"My Candle is lit at both ends. Soon, they will go out"
AWAKENING
Among the spiraling heights of the towers of one of this land's cities, lived a most beautiful Free Woman. Delicate and graceful, her crystal blue eyes entranced Free Man and charmed most all of those she met wherever she ventured. She became known for her kindness to little ones, her graciousness as a host, her charming humor and her alluring presence. To all appearances, this fascinating Free Woman was blessed with a satisfaction in life known to few, courted by the most honorable of men, and others, befriended by her Free Sisters, admired by those who served in her presence. Yet, for all of this, there was a restlessness, an emptiness in the heart of the Free Woman. Much of her time was spent in her private garden, wherein grew a lustrous riot of color and scent. Blinding bright reds of vaminium spread their bold scent in the breezes, blending with the soft sweet scent of talendars. Soft green grasses spread and wove throughout the various floral delights, embracing and serving the brighter colors on their soft carpet. At the garden's center was a bordered ring, a circle filled with clean smooth sand, awaiting the blessing of rich promising soil and the planting of the heart of the garden. All that flourished in the gardens had been brought
from lands and friends along the way, but this small circle of lonely
sand awaited the touch of the Free Woman to tend by her own hand. As
the Free Woman had traveled and lived, she had observed the joy and
pleasure in those she watched and had serve. She talked with them as
they laughed in happiness, as they were saddened & unsure. As she
did, she saw in them a peaceful solidity, an unshakable pride and joy
in their service to Men. The Free Woman tended to the seed as she tended to the rest of the garden as well. The vaminium prospered, the talendar flourished, but the circle of soil remained barren, the blossom she spent a part of her time seeking lingered deep within the soil. After long deliberation, nights of anguished thought, the Free Woman realized that the seed delicate bloom she sought required not the shared time with the rest of the garden, but the full devotion and attendance of her heart. Kneeling within the rich soil, it's full hearty aroma a promise of growth, the Free Woman worked her tiny hands deep, turning, feeding the soil with her devotion. As Tor-Tu-Gor crossed the sky, the lovely woman examined and agonized over what she offered to bring the flower to bloom. Tor-Tu-Gor passed, soft gold and pink rays spilled across ocean blue eyes, lighting the warmth of emotion and introspection glowing from within.. The moons rose high in the inky night sky as the Free Woman worked at the soil, worked at her heart, finding herself within the promise of the bloom. The soft silvery light bathed the Free Woman in their soft silvery light, as if to bear witness as she shed her robes, and placed her veils atop them on the loamy soil at the garden's heart. From the darkness of the garden stepped the shadowy figure of a Man, his face swathed in the night, his features obscured by shifting shadows. With fingers strong from the toils of all Man, ever present and guiding, he lit a single torch to the side of the ring of soil, watching as the flames grew bright and warm. Watching as the woman lifted the torch lit by the hand of Man, touching it to what were the vestments of a Free Woman. The woman's silky blue eyes reflected the golden flames, a soft smile on her face as she watched her past rise in trailing tendrils of wispy smoke. Sighing contentedly, she watched the flames lick at the last vestiges of what she was, slowly dying to leave behind powdery ashes. In the ring of hearty soil, the light of the moons bathing her in their glow, slim fingers sifted the soil, burying what was, feeding nourishment to what was to be, and freeing her to offer full devotion to the bloom she labored to bring forth. As fingers gently turned and aerated the soil over the seed, the woman knew that now, now she could devote all of who she was to the flower she sought, no past to bind or cloud her path, only ahead a hope to find the bloom in her garden's heart. Glancing quickly about, the woman no longer saw the shadowy figure of Man, but she could feel his presence, his strength, his will, his glory surrounding her in it's grip, and knew that as she grew, so Man's hold about her, demanding, comforting, criticizing, praising, taking, and rewarding. Throughout the long night the woman knelt in the soil,
it's rich promise reflected in her own being. Her tears of frustration
and fear fed the soil as she thought of what lay ahead. So much to learn,
so much to face. Could she, would she find the elusive blossom. Surrounded in the garden of soft free-flowing talendar, the bold scarlet wash of flaminium, and the lush soft supporting grasses of the lands, the woman knelt, her eyes opened eyes upon the bronze glow of the Tor-Tu-Gor, rising to herald a bright new day. Before her, the soil broke open, and the soft fragile bloom she had long sought rose to greet the day with her, filling and wrapping a warm touch around her heart. Bright blue eyes filled as she gazed in wonder at the tiny bloom the seed shared with her, finding her worthy and ready to appreciate and share in it's beauty, now ready to share with the woman the growth of the blossoming. A radiant smile filled the woman's face as a slim finger hovered just over the tiny bloom, knowing that as she grew, so would the seed spread it's lovely flowers, filling, and overflowing the circle to share it's beauty among all the denizens of the garden. As Tor-Tu-Gor rose higher in the clear bright sky, it's light spilled into a lovely garden, at it's heart a lovely girl, kneeling beautifully in a circle of rich healthy soil, before her the tiny fragile bloom of the dina. |
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