story time.--tell me what you think.--
My stride was slow as I trecked through the open meadow. The flowers that swayed in the slight breeze were tall enough to reach past my knees. Peaceful. Perfect. It was one of those days where you couldn't help but notice the beauty it held. One of those rare moments where you were alone with your thoughts; untouched by modern society. The sky was that perfect blue. The path was your own to chose.
Ahead, and somewhat to the left, I could see a trodden path. A patch where the flowers and other plants had been trampled by some living creature. This meadow isn't far from that shopping center; that path is probably from someone wanting to get away. Like me. But as I got closer it was hard to say what exactly triggered my mind into full alert. It could have been that specific smell that I couldn't quite place, or even that eerie silence which pressed in harder as i drew nearer. The breeze suddenly stopped blowing. The sun was suddenly dimmer...
Then I saw her. She lay peacefully among the flowers. Her eyes were closed, lips slightly parted. A trickle of blood had dried at the corner of her mouth. Her hands were folded upon her stomach, but it didn't look as though she had put them there. It was only when I stepped into her perfect circle of trampled flowers that I saw exactly what was before me. She was locked within an unwanted death. Here, in my meadow, was a little girl, dead among such beauty. Black upon white. Darkness intwined with shining light. I knelt down beside her body, slowly drew my hand above her own. Gently, I traced her fingers as they wove within each other, mesmerized by her soft, cold skin. I don't know what came over me at that moment. Perhaps it was the uncommon prospect of finding someone dead in such a peaceful place, or maybe it was that she was, in fact, dead, that shook me so completly. Whatever the reason, I drew her into my arms. I rose to my feet, cradeling her against my pounding heart, and at the same time ashamed of its echoing beats.
I looked to the sky and closed my eyes... silently I raised my arms until I held her body in my two hands level with my face... I felt her move through me.. I felt her awaken in me... she stood upon my hands and reached into the sky... I saw this through my closed eyes... then she was gone. I opened my eyes and let the ash sift through my fingers. Her body was gone, as I knew it would be... the ash was soon blown away by the breeze which had suddenly reappeared...
I bent down and gently broke off the stem of a beautiful blue flower speckled with gray ash. Holding it gently between my fingertips, I stepped forward out of the circle of trampled flowers, and continued my walk through the meadow. Walking side by side with the beautiful little girl whos cold, flowerpedaled hand clung loosly to my own...