Supernatural [Reader Insert]

5. It's a Setup

You found yourself standing in a humid space surrounded by greenery and bright, fluttering movement. You glanced around, but found it hard to focus on anything enough to make out much detail. The path you stood on was clear, however, and you could differentiate each paver. So you followed it. After a moment you came upon a dark skinned man who was turned away, inspecting one of the plants.

"Oh, hello," he speaks. For a brief moment you wonder if he is talking to the plant whose leaf is held gently in one of his hands. Then he turns and looks you over. "I haven't seen you in a while, but we knew you would find your way back." He smiled and stepped closer to you, now within five feet. "Look how you've grown. Last time you were here you still needed my hand to help you walk, and your garden was quite different."

Confused, and not sure where to begin, you asked him, "My garden?"

"Yes," he nodded and looked around the two of you. As he did, it all seemed to clarify. Nested in all of the greenery were little waterfalls and benches. A bright orange monarch floated past and was chased by an iridescent blue morpho. The space was bigger than you remembered, though.

"The Mackinac Island Butterfly House," the man confirmed your suspicion. "You've made it a maze ten times its size, though." He grinned bigger, as though he was impressed- or proud. Now looking at his face, you realized that you recognized him. It was Joshua, from Supernatural, the one that-

"I'm sorry," he changed the subject. "Of course you don't really remember me, you were so small. I am Joshua, caretaker of Heaven's Garden."

"Am I dead?" you asked aloud, but as it left your lips you were sure that it wasn't true. You felt alive, more alive than you'd felt in a long time.

"No," Joshua foundyour question funny and shook his head at it. "Please, follow me." He turned and led you further down the path.

You have no idea how you got here, and no memory of meeting this man as a small child. Yet, you feel safe. The weights you've been carrying have disappeared and your soul feels like it could float, maybe dance around with the butterflies that surround you. You find yourself smiling as you start to follow Joshua.

"You are here," Joshua started to talk as he walked, "because your purpose is similar to mine. God creates each of his people uniquely, and each has a purpose. You were made to be close to Him, a small link to the world. Now that you are here, that link is reconnected."

The two of you stepped into a clearing in the greenery. Joshua stepped aside and your eyes found a round space where the pavers formed an intricate pattern that drew your eye to the center.

There sat a throne so strong and so delicate that you couldn't truly comprehend its shape. It was made of what you could only describe as a metallic material that seemed to be what bright white sunlight would look like if it were made into a solid. It hurt to look at, but you couldn't look away. The shape of it seemed to shift infinitely as you stared at it, so that if you were to attempt to recall its form your mind would have no answer.

The safety and weightlessness you had felt before were replaced with a burden on your soul as big as the universe. It grounded you solidly in place as well as urged you forward. The garden and Joshua faded and it felt like you stood staring for hours, or days. Suddenly, the light overcame you and everything went white.

----------

You woke with a gasp in a motel bed. Breathing heavy and sitting up, you glanced around. Dean and Sam Winchester lay in the bed across from you, the older brother murmuring something in his sleep and rolling over. Soft snoring came from the couch past the foot of the bed, but you couldn't see Bobby's sleeping form over the back of the furniture. You found a clock on the bedside table that read in bright red analog, "7:02AM."