The Seed in the Labyrinth
Prelude
February 2012
The Seed in the Labyrinth
The Forest Labyrinth is the story I have been writing since February of 2009. It was indeed inspired by the Forest that I grew up in and near as well as one that is very vibrant in my storytelling mind. I hope you enjoy the raw natural environment that is both fact and fiction in my own corridors of thought and imagination.
***
Once upon the soil of the great planet earth, came a seed that fell from the star Polaris and into the hand of the Goddess. She gently cradled it in Her hands and descended to plant it within the garden of humanity. Butterflies floated above as horses trampled the earth in the place She chose. The Minotaur, only partly alive, stood watching in the shadows, waiting to assume his role in the spiral path of the Labyrinth.
She placed the glowing sphere within the roots of the great oak tree surrounded by a circle of stones. The enchanted seed contained the soul of a young girl who would understand the whispers from the woods more than any other language. For a long while, she would stand far apart from the other humans and they, in return, would stand far away from her.
In the dark part of the year as uncertainty and confusion took precedence over daylight, she began to sprout and pulse with life. Tender tendrils rooted themselves in the black velvet surroundings and a red tinged rain began to fall, pushing her into the world, into the tree. Her eyes were tired and used to the darkness within its roots. She would not be ready to be away from its sacred and safe arms for several years.
Twelve years passed and she outgrew her space within the tree as she watched the world pass by. She felt confined and deprived of the colors outside. Her eyes knew the darkness, and had adjusted to shades of gray, brown and black. As she grew with the world within the tree she watched the Technicolor life of the forsythias and crocuses around her. Daffodils and roses made her sigh with a vicious longing. White daisies and green blades of grass gently bent in the soft spring wind. “Come, walk among us…” It was for them that she wanted to come out. They spoke to her in tones of understanding and beauty. Ladybugs crawled along wooden fences. Sparrows tugged at creatures at her feet. She could coexist there in that place.
She whispered inside the tree. “Can I leave, Father?”
“Yes, I believe it is time for you to go. After all, your Mother is waiting.”
The great oak King stretched his arms up to the Sun. His bark stretched and screeched and tore. Spirals rings twisted around her and filled her with a rainbow spectrum of light. All of her energy centers were now fully activated and the brilliant colors available to humans were now available to her. She stepped out from the yawning mouth of the King and into the garden.
Her bare feet felt the cold hard earth. The wind was not kind, the spring had only just come and the air was not yet warm. The beauty she had seen from within did not match what she felt as she stood amidst the new purple crocuses. Her naked body shivered and she turned back to the Tree. His yawning mouth had closed behind her and she felt his blistered bark for a way back in. There was nothing, there was no way back. She leaned against him and crossed her arms over her chest. Closing her eyes, she wanted to swallow the Sun.
This felt like a mistake. It was even colder as a shadow began to fall over her. She kept her eyes closed wishing for a solution. Cold fingers touched her shoulders and she quickly opened them. A woman with skin as pale as snow and just as shimmering stood before her. Her hair hung in thick ringlets of black, red and brown. Feathers could be seen just behind the nape of Her neck and her blood red dress flowed out over the garden without crushing a single living blade.
“Come with me. I have been waiting for you. Let the King sleep. He does not have much time left.” The woman produced a black velvet cloak from beneath Her own and wrapped the girl in it. “There you are. Perfect. You are perfect.” She was then, perfect. She was filled with warmth and gratitude. She felt tears pour out over her cheeks as she walked with the Queen towards the forest and a light snow began to fall.
They walked along winding paths as a layer of white dust began to cover the ground. The Queen seemed to drift just above the earth as the girl in her awkward new human form continued the painful steps alongside Her. They came to a clearing where a circle of trees stood and the Queen then gently took the girl’s chin in her hand.
“The trees you see here are of the same nature that you are. There are humans waiting to be born into your life that you chose long ago. Some are ready to emerge now and are eager to meet you. The others still sleep in the sap and roots. Your parents are there and they have been waiting to meet you. The other parents still sleep.”
The girl was confused. The other parents? How many was she supposed to have? She did not have to speak for the Queen to know her questions.
