations of mortal shape.
    .....Hunger would reveal their real personas and from lips that were nearly human they would shriek. Voices that were nearly human would tear at the ears, screeches from within waif-like bodies and tender frames would claw at the mind. Beauty evaporated.
    .....These things, these former beauties, with pointed ears and tinged skin, would go on rampage. Soon they would grow desperate; soon they would seek replacement for the sinfulness they had emptied. They would once again sprout legs and arms, and stalk, flirting with the outskirts of another doomed nation, waiting for another chance to bask in the hatred, the sin, the crimes and wrongdoings.