I was in shock. Silent tears rolled down my face as I stood in
silence, watching in awe, from my window in the tower. It seemed the fire would
claim all the beauty from my world and take the wall I had built with my bare
hands. The miles of green mountain brush beyond the wall was quickly engulfed
in flames of red, orange and yellow.
The darkest night my lands ever saw was brightened only by
the flame that threatened to extinguish me. Clouds of smoke billowed into the
sky, smothering out the bright moonlight. The wind blew hard to the east and
a smoke wall spread out to veil the twinkling night stars. Soon the only
light left to see was the burning embers of my beloved rose labyrinth burning
just beyond a wall of smoke and ice...
All too soon, the wild fire ripped through the rest of the mountains
side and approached my towering ice wall. As the wall of fire caressed the ice wall, explosions erupted and the sound of the ice wall shattering reverberated through the mountain side. I inwardly cringed at the hissing and
cracking sound that resounded through the courtyard below as the fire melted
the ice and ice drowned the fire...
I ran down the tower stairs and across the gate that bridged
the moat. I stood there naked and defenseless without my ice wall surrounded by a smoldering ring of embers and smoke. Although it sounded so far away, I became
aware of a piercing scream sounding loudly through the air around me. I looked
up from my grief, expecting to see where the noise was coming from. I was surprised
to find the sound of pain was escaping from me.
Crumbling to my knees, I reached to the ground and sifted
the ashes of my soul through my fingers. I lay back in the field of ash and
looked up on the darkened heavens. My
head rolled to the side and closed my eyes, causing the tears that were burning
my eye lids to roll down my cheeks, fall to the ground and mix with ash and dirt upon which I lay. It was a long time before I opened my eyes again, but when I did I wasn't alone.
I awoke to the suns blazing heat and the sound of a woman speaking.
"Do you think she is dead morning bird?"
"Chirp Chirp"..sounded a bird.
I felt her hands on my shoulder, lightly shaking me awake, desperately she called to me, "Girl... Girl from Inside Yourself, please wake up"
My eyes flitted open. I was shocked to be confronted with my own face staring down at me...
