A gift... to a special person

[Exosus]

You step into a large, open aired courtyard, filled with statues of all sizes and shapes, from animals, to humans, to the purely abstract, and all covered in a white layer of frost, causing the entire place to sparkle with an amazing intensity. In the centre of this magnificent, and strangely peaceful garden lies a fountain, designed in the shape of a woman holding up her vase, with her back to the entrance. The water from this fountain bubbles so clear, and beautiful that it captures the essence of this place, drawing all eyes to it.

Arranged on the paths between the statues in this place are thousands of white rose petals, softening the steps you take, and adding a strange counterpart to the frost that decorates the statues

 

[faith]

looking at the beauty that surrounds me...

thank you my dear friend.... This is the very best gift you could have give to me.... our winter garden has come to life... I treasure it and you my newest protector...God bless...

 

[AngelicVixxxen]

Waits in the Winter Garden, her red plaid blanket wrapped around her for warmth. Waits for her friend.

 

[Exosus]

sits in the garden next to Angel, his arm around her, smiling softly as he remembers the good times, and the people he has met... and she that he misses... Honey, the first to draw him out...

 

[AngelicVixxxen]

Wraps her arms around Exosus and holds him tightly.

I'm sorry there's only me, love... you should be enjoying a much bigger celebration.

Congratulations on reaching 500 posts and becoming a Literotica Guru!

 

[Exosus]

Nae... those who truly matter are here, at least in spirit.

And thank you love

holds Angel tightly, his eyes sparkling with tears of happiness

 

[Guest]

alone in the garden....

"My gaurdians are out there in the night... at a single call they would be at my side but for this night I need the quiet of my garden as I search for peace. A time to explore it with my own eyes. To touch it and make it my own...

There is so much to see here, where do I start...I never had a winter garden before. I had never imagined that so much beauty could be found... crystals cover every surface... diamond dust or fairy dust, I think would look very much like this....

So many statues, some I reconizes some I do not. Walking among them I stop.... The first is a man with laughing eyes... watching the dog at his feet...

Next is a young couple craddling a small son between them.... such pride in their eyes...

walking down the path I find an Angel... Delicate yet strong... wings spread... standing guard

Rounding a bend I find an Elven Princess of such beauty and innocence... playing with a kitten. Looking down on her are the King and Queen... fingers touching as they look upon the miracle their love has roth

To the right I see a man... I feel he is tied to the land more than any of the others.. he is in tune with the rythm of the land...

Next is a beautiful young woman with eyes as old as time... she looks to the stars...

To my left I see another angel..... this one is not a thing of gentleness.... but of barely leashed power....


over there stands a man...a trace of mischeif in everything about him but if you stand very still at just the right angle you see a depth of character so deep and wide that you stand in silent awe


so very many, I find myself at a loss to describe them all...men women, laughing loving fighting and crying.... a menagerie of animals in stone...

A young man...kneeling like the knights of old offers his sword arm... yet he wears no armor...standing in front of him I feel honored to be in his presence...


coming to the very center of the garden, I sink down on to one of the many high backed padded benches and contenplate what I find there....

Leaning forward I look her in the eyes, she at the center... reaching out I touch the water...it is so cold...cupping my hands I let the waters flow until it spills.... bringing it to my lips, I drink. The water is so pure and sweet but the cold makes it almost burn.....my eyes return to the woman before me I have spashed the water in my clumsiness ... she looks as if she is crying....I feel as if i should know her but tonight she eludes me....

Leaning back I think upon tonight... pulling my journal I begin to write...


In the late of the night a promise was made.
In the late of the night a promise was broken.
It matters not who knows, because I know.
It was a vow of the heart now shattered...
where do I now find peace?

 

[caspai]

Wrapping my coat around me, I walk slowly into the garden, rose petals under my feet, and look around. I see a journal lying open next to a fountain. I know that I shouldn't, but I walk over and pick it up, reading.

Brushing my hand over the page, I close the book and set it down, sitting down myself, next to it. I look around at the stark beauty around me, and feel a peace filling my heart.

While the garden seems empty, it isn't. Not really. I find that if you sit quietly for a few minutes, and open your heart, what you feel is all of the love and poetry that has gone into creating this beautiful little diamond.

I spend a few more minutes soaking up the feelings of love that went into the creation of something so beautiful, and then a few minutes more adding my feelings of love for the two special people, the one who created, and the one it was created for, and then, standing, I slowly walk out, vowing to return when there is someone here to help fill the beauty with love and laughter.

 

[Tibxo]

Wearing his trenchcoat, he stands in the middle of the garden, admiring its beauty. It could be a scene off of a Christmas card so fresh and pure. The only disturbance in the frost are the footprints left by himself and the other visitors.

Not looking at anything in particular, he dips his head slightly, congratulating the architect of this fine piece of art and the fact it is a gift to someone special is clearly evident in the way it has been presented.

