Floral Rebirth in Ashen Gardens

“The Lord is the supreme poet, the first cause, the sovereign ruler, subtler than the tiniest particle, the support of all, inconceivable, bright as the sun, beyond darkness.”

Collapsing onto the ground.. the ground so wet, it rippled beneath him, as he felt his rather casual apparel soak through.

–This.. perhaps, this is what they call the death bed. The boy engulfed in flames thought to himself.

Albeit, the dark haired boy wasn’t the type to speak much either-ways, rather a silent soul, yet due to the atrocity of the situation his trauma had taken over his vow of speech. He could only think, yet the mental pain had taken over his consciousness– strangling any utterance that sought escape. After various struggling efforts in an attempt to think rationally, he could only comprehend his physical situation.. He comprehended his surroundings as the whispers echoed through his head. His thoughts had almost vanished. His blood rushed through spine in a feeble attempt to salvage some symbols of sanity, he sought solace in self-dialogue.

Starting from his worn-out, yet quite rejuvenated shoes, the flames had entirely engulfed the boy. The more the flames advanced, the more it showed its majestic appearance in contact with his clothes. Gradually, reaching his vulnerable skin, the flames had consumed most that the boy could offer. Nonetheless, he could offer nothing, but himself.. His identity remained the only essence he could’ve offered.

Muttering to himself, he continues his inner-monologue.

–Quite unusual.. Has been a multitude of decades since death through fire has been considered the most painful punishment. Indeed, this surely isn’t a punishment.. He muses.

Repeatedly stammering, the boy yet again hanging onto furthered his internal dialogue.

–I– I– I can’t feel a– anything, this is the most re– relaxed I’ve e– e– ever been !

Alas, in the heat of the moment, his gleaming eyes had lost their spark. However, he wasn’t convinced that the end had come.

–I’ve survived through a lot. And I must– I must at the very least.. make a name for myself, until I sit in the hierarchy where I can see my dear mother smile without any distress.. But I, in reality, care just about myself, and my life. He extended his contemplation sourly.

Each uttered syllable seemed to have a weight upon his wavering sanity.

–Even now. I’m just seeking freedom.. An escape from the situation, by involving my internal consciousness in self-dialogue. He breaks his speech in an attempt to sync his breathing at a much calmer pace, resulting in a huff due to extreme exhaustion.

–I’m well aware that this might just sound pathetic, not sure about my body, but mentally.. I just feel like taking a huge damn nap.

Albeit, lying incapacitated upon the expanse of clear wet-wet ground, the water rejected the boy’s desire to extinguish the fervent flames enveloping his inert body. The flames were such.. that even the water had obeyed its order.

“The eternal violet flames of death.” An unknown voice reached the boy’s very own ears, as the anonymous continued moving towards his immobilized body, caught in an intense fire.

The voice of water echoed rhythmically as the anonymous strolled through the damp terrain. Each step yet again, entering the boy’s ears, ringing through the ear drums had finally reached its destination, to his panicked and ever-conflicted brain.

–There’s no meaning to this death, I’m well aware of what may happen if my almighty soul leaves this pathetic body of mine. Neglecting the presence of the anonymous, the boy pressed on, undeterred.

–Man.. I really am tired, I’m in fact glad that the fire is burning through my mortal body.. Maybe, dying once, would awaken something within me. For now, I just really feel like closing my eyes! This fire hasn’t ached a single organ within my body– though pretty sure it has paralyzed and intoxicated me, while still showing its physical attribute of burning anything to ashes.. Wait– Those ashes will probably give birth to other living embodiments. A partial soft grin made its way to his unuttered lips.

–That’s right, it has always been this way. Not so long ago, before I was just recently transported to this parallel world. At the school a really melodramatic but realist poem was taught in my literature class.”

“Wasn’t it phrased something like this?” Before he could realize, the syllables slipped right through his expressionless lips. For, the boy wasn’t lost in his thoughts anymore.

Holding onto only one intent, with his ardent desire to recite the final lines of the magnificent poem whose ideology had interlapped with his own, he proceeded without any hesitation.

“Perhaps the Earth can teach us

As when everything seems dead

And later proves to be alive.”

