Haven

Once upon a time there was a girl who was lost.  She knew where she wanted to go but she didn't realize that instead of moving forward, toward her Home and Haven, she was moving in a large spiral; only getting one step closer for every thousand steps she took.  All of her friends saw her movements and looked to each other in confusion, "Where is she going?" They asked one another, "Why does she go in circles; ending up only feet from where she had been?"  One who loved her best replied, "She has a reason, for she is smart, strong, and good.  Who are we to question her?" The others agreed and while they watched her with love in their hearts, nothing more was said.

One day, as the girl was walking the never-ending spiral, a Guardian appeared.  "Hello," he said to her, "Why are you walking in circles?"

"I'm not." The girl replied, "The sand in front of me has no prints, and the sand behind me has only one set.  This is newly discovered land I walk."

"Isn't it hot here, in the sun and the sand?" The Guardian asked while walking along beside her, his feet making no mark on the shifting dunes.

"It is, but every step takes me closer to where I need to be.  Why should I be worried about the sun and the heat?"

"Well." He said, trying again, "Haven't you seen this place before?"

"I've seen it before." She agreed, "But it is always different." With this, she moved beyond where he would follow and he let her go.

The next time she saw the Guardian, the sand was far behind her. Along one side of her path ran a huge wall made of stone.  The wall was almost a hundred feet high, and nearly half as thick, and the Guardian was leaning against it, a stone hammer held lightly in his hands. "Hello again," He said to the Girl. "Still searching for the way to Haven?"

"Yes," she said, stopping near him, "I've come a long way and have longer still to go."

"Wouldn't it be easier to go straight ahead?" The Guardian inquired.

"But the wall is between me and the way." The girl replied.

"We can break down the wall," he suggested, holding out his hammer.

"It's too heavy for me to use." She objected.

"I will help you." The Guardian offered.

"The wall would fall down and cover me." The girl began to walk again, "I'd rather go around."

He said nothing as he watched her go.

The third time that the path of the girl and the Guardian crossed was in a forest.  The trees had all seen many years of passing life, and their limbs danced gracefully in the wind.  The girl was worried.  Until that moment, she had kept the thought of Haven in her mind, holding onto it in her heart as she moved toward it, one step at a time.  In the forest, surrounded by the old growth and the warmth of the trees, she found herself losing her way.  Standing at the foot of the tallest tree in the forest, the girl heard the Guardian's voice.

"You look lost."  The Guardian observed.

"I've been lost from the day I was born."  The girl replied.

"Sometimes it helps to see things from another place."  His voice was coming from over her, and the girl looked up into the boughs of the father tree.  The Guardian smiled down at her and held out a hand, "Come."

The girl took a step forward, held out her hand, and then let it drop, "I can't." She said.

"You can."

"I'd fall."

"I wouldn't let you fall."

"I'm afraid."

"Trust."

The girl stood under the tree for a long moment and thought, looking up at the Guardian. His face held sorrow as she turned away and continued to walk.

The girl traveled for many turns of the wheel, each round of the twisting path taking longer and longer to complete.  Gone was the sand, and the wall.  Gone also was the forest, the trees and the Guardian.  Days turned into nights and nights into days and still she walked, one foot in front of the other, willing herself to find the Haven that she sought so desperately.  After a thousand thousand beats of the girl's heart, she passed into a swamp.  The ground, once steady and solid under her feet, began to melt, pulling her into it.  Muck and slime climbed the girl's legs and arms and no matter how hard she tried to wipe it off, it clung to every part of her body. Sobbing with terror and pain, she fought her way through the swamp, hands grabbing for any thing they could find to help her along. 

"Hold on to me."  A voice called out.  The girl looked up at the Guardian, his hand held down for her to grab.  He was untouched, pristine from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head, and she found that she could not reach out, even as she sank deeper into the marsh.

"I can't." She cried, the desperation in her voice warring with despair. 

"My hand is right here."

"My touch will despoil you."

The Guardian smiled at her and his hand never moved, his gaze never wavered, "I would not offer if I wasn't willing to bare the consequences.  I have followed you from Sun to Earth, from Wind to Water."  The girl had no words to say.  The hand was still there, clean and waiting.  Her hand was filled with the muck of the swamp and suddenly she felt ashamed.  The Guardian understood and stepped down into the swamp's stagnant water, letting it cover him.  "Take my hand.  I will show you the way to Haven."

"I'm scared." The girl admitted.

"Then close your eyes."

The girl closed her eyes and reached out to the Guardian, taking his hand in her own and squeezing it tight.  She could feel the Fire of the sun on her face, the strength of the Earth under her feet, the Wind at her back and the Water that flowed in her veins.  When she opened her eyes, the swamp was gone.

The Guardian stood in front of her, his hand entwined with hers.  She looked for the touch of the rancid waters, of the mud and the filth that covered her.  To her surprise, she was clean, and garbed in a flowing gown of purest white.  "I don't understand." She confessed to him.

"You are your only Haven.  You run in circles, afraid to take the hand of those who love you.  I have been with you from your beginning.  I tried to give perspective in the sands, to give strength at the wall, and courage in the forest but you refused.  It was only when you trusted my acceptance in the swamp that you were able to come out of the darkness and see your own light."  With this, the Guardian gave the kiss of welcome to the girl, and walked with her into Haven.