For a time, he just stands there, soaking in the sight, the smells. Listening to the silence. Then, pulling up his collar, he makes a move. It is time to go but first...

He walks over to the statue of a man with laughing eyes watching the dog at his feet. He stands there, looking at it. A small smile on his lips. Then he gently strokes the dog behind one of its ears.

"Thank you, my friend!" he says, knowing that the individual concerned will read this post and understand.

Then straightening up, he takes one last look at the garden and simply disappears within the shadows...

 

[Swashbuckler]

Watching
The beauty before my eyes
Frozen smiles and sighs
The myriad of frosty disguises

Stomping
My slowly numbing feet
On frosty ground tingle, and bleet
Thoughts, into my mind, creeps

Smiling
Softly at the figures
Thier forms an allusion trigger
Memories returning, waxing bigger

Looking
Making sure the coast is clear
Seeing no one about and near
Snow crunching as feet rear

Passing
Through the garden with glistening air
Passing Angels and Miadens fair
Elven princess, pyschic veteran with dashing dare

Touched
I huddle within my peacoat
Shuffling out of the garden's remote
Smile at my lips, for the lucky lady's gloat

 

[TXExpress]

Looking down

From his window upstairs, he gets his first real look at the garden.

Such beauty. Such peace.

It provides an enchanting vision he can carry into his slumber ...

 

[AngelicVixxxen]

Angel

It isn’t her first visit to the Winter Garden, but it’s the first time she’s been here alone. Wearing a long denim coat for warmth, she wanders around and examines each statue closely… paying particular attention to its face and expression. She smiles and runs her fingers lovingly over some… others she does not know.

Looking into the water of the beautiful fountain, she sees the reflection of someone who has survived many storms... and who has become a little stronger after each one. She smiles at the lady and promises her that she will take care of her.

This Garden means different things to different people, but she has come here trying to sort out her confused and troubled thoughts. Hoping to bring some peace back into her troubled soul, she sits on a bench in the silence and thinks about the people she cares so deeply about. She feels her heart swell with love when she remembers the ways in which some of them have helped her. She knows she has helped a few along the way, too, and believes that's what life is all about... caring, sharing, helping, encouraging, and showing others where their beauty lies.

The words of a song she knows push into her thoughts… words that could refer to many of the people she has met. Softly, so she doesn’t disturb the tranquility of the place, she sings some of the words.

When life held troubled times, and had me down on my knees
There's always been someone to come along and comfort me
A kind word from a stranger, to lend a helping hand
A phone call from a friend, just to say I understand
And ain't it kind of funny at the dark end of the road
That someone lights the way with just a single ray of hope

Oh I believe there are angels among us
Sent down to us from somewhere up above
They come to you and me in our darkest hours
To show us how to live, to teach us how to give
To guide us with the light of love.

As the last echo of her voice fades away, she reaches for her constant companion… her battered red leather journal… and begins writing a new poem. A poem of hope and healing.

 

[Exosus]

Stepping into the Garden, I look around, my eyes half misty with tears as I take my tools and begin to tend the garden, working in silence as I go around

 

[AngelicVixxxen]

Buried inside her red cloak with the hood covering her long dark hair, she walks slowly through the garden once again.

With Reilly following close at her heels, she tries to see the beauty in her surroundings, but right now she is blind to it. All she can do is sigh.

Sitting down on her favourite bench, she takes out her battered book of poetry from an inside pocket and begins to read out loud. Reilly rests his big shaggy Irish Wolfhound head on her knee and looks up with apparent interest at each word.

Thank God I have you to talk to or I'd be talking to myself!

If I repeat these words often enough, maybe I'll truly believe them, Reilly.

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

[William Ernest Henley]


Sits quietly for a while, listening to the silence and the wind in the trees. Finally, feeling a little more peaceful, she and Reilly go for a walk beside the sea to hear what the message the waves might have for her.

 

[Guest]

Looking around I see the tracks of friends

I wander around the garden, I have the ever present kilt pulled close. I spend so much time just aimlessly walking around. Touching rock and stone. I can see the inn clearly from here. Down stairs the lights shine brightly. The sound of laughter is clearly heard on the breeeze. A wonderful mixture of male and female that compliment each other so perfectly. The lights up stairs are muted... I think candlelight is the choice of light up there. Once in a while a body will pass between the light and the window casting a shawdow on the curtain. Tonight I seek the quiet of my garden. Sitting down in front of the lady...I open my journal.....


In the last twenty-four hours, I have seen domestic violence up close and personal. A bright beautiful young woman sat and explained to me in a calm reasonable voice how her boyfriend punching her in the face was actually her fault. He is after all a really great guy. Afterwards, he was so sorry he almost cried. It's not like he means to hurt her, he just doesn't know his own strength. He really and truely didn't mean it the other times either.

I have to ask myself if she really believes this or if she just desperately wants to believe it.There are somedays I just feel old.