“Your mother and father had no children of their own. They adopted you. Now it is time for you to understand how to be a daughter for them. I will be watching out for you, always. I have always been with you and the time for you to know this life has arrived. It will be challenging and painful and fiercely disappointing for quite some time. You must know that you are not alone. There are many others suffering the same way and worse. You must also know that I am never going to leave you. It is my purpose to guide you but there will be times when you are completely desperate and desolate. You will want to give up and this is something that happens to the best of people. You must know that it does not last. You must realize that you are just like everyone else in a lot of ways. You also must know that there is no one like you on this planet. You have been born of the stars, and to the stars you will return. It is time for you to learn how you can and will handle the Light. In the darkest corners of your life, I will step forward with it. There is no thing for you to fear unless you allow it.”
The girl listened in a daze and had no idea of what to do next as she saw her parents standing before her. The Queen had vanished and she stood in the cloak, shivering.
“There you are! We have been looking all over for you! You left again without telling us.”
They sounded angry. She was not at all impressed as she followed them out of the forest and into the parking lot. What was happening? She felt very nervous as she entered the back of their car. They drove a short distance back to the home with the great oak tree in the front yard. It stood inside a ring of stones. As the girl was walked inside the house she thought she heard him whisper.
“Crushed…crushing…words of the man.”
The girl waited for more but there was none. This was her only warning. She lay down in her room on a soft scented bedcover and fell asleep with a book in her hands. She dreamt fragmented dreams of humans she did not know yet as a darkness began to creep outside her window. Soon she would know the terror of the truth. Soon she would learn of the terror of herself.
…
The man saw the girl return home with her parents. He knew she would come to the lake soon. He was a terrifying and awful creature bent on consuming anything innocent about her. She was quiet. She was naïve. She was perfect.
He prepared the dark place for her arrival. He planned to put on a mask to hide some of his hideous truth. He would intimidate and overpower her. He would be sure to put just the right amount of shame into her pure heart so that she would always blame herself for his disgraceful conduct.
The Queen knew. She watched him from the forest. She felt the hammering of his black heart in his chest. Soon…soon that heart would pulse with disease and churn with dread like maggots from the inside out. It was his destiny.
The girl would survive. She would know the slicing pain of anger, guilt and shame before any other emotions. She would see where the inferno had begun, the first embers of rage and mistrust in the words and actions of others. She would watch it destroy what was not meant to be burned and she would watch it be the fire to burn everything else that turned on her.
The Queen watched as the man’s words struck against her innocent cheek like a match. In a matter of eternal moments, the fire was lit and the Light inside her went out. The whole world went black as the tides of fate rushed out over the land.
February 2012
The Seed in the Labyrinth
The Forest Labyrinth is the story I have been writing since February of 2009. It was indeed inspired by the Forest that I grew up in and near as well as one that is very vibrant in my storytelling mind. I hope you enjoy the raw natural environment that is both fact and fiction in my own corridors of thought and imagination.
***
Once upon the soil of the great planet earth, came a seed that fell from the star Polaris and into the hand of the Goddess. She gently cradled it in Her hands and descended to plant it within the garden of humanity. Butterflies floated above as horses trampled the earth in the place She chose. The Minotaur, only partly alive, stood watching in the shadows, waiting to assume his role in the spiral path of the Labyrinth.
She placed the glowing sphere within the roots of the great oak tree surrounded by a circle of stones. The enchanted seed contained the soul of a young girl who would understand the whispers from the woods more than any other language. For a long while, she would stand far apart from the other humans and they, in return, would stand far away from her.
In the dark part of the year as uncertainty and confusion took precedence over daylight, she began to sprout and pulse with life. Tender tendrils rooted themselves in the black velvet surroundings and a red tinged rain began to fall, pushing her into the world, into the tree. Her eyes were tired and used to the darkness within its roots. She would not be ready to be away from its sacred and safe arms for several years.
Twelve years passed and she outgrew her space within the tree as she watched the world pass by. She felt confined and deprived of the colors outside. Her eyes knew the darkness, and had adjusted to shades of gray, brown and black. As she grew with the world within the tree she watched the Technicolor life of the forsythias and crocuses around her. Daffodils and roses made her sigh with a vicious longing. White daisies and green blades of grass gently bent in the soft spring wind. “Come, walk among us…” It was for them that she wanted to come out. They spoke to her in tones of understanding and beauty. Ladybugs crawled along wooden fences. Sparrows tugged at creatures at her feet. She could coexist there in that place.
She whispered inside the tree. “Can I leave, Father?”
“Yes, I believe it is time for you to go. After all, your Mother is waiting.”
The great oak King stretched his arms up to the Sun. His bark stretched and screeched and tore. Spirals rings twisted around her and filled her with a rainbow spectrum of light. All of her energy centers were now fully activated and the brilliant colors available to humans were now available to her. She stepped out from the yawning mouth of the King and into the garden.
