Falling away

Rose Garden

PART 3

                         The stair case is long and made of stone. I am at the bottom of it.

                         Time to start.

                         It’s covered in slime so it’s slippery. The air is thick and tastes of ash.

                         I only stop twice. The first time is when I hear a man scream out in pain. I look for the source and can just see through the mist that swirls around everything that the man is being killed in a gruesome way. A very violent death but he doesn’t fight.

                         Those same eyes…

                         He yells, his voice hoarse “I did this for you out of love”.

                         The second time I come to a complete stop. I can’t tell how far it is but I can see a waterfall ahead of me. I know I must pass under it but it won’t be easy.

                         I just sit for awhile, thinking. Thinking about what’s been and what’s to come.

                         I don’t know how long I was sitting there but now I’m moving up again, slowly but surely. Time is meaningless on these stairs.

                         77 steps from where I started to where I am now. It’s the strangest thing. In a place of decay and despair, ugliness and filth there is a rose garden.

                         The grass is soft underfoot and is soothing on my feet after the harsh stone. Each rose is a deep crimson and is perfect untouched by the stench of death which clings to the stairs.

                         As I make my way through the garden I see a lady in the middle. She is immaculate. She wears a blue vale and a red dress. Her face is soft and loving. She is holding a lily.

                         She tells me she’s been waiting here, waiting for me to come here and invites me to stay awhile. It’s important for me to keep going, to keep climbing but she tells me it’s more important to wait for awhile, to rest. Somehow I know this to be true.

                         She wraps her arms around me. Her embrace is warm and loving.

                         I break down. I howl in sorrow. She holds me even closer and comforts me.

                         Something is pressed into my hands. A lily.