A Walk in the Garden

He wandered through the myriad pathways of the garden, noticing how carefully everything had been kept since his last visit here. The small clusters of trees still reached majestically to the sky from their tiny islands hemmed in by the multicolored flowers that fairly danced in their weedless, circular beds. Most of the hedges took on the semblance of short walls, all still trimmed neatly into their angular shapes. There were others that had been kept just as sharply trimmed into fanciful shapes of various mythical beasts. He paused a moment at each one to once more take in the true magic that had been captured within tiny green leaves on small branches by an artist's clever shears. He lingered longest at his favorite. The griffon captured his imagination even now, seeming to be capable of lifting off in powerful flight at any moment from its gnarled trunk and deep roots.

After awhile his slow, steady pace brought him to where a large patch of lawn stretched off to one side while a scruffier wooded area beckoned from the other. He found himself trodding once more towards the little wooden bridge with its small but sturdy rails that led into the deeper, more naturally kept little forest. A young rabbit peered briefly from beneath some low brush just on the other side as he prepared to cross. It seemed to almost wink at him in its timid way, as if to welcome him back to the garden he had grown to know and love so well. Everything seemed in place, just as he'd left it, with only one element missing to complete the remaking of his memories. But he knew she would never visit this place again.

The echoing tromp of his boots as he stepped forwarded onto the thick planks startled the cavy away. He paused halfway across the small span, watching the place where the little animal had been before turning to look down upon the waters below him. The stream burbled its way under and past him, sparkling gaily in the reflected sunlight. She had bubbled like that; sweet and clear and melodious. The image overcame him for a moment as its shadow of pain suddenly grew sharp and fierce. It took him a moment longer to push it back towards the recesses from whence it had come. Other visions threatened to erupt, sounds and pictures in his mind of her and their time together here. Try as he might, he could not hold them all back.

She had been joy itself, with her love of nature and her ever-present laughter. He had loved the way she would toss off her slippers and dance in the water or suddenly take off at a run into the woods, begging him to catch her as her long hair flowed behind. She had been like a nymph, clean and natural and nearly as untamed as the little forest she so enjoyed. She was a celebration of life incarnate.

How quiet the little brook below him seemed now, without her burbling laughter joining its song. The entire garden seemed quieter now, too, as he looked out upon it again. It was almost devoid of its previous magic now that its favorite visitor no longer came in attendance to it.

But her special magic and flare would no longer touch this place. She could no longer pull life from the flowers nor show him how grand the sky truly was. No more would he glimpse her face and be able to compare it to the beauty of the shimmering blossoms that fluttered in the evening breeze. Even the very sunlight seemed to dim now without her presence. Somehow, though the garden did make a valiant effort to continue to glow without her, it seemed almost to reek of a kind of despair.

He turned back towards the manor and began a swifter pace back along familiar pathways. He had never completely faced his loss of her until now, he realized. She had been Promised and then married off so quickly that he hadn't even been able to say his goodbyes properly to her before she was whisked away and gone. His fists clenched in remembered anger and helplessness. Despite being neighbors and financial peers, he had never really told her how he'd felt about her. He'd never asked for her hand for himself - it simply hadn't occurred to him at the time. That she had been important to him, yes, he'd understood that much, but not until she was gone forever had he realized just how much she'd truly meant to him.

Before he knew it, he was at the small, whitewashed fence with its neat little gate. He flipped the latch quickly, strode through and closed it behind him with a small bang. Hardly breaking pace, he continued his brisk step until he came to his horse, snagging the reins from the post where it was tethered. The dark bay jumped back and whickered at the sudden movement. Absently, he stroked its forehead and mane to calm the animal before mounting quickly and settling into the saddle.

With one last scan across the garden, he turned his gelding away now and instead aimed towards the road that lead from the manor into a nearby town. A young man of a score and two had better things to do than make hopeless wishes about a past that could not be changed. With a quick stab of his heels he goaded his mount into a staccatoed canter to take him away from painful memories and shattered dreams.

He almost could hear her and the garden bidding him farewell as he took his leave this final time from the yards of his childhood. He did not wave back nor spare any further glances for what lay behind him. The future awaited. And with it, new hopes and dreams.