A Garden Very Deep in the Woods

I am running through woods, not terribly thick, but not thin either. The sky is cloudy. I am moving so quickly through. And it is all so green, but dull, not bright and alive: trees being suffocated by vines and moss, and the branches and leaves were frozen in a motion of pouring down. I think I am running from something, and I have a feeling of anxiety, and hurriedness. The woods are getting slightly thicker. I come upon the backyard of a two story house, I enter through an open gate to a low wooden fence surrounding the yard. The yard is an old and very overgrown garden that has not been tended to in many, many years. The air is still cloudy, thick, cool, and swirling with very deep and ancient memories. Despite that it is all overgrown, it is beautiful, nature having taken back her body, her freedom. The garden had had both flowers and food, giving both beauty and sustenance. There are aisles of wooden fencing, that guided the growth of this once abundant garden; now they are covered with vines and moss and guide nothing but the stretching arms from the dirt to the dim sunlight barely making it through the clouds. The house, too, is overgrown with vines, moss, the long arms of shrubs and trees. All of it is completely secluded in these woods. The moment my eyes lay upon this scene I am at once thrown back by it's pure beauty, comfort, and innocence. As I begin to enter the garden, a woman comes into the yard from the house; she is walking toward me. She is very slim, wearing a plain white sleeveless dress, she has red hair, and it is all pulled back into a messy bun, her skin is pale and freckled, her eyes are greyish green, she has thin lips and nose, and apple cheeks, a high forehead--she is really beautiful. Her dress is flowing in the wind, despite that I can feel no wind, and the leaves are not blowing. I am running, but she is slowly walking, and yet I cannot make it through the garden to reach her--though I am running, I am now moving in slow motion, and she is not. She just walks towards me, casually, and when we meet in the very center of the garden, as we pass each other, looking into each other faces, it all slows down even more, and she looks at me with such comfort, such love, and ease, and welcoming, trying to assure me with her eyes, and her smile. And for that moment, as I take her all in, I feel my chest drop with a sigh and my heart lift up with the very feeling she is trying to convey to me. And then it all comes back full speed and I am running, and I try to turn around to see her one last moment--

But I can't remember if I got to see her again.


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© Cheryl E. Fitzgerald March 2008