In Search of Secrets

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vii.

Once upon a time, there was a girl.  Her hair was red as a pale summer rose, and her smile was as soft as silence.  The girl lived alone at the center of a vast labyrinth.  Before her stood a boy, and the boy was tall and cold as stone, and he condemned her recklessness with a voice as smooth and dark and heavy as a thundercloud.  But the girl found courage, and stood straighter, and condemned him in turn, for his own safety was worth no less than hers.  Then the boy looked at her, and smiled a small, secret smile, and his voice was as still and bright and shining as a mirror-pond.  He confessed the dragon slain, and the danger gone, and he held out his hand to the girl and beckoned to show her.  And the girl looked at him, and smiled a small, sacred smile, and fell trusting into his arms.

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vi.

Once upon a time, there lived a girl.  Her hair was red as a summer rose, and her smile was as soft as breath.  The girl lived in a walled labyrinth, lost and alone, searching for a secret.  As she searched, she grew closer to the wide and towering tree at the maze’s heart.  The tree, which from afar had seemed so lovely, grew forbidding and ominous.  The grass became stiff and sharp under her tender feet, the flowers thorny and wild.  They tore and scratched her skin, and for the first time she felt pain.  But the girl pressed on, for it seemed that with each passing step the flowers were brighter, and the air more sweet, and the birds’ songs more lusty than she had ever known.  And after countless steps, when the girl’s strides were swift and sure, and but a single wall remained between her and the tree, she discovered the boy.  The boy was tall and handsome as stone, and his smile faded like bright water tumbling into a black and bottomless pool.

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v.

Once upon a time, there lived a young girl.  Her hair was red as flame, and her smile was as soft and sweet as spring.  The girl lived with a boy in a walled garden, and the boy was tall and strong and still as stone, and his voice was as deep and cool as the ocean.  In the center of the garden grew a tall and beautiful tree, and the girl longed to sleep in its shade and weave its fragrant blossoms into her hair and climb its broad branches and look out, over the garden.  But the boy forbade her, for a fierce and terrible dragon guarded the tree.  The girl was afraid, but her curiosity was stronger, so one night while he was away she stole the boy’s key from its hiding place, and unlocked the gate where she was kept, and ran off in search of the tree and the fearsome dragon which guarded it.

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iv.

Once upon a time, there lived a young and beautiful girl.  Her hair was red as flame, and her laugh was as clear and sweet as spring.  The girl lived with a boy in a vast walled garden, and the boy was tall and strong as stone, and his voice was as smooth and cool as autumn rain.  In the center of the garden grew a tree, and the girl longed to sleep in its shade and weave its fragrant blossoms into her hair and climb its supple branches.  But the boy said that a dangerous and terrible dragon guarded the tree, so he showed the girl other wonders, and charmed her with words and with touch, and kept her away.

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iii.

Once upon a time, there lived a young and beautiful girl.  Her hair was red as fire, and her laugh was as clear and sweet as a spring breeze.  The girl lived with a boy in a peaceful and endless garden, and the boy was tall and strong as stone, and his voice was as smooth and soft and cool as autumn rain.  In the center of their garden grew a secret, and the girl longed to see it.  But the boy said it was dangerous, and led her instead to sparkling lakes and flowing streams, and the girl swam and played and laughed, and the secret was forgotten.

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ii.

Once upon a time, there lived a young and beautiful girl.  Her hair was red as fire, and her laugh was as clear and sweet as a summer breeze.  The girl lived with a boy in a peaceful and verdant garden, and the boy was tall and strong as stone, and his voice was as smooth and soft and cool as rain.  But the boy was lonely, for he kept a dangerous secret, and was afraid to share it.  So the boy put his secret in the center of their garden, and built thick walls around it, and never spoke of where it lay, though of the garden’s countless wonders that place was the most wondrous of all.

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i.

Once upon a time, there lived a young and beautiful girl.  Her hair was red as fire, and her laugh was as bright and sweet as a summer breeze.  The girl lived in a warm and verdant garden with a boy, and they spent many hours together wandering the garden’s close and quiet paths, and making love amid its marvels.  The boy was tall and strong as stone, and his voice was as smooth and soft and clear as rain, and the two of them shared a secret.

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Once upon a time, there lived a young and beautiful girl.  Her hair was red as fire, and her laugh was as bright and sweet as a summer breeze. The girl lived in a warm and verdant garden, and she wanted for neither food nor pleasure. But the girl was lonely, for she kept a precious secret, and there was no one in her garden to share it with.

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Continuing this week’s themes of nostalgia and perfectionism, I’ve been digging through some of the short stories I’ve got on my super old and embarrassing cool and professional DeviantArt page, which I am unfortunately unable to link to here for, uh, technical reasons. One of them was a very early version of a story I’ve revisited and revised so many times since that I almost consider it “finished”–a rarity for me. I’ll be posting it in parts. Enjoy!