The Forbidden Garden

You cannot believe the beauty around you. The emerald of the trees and grass, the sapphire sky, and the far-off twinkle of the sea. You woke up in a quiet, calm glade. There is a quiet whisper of the wind, like a puppet master, tickling the leaves as it dances through. Part of you wonders where on Earth such a place of magic can be, but you pay no attention to it; nothing could take you out of this moment. You see a flock of some type of white bird soaring through the blue abyss of the heavens. You wish you could join them, but alas, you know you can’t fly. Oh, how you wish you could fly. You slowly step out of the glade, curiosity of the unknown getting the best of you. You come to a wide field. In the middle you see a beautiful fountain, surrounded by a large body of water. You start to run towards it, but no matter how fast you go, you come no closer.

You decide to go another way, approaching the vast ocean. The waves seem to be made of blue diamonds; sparkling, and enticing. You want nothing more than to run in to their arms, surrounded by water and light.  But you decide not to. For now you will walk along the beach, seeing all there is to see. You have a feeling you might be here a while, and that there is more here than can possibly be seen, even for eternity. Soon you come across a forest. You enter, and it is not like any forest you’ve seen, or even heard of. This forest is full of life and light. The trees are few, but very tall and they let a pleasant glow of light shine through their leaves.To your right there is a peaceful, slow moving stream. You choose to get in, and see where it takes you. As you float, you close your eyes. You aren’t tired; you are just taking it all in. The playful breeze, the warm tendrils of sunlight, and the quiet pace of the water.

Soon you decide to get up; this meandering train has taken you to your stop. You are looking at a clearing in the forest, where a tall, glowing tree stand with a single fruit. You ponder taking the fruit that now hangs above you. Suddenly it shakes a little, and just like that, drops right in to your palm. You gaze at the plump morsel, noticing its soft, squishy skin that seems to glow softly. You bite into it carefully. Juice pours in to your hand, and drips to the ground below. It is the best thing you have ever tasted!

 You try and think about other things you’ve eaten. You can’t recall eating anything else. In fact, you can’t recall anything about your life before waking up in the glade. You should be panicking, screaming, crying. Anything but this calm. But all you do is smile, and focus on right now. Right now gives you a warm, fuzzy feel. Whereas the past gives you a sharp pain, and you don’t like pain, so why think about it? But now something doesn’t feel right, something’s off. You shouldn’t be here, you should be worried about something. You walk back to the field, trying to piece together what could be wrong with this place. When you make it back, the fountain you saw earlier now has a bell next to it. You feel like you should ring it, and suddenly you can get to the fountain, but only close enough to ring the bell. You ring it, and stand back. One of the birds overhead descends. But as it comes closer, you realize it’s much bigger than you thought, and it’s not a bird at all. It is a magnificent white dragon.

She speaks in a velvety voice, saying, “What is wrong, child?”

You answer, “I don’t know. Something is wrong, and it scares me. How did I get here?”

 She smiles as grandmotherly a dragon can smile, and responds with, “Why child, you were always here. But only today you woke up.”

“No. I was somewhere else before. Can I go back?” You want to know the place you were before, what your life was. The dragon’s smile fades.

 “Yes, you can go back. But not for long. Quickly,” She parts the skin above and between her eyes, “Touch this. It will take you to the moment before you came here. You will feel what you felt before your awakening.”

 Cautiously, you place your hand where she motioned. You scream a horrible scream and fall to your knees. You wrench your hand away from the pain no one should feel.

In that instant, you remember your fears and your pain. Your love and your hope. You remember your life. It is unbearable. The dragon sails up, back into the skies where she belongs. You sat, and you cried. For what was, and what could have been. You could have lived a life in paradise, exploring and talking to dragons. But you spoiled your innocence. You once again know suffering and hurt. For what has been learned, can never be unlearned.

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Far, far away, in another universe, almost. A sound that could mean hope and fear, life and loss, stopped. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. It was turned off for the first time in ten years, wheeled out, and laid to rest. The parents of a sixteen year-old girl, sobbed on each other’s shoulders. They knew their daughter was in a better place, but they still missed her. They missed a girl that hadn’t spoken to them in ten years, whom they didn’t even know anymore. This girl was their daughter, and this girl, was you.

End