Her bare feet felt the cold hard earth. The wind was not kind, the spring had only just come and the air was not yet warm. The beauty she had seen from within did not match what she felt as she stood amidst the new purple crocuses. Her naked body shivered and she turned back to the Tree. His yawning mouth had closed behind her and she felt his blistered bark for a way back in. There was nothing, there was no way back. She leaned against him and crossed her arms over her chest. Closing her eyes, she wanted to swallow the Sun.
This felt like a mistake. It was even colder as a shadow began to fall over her. She kept her eyes closed wishing for a solution. Cold fingers touched her shoulders and she quickly opened them. A woman with skin as pale as snow and just as shimmering stood before her. Her hair hung in thick ringlets of black, red and brown. Feathers could be seen just behind the nape of Her neck and her blood red dress flowed out over the garden without crushing a single living blade.
“Come with me. I have been waiting for you. Let the King sleep. He does not have much time left.” The woman produced a black velvet cloak from beneath Her own and wrapped the girl in it. “There you are. Perfect. You are perfect.” She was then, perfect. She was filled with warmth and gratitude. She felt tears pour out over her cheeks as she walked with the Queen towards the forest and a light snow began to fall.
They walked along winding paths as a layer of white dust began to cover the ground. The Queen seemed to drift just above the earth as the girl in her awkward new human form continued the painful steps alongside Her. They came to a clearing where a circle of trees stood and the Queen then gently took the girl’s chin in her hand.
“The trees you see here are of the same nature that you are. There are humans waiting to be born into your life that you chose long ago. Some are ready to emerge now and are eager to meet you. The others still sleep in the sap and roots. Your parents are there and they have been waiting to meet you. The other parents still sleep.”
The girl was confused. The other parents? How many was she supposed to have? She did not have to speak for the Queen to know her questions.
“Your mother and father had no children of their own. They adopted you. Now it is time for you to understand how to be a daughter for them. I will be watching out for you, always. I have always been with you and the time for you to know this life has arrived. It will be challenging and painful and fiercely disappointing for quite some time. You must know that you are not alone. There are many others suffering the same way and worse. You must also know that I am never going to leave you. It is my purpose to guide you but there will be times when you are completely desperate and desolate. You will want to give up and this is something that happens to the best of people. You must know that it does not last. You must realize that you are just like everyone else in a lot of ways. You also must know that there is no one like you on this planet. You have been born of the stars, and to the stars you will return. It is time for you to learn how you can and will handle the Light. In the darkest corners of your life, I will step forward with it. There is no thing for you to fear unless you allow it.”
The girl listened in a daze and had no idea of what to do next as she saw her parents standing before her. The Queen had vanished and she stood in the cloak, shivering.
“There you are! We have been looking all over for you! You left again without telling us.”
They sounded angry. She was not at all impressed as she followed them out of the forest and into the parking lot. What was happening? She felt very nervous as she entered the back of their car. They drove a short distance back to the home with the great oak tree in the front yard. It stood inside a ring of stones. As the girl was walked inside the house she thought she heard him whisper.
“Crushed…crushing…words of the man.”
The girl waited for more but there was none. This was her only warning. She lay down in her room on a soft scented bedcover and fell asleep with a book in her hands. She dreamt fragmented dreams of humans she did not know yet as a darkness began to creep outside her window. Soon she would know the terror of the truth. Soon she would learn of the terror of herself.
…
The man saw the girl return home with her parents. He knew she would come to the lake soon. He was a terrifying and awful creature bent on consuming anything innocent about her. She was quiet. She was naïve. She was perfect.
He prepared the dark place for her arrival. He planned to put on a mask to hide some of his hideous truth. He would intimidate and overpower her. He would be sure to put just the right amount of shame into her pure heart so that she would always blame herself for his disgraceful conduct.
The Queen knew. She watched him from the forest. She felt the hammering of his black heart in his chest. Soon…soon that heart would pulse with disease and churn with dread like maggots from the inside out. It was his destiny.
The girl would survive. She would know the slicing pain of anger, guilt and shame before any other emotions. She would see where the inferno had begun, the first embers of rage and mistrust in the words and actions of others. She would watch it destroy what was not meant to be burned and she would watch it be the fire to burn everything else that turned on her.
The Queen watched as the man’s words struck against her innocent cheek like a match. In a matter of eternal moments, the fire was lit and the Light inside her went out. The whole world went black as the tides of fate rushed out over the land.