Riley and his sister Morgan had only been in the city for ten days, but something about Uncle Thomas’s apartment building made it feel like a mystery waiting to be solved.
Maybe it was the rooftop garden no one ever mentioned. Maybe it was the old gate at the back of the courtyard, chained shut and covered in ivy. Or maybe it was how Uncle Thomas always left late at night, alone and silent.
One afternoon, Riley wandered farther than usual, past food trucks and alleyways with ivy-covered fences. That’s when he spotted a girl sketching a mural on the side of an old corner store.
“You’re not from here,” she said without looking up.
“Is it that obvious?”
“People from around here don’t wear hiking boots on cracked pavement.”
Riley laughed. “Guilty. I’m staying in the Peyton Building. With my uncle.”
The girl looked up, curious. “That’s the one with the rooftop garden, right? I’ve always wanted to see it.”
“No one talks about it,” Riley said. “Like it’s some kind of secret.”
“Maybe it is,” she said. “I’m Avery.”
“Riley.”
They walked back together, and Riley showed her the locked gate in the courtyard. Avery tilted her head.
“You ever asked him what’s up there?”
“He just says it’s not safe. Or closed for repairs. Or some other excuse.”
Avery smirked. “You think he goes up there at night?”
“I know he does.”
That night, Riley stayed up. At 11:34 p.m., the back door creaked open. Uncle Thomas stepped into the courtyard with a flashlight and a canvas bag. He slipped a key into the gate, pushed it open, and disappeared into the dark.
Riley followed quietly.
The gate led to a narrow stairwell that wound up the side of the building. At the top, Riley found the rooftop—larger than he expected. Rows of planter boxes stretched out under strings of old lights. A water barrel caught drips from a tilted gutter. Near the edge, Uncle Thomas was kneeling, tending a raised bed with wilted herbs and tired tomatoes.
Riley stepped closer.
His uncle turned, startled. “Riley?”
“I couldn’t sleep,” Riley said. “I followed you.”
Thomas sat back on his heels and sighed. “Well, you’re here now.”
They sat together on a bench made of pallets and concrete blocks. The city hummed below them—traffic, far-off sirens, the steady pulse of summer air.
“This place used to be full of life,” Uncle Thomas said. “The building’s tenants used to garden together. Every Saturday morning, like clockwork. We had basil and eggplants and sunflowers taller than I am.”
“What happened?”
“People moved. Got busy. New tenants didn’t even know it was up here. The gate stayed locked. But I kept coming. It’s quiet. And mine.”
Riley looked around at the cracked pots and overgrown corners.
“Can I help you fix it?”
Thomas blinked. “You’d want to?”
“Yeah,” Riley said. “Morgan would, too.”
The next morning, Riley took Morgan and Avery back up during daylight. They brought gloves, trash bags, and a Bluetooth speaker. They trimmed plants, swept up leaves, and planted new seeds from an old box Uncle Thomas had kept tucked away.
By sunset, the space was still rough—but alive.
That evening, as the string lights flickered on above them, Uncle Thomas came up the stairs holding a tray of lemonade.
“You didn’t have to do all this,” he said quietly.
“I wanted to,” Riley said. “You shouldn’t have to keep this place to yourself.”
Thomas nodded, then glanced out at the city skyline.
“Maybe,” he said, “it’s time to unlock the gate for good.”
“Beyond the Gate” by Nina D. Smith. Published by Bright Bunny Books © 2025. Retelling of “John Massey’s Landlord” from The Windy Hill by Cornelia Meigs, originally published in 1922.
“Beyond the Gate” is ideal for students in grades 6–9 who enjoy realistic fiction with themes of curiosity, family connection, and urban discovery.
Bright Bunny Books 