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The Keys to the Kingdom
by Babs
Once Upon a Time... There was a lovely young girl, who fell in love with a handsome young man. She told him all her secrets; she opened her heart and her arms and held him ever so close. Believing with all her might that baring her soul would make him do the same. But his way was to gently smile and listen indulgently as all of her dreams and desires were revealed to him. Keeping to himself that which she so wanted to know. A frown would cross her face, but he would kiss her cheek and touch her hair... and all she could think was... how wonderful he made her feel, he paid so much attention to every word she uttered, a touch from his hand made thrills run through her body. The slightest look could make her blush with the thought of his lips upon her own. Every beat of her heart began to feel as if it whispered his name, she loved him so, she knew it to be true, and oh yes he just must love her too... As time goes by she shares her world with him; he enjoys hearing about the day to day world through her eyes. But he says little other than how lovely she is, how sweet she smells, how much he enjoys her company... the sweet words as always making her smile as she gave him a loving hug. Obsession takes over as she tells him more and more how much she loves him, how much she desires him... no one has ever made her this happy before... no one has ever made her feel so loved. Oh I do love you she would say over and over and over... as she told him he made her world complete... As always he gently smiled and listened indulgently to all she had to say... quietly touching her hair and kissing her cheek and whispering sweet words in her ear. And as always she waited to hear what she wanted to hear... Because she loved him so, she knew it to be true, and oh yes he just must love her too... he just had to, had to, had to... oh please he just has to. Finally one quiet day she has nothing to say when he walks in the door... He can tell from the look on her face that she needs something to boost her spirits... because she loved him so, he knew it to be true and being who he is he knows just what to do... He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a bracelet of the finest gold and slips it over her hand. She lifts her wrist to look at the lovely bracelet and remarks upon the keys she sees hanging like charms. He smiles and tells her that they are the keys to the kingdom of his being, that her love has convinced him that she can be trusted with them now. She begins to jump up and down in glee... because she loves him so, she knows it to be true, and now she has the keys too... They sit side by side on the sofa as she studies the keys on the bracelet, each more elaborate than the next. She asks him what they open and he tells her that in time she will learn all that she needs to know. She smiles and continues to look at the charms remarking from time to time about the fine workmanship of each golden key... the scrollwork and how some even appear engraved. As always he listens indulgently and smiles gently as she talks... her happy laughter fills him with joy and more and more he begins to relax with her... thinking... maybe... maybe... she is the one... She feels a tug on her wrist and looks down to find that there is a charm there she had not noticed before. It is different than the rest, he watches her for this final test. The other charms are moved aside to reveal a heart shaped charm.... Of white metal not as shiny as the gold, but obviously just as fine. She looks at him with questioning eyes and he explains the heart is of platinum, the finest metal there is and the most precious of all. Turning the charm over in her hand she sees that it is beautiful indeed... perhaps the most beautiful she has ever seen. Engraved on the front is a face in the shape of the sun, and the more she looked the brighter the piece seemed to shine. As she held it up to the light she found that the eyes were diamonds and when she looked closer she saw that there was a ruby between each ray of the sun. She stared in awe at the charm and looked at him with glowing eyes as he told her... that this very special charm represented his heart. That the more she loved him, the more it would shine, the more he loved her the brighter would the diamonds become... tears of joy flooded her eyes as she saw the brightness before her... He held her and kissed her, and whispered in her ear all the words she so longed to hear, of love and the future and what their world would be. They both watched as the beautiful heart glowed with a life of it's own... she could not imagine anything could destroy her happiness... Because every beat of her heart whispered his name, and when he looked at her with love filled eyes she was sure he felt the same... As they lay together basking in the glow of their love and the glow of the shining sun... he began to tell her of his life, his hopes and his desires... she was so very happy... she just knew all of her dreams were coming true... He explained in his quiet way as a key on her bracelet began to pulse and shine what they each represented... One being the key to the sadness of a childhood that sometimes ached with loneliness, another being that which represented past loves that did not work out, another the key to his hopes for the future, another his ambitions for a better world for his love and their family. With each new revelation, each new dream or secret, her love for him glowed from her eyes and was reflected on her wrist from the glorious shining sun. At last each key had a definition... save all but one... and this key hid behind that shining sun. The key was small, not particularly elaborate but it was there, and of course she saw no reason not to ask what it might be for. He knew it would come, it always did, he hoped against all hope this time it would be different. He gently explained that she did not need to know about that key. It was his and his alone, his responsibility, his duty and she did not need to know what it was about. He explained that he loved her with all his heart, but this was his own very private commitment. He wanted her to understand that he did love her, but he needed this one thing, this one separateness, and that unless she let it come between them, it never would. He pleaded for her trust and then watched her as his heart sank. She frowned as she realized that he was going to keep a secret from her. All the joy she had felt at his sharing the keys to his kingdom came crashing down... She balled up her fists and put them in her lap, staring down at them she began to tremble with jealousy. Rage overtaking her as she realized that he would withhold any part of himself from her after all she had shared everything with him… Her eyes filling with tears she watched the sun's glow on her bracelet begin to fade... she brought her wrist close to her face and turned the heart charm over and watched as the diamonds winked out... and the rubies went dull.... Sadness overwhelmed him as she slipped the bracelet from her wrist and dropped it in his hand. Her tear filled eyes accusing him of destroying her world. He almost explained about trust, almost explained about unconditional love, but no... It had never worked before... and he knew it would be no different now... He stood and left her house, the bracelet in his pocket. He began to wonder if he would be able to repair the broken heart this time... or if at last he should just give up trying to find the trust and unconditional love that he had sworn so long ago existed. Maybe he should just go home and marry the woman his parents picked, though he knew she did not love him anymore than he loved her... very little time was left... heartsick he realized he only had a year left... in the five he had been given. He turned for a last look and found that the lovely young girl was watching out the window, her face tear-streaked, her mouth trembling. Thinking that maybe he could go back, maybe he could try to make her understand that the key was only a test of faith and trust. But when he looked into her eyes he saw nothing but anger and jealousy, where love had been before... Somewhere there just has to be a woman who will love him and trust him enough to believe that only the love he held for her mattered. Tomorrow he would begin anew searching for the next place to be, the next place to try, the next place to see where she might be. Return to Tales |