“By Pablo Neruda. What a fresh air of inspiration.. Such is life.” Though no emotion dawned upon his face, but, he still felt every ounce of it sending chills down his spine.

Content with his introspection, the boy had finally closed his eyes. Even on the brink of death, he was more care-free than ever.

With his sharp yet watery eyes closed, the tears cascaded delicately along the fluttering fringes of his eyelashes, akin to the water droplets on the vibrant red petals of hibiscus scattering away as it closes its domain beneath the moonlight under obsidian skies.. Perhaps, in contrast, having a night of siesta after the bright vibrant morning of conflicted introspection.

Although the boy’s soul had already descended to relive the replenishing moments of its tenure, in a twist his cursed soul wasn’t passed on to heaven, or hell. By the blessings of the all caring and the almighty god.. the destination of the soul was to yet again serve a purpose to the boy. The soul was re-fined again, as a boon from the god, it was purified.

“Death, without any doubt, is inevitable. From my key perspective, it’s a thing of beauty.” With a deep sigh as not to mourn over his wrong-doings, the anonymous broke his speech. Only to fall into the pit of his own introspection.

“Acura Matsuki” In the somber embrace of profound condolences the anonymous gently whispered the name of the ever-conflicted soul. The boy whose life was just recently taken by the hands of the fervent flames. The same boy who just in a split of second was going to re-enter the veil of a different world, parallel to the one where his inert body was burnt to ashes, though in the presence of the water.

In the reign of the moment, anonymous continued their introspection in dark.

–No matter how many times it may take, I’ll perform my duty. No matter how high the stakes may be, or what-so-ever misty state you may be in, I shall do my very best to teach you the ways of this world. With the expectations of the entire cosmos on your own two– skinny shoulders, your purpose to serve in the near future is more than your self proclaimed, “self centered” mindset could imagine. To the next world, to me in the other world, and to you in the other world, I only wish for your safety as I considerably am your ally. Anonymous proceeded with their cogitation with a genuine concern.

The anonymous ended their inner-monologue with a final note, before hell had dawned upon the world. All, the local citizens could see, was immense light ascending on their neighborhood; Looking directly at the light could render anyone blind with its stellar luminance. Amidst the terrestrial onlookers, the anonymous along with the other seven venerable knights of yore scattered around the globe could feel their very existence withering. Acura Matsuki, summoned with a purpose transcendent, stood as the anchor in the celestial ballet of order and chaos. His essence served as the epitome of crystalline purity in the realm of frozen elegance, in no less than seven words– he was the ice in the booze.

Acura’s soul was the key to unwavering symmetry of the world.

“Some say that the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice..”

The last syllable that directed through the unknown anonymous’ lips held a deep symbolism to the future, for, the universe now was expanding, the destruction of one was now in just a fraction of seconds creating multiple timelines, some may continue to be parallel, while some.. divergent.

“In spite of what my opinion may be, I’m darn sure someone.. Someone brilliant, someone bright.. Someone romantic, someone curious.. in the woven web of the cosmic must’ve favored the ones supporting the end through fire.”

Staring down at the damp terrain the anonymous stood so long on, with a low remorseful voice they ended speech. “Even I myself am seeing the world losing its equilibrium to the fire, the fire of desire.”

The heat of the universe’s core, particularly the Earth’s, was spreading at a hasty pace. It was as if the Earth had stopped orbiting around its honorable & well-worshiped sun.

As the damp expansion started to evaporate, the anonymous seemed to gaze upon Acura's physical body, the only remains were the ashes, the ashes that apparently, in no time were poised to give birth to a flora beneath the crumbled expanse the very same interval of time the universe was about to detonate.

In the midst of a glamorous evening at his grandmother’s residence, his deep comfortable state of semi-conscious sleep was momentarily interrupted by the prudent vibration of a mobile phone, displaying an incoming call.

With measured gesture the individual’s eyes opened as he acknowledged the composed reawakening. The warm ambient glow casted an interplay of shadows and highlights on his face. In that moment the boy, Acura Matsuki’s gaze, veiled by a momentary haze of introspection, slowly shifted toward the device.

“Oh crap !!” Exclaimed Acura.

“Because I could not stop for death,

He kindly stopped for me;

The carriage held but just ourselves–

And immortality.”

-Emily Dickinson