Closing the book, I lean my head back and close my eyes. A single tear falls from my eye.

 

[Exosus]

I step into the garden, glad of the emptiness of the place, and head to a bench in the furthest corner of the park, pulling a battered journal from underneath where I hid it during the building of the Garden.

It has almost been a year since it happened, and I find that with each day that passes my nerves and emotions are becoming more raw, and I flinch at the sound of people's voices.

I'm falling apart, and I hate this... I'm so afraid that I'm going to say something, or do something I don't mean.

Three days.

To quote DMX
"Ain't nowhere to run
Ain't nowhere to hide
Ain't nowhere to go"



I Huddle up, my head resting on my knees.

 

[AngelicVixxxen]

Stepping out into the garden, she places her tray down on a bench and picks up her coffee. Leaning against one of the statues she suddenly realizes that there is absolutely no sound. It's still very early and the garden is in darkness except for the light being cast down into from a few windows in the Pearl. She loves the atmosphere and makes a decision to visit the Winter Garden more often, hopefully when there's no one else around for it is a place for reflection.

Reilly looks at her reproachfully and she realizes that she's forgotten to feed him. She'll have to remember to do that before they leave this morning, but in the meantime she tosses her bagel to him and he wolfs it down in a couple of bites. She sighs thinking that it sure take a lot to fill up an Irish Wolfhound.

She finally sits down on the bench somewhat gingerly, glancing at her watch to see how long she may dally.

 

[AngelicVixxxen]

She arrives just ahead of a truck bearing several 10’ tall trees, and indicates to the men where the holes are to be dug in the garden.

After the trees have been settled into their new surroundings and have begun putting down their roots, she shows the men out and then returns to the garden. She visits each tree to appreciate its beauty in the silence and to attach pewter tags which bear the name and description of tree, and to whom it is dedicated. She has planted one Celtic tree for each of the friends who have been with her since her arrival back in October. They are planted within close proximity to each other for support, but far enough apart that they have room to grow strong and independent.

Descended from the Druids, hers is the tree of life… the Rowan, also known as Witchwood. It is a moon tree, associated with astral travel and vision, healing and empowerment. Planted by the garden gate, it will ward off bad luck and harmful spirits.

For caspai, she has chosen an Alder; it adds great strength in contentious situations and grants one tenacity and determination. It allows one to remain true to her principles and thus steadfast in decisions.

For faith, a Willow; it is a tree of the moon and is associated with femininity, love, and healing. It has the ability to banish sadness; sitting beneath a willow tree calms and soothes the emotions.

For Honey, she has planted a Birch; this tree represents a rebirth, new beginnings, and overcoming difficulties. It represents the female principle and is often known as “the Lady of the Woods”.

For Lillie, an Apple tree; it is the Celtic tree of regeneration and eternal life; it is symbolic of love, healing, and immortality and indicates the ability to make choices.

For Swash, a Hazel tree; it is a bardic tree of wisdom, promoting poetry and knowledge; it allows one to be a catalyst or a transformer, working through the promptings of intuition to bring ideas to the surface.

For Tex, an Oak; this is the king of the forest and represents the sun; it symbolizes longevity, protection, healing strength, and balance, among other things.

Among these seven trees she has planted Ivy for Exosus; it symbolizes the wandering of the self and the search for self. This exploring is necessary, revealing spiritual strength and depth that may never have been tapped previously or known about.

The garden is quiet, except for the wind which she can hear among the leaves. The trees have already begun conversing among themselves, and she leaves them to enjoy their peaceful surroundings.

 

[Exosus]

Having snuck through the secret entrance in the back of the garden, I sadly begin to brick up the main door, closing off a link to one of my homes here at Lit.

I failed, it seems... all my friends seem to be leaving, I could not hold the peace... and circumstances I could not control have taken them to other realms. But never the less, perhaps they will return one day... they will find me here... still locked in the garden, for I promised I would nae abandon them, and I do not break my promises.

I take the various momentoes from my bag, collected in the dead of night from my various resting places and begin to place them in a corner... first the portrait of Honey, then various items of significance from the various threads... and my canes. Everything I have in the way of memories here... yet it doesn't compare to the people, those wonderful beings who I have befriended here... those that have been my guiding lights, and my partners in crime. Gods I miss them all.

I sit on the bench and curl up, an old blanket wrapped around me as I watch the stars, and sigh

 

[faith]

coming in through the rear entrance.....

i walk to the bench and kneel...

"Ex.... would you hold me for a while?"

 

[Exosus]

Waking at the sound of her voice, I quickly stand and wrap my arms around her.

"I'm here, dear Faith."

I gently stroke her hair as we sit there

 

[faith]

feeling his arms surround me.... i lay my head on his shoulder...

i whisper into the black of his shirt...as i hold him so tight

"thank you love... for being here for me... and with me.."