I have seen a crystal in my dreams, and in that crystal there is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Her hair is the color of aquamarine, with eyes to match. She calls to me, “Come to the desert...”
Out in the desert there is a labyrinth beneath the sand, her prison for millennia. All the men steer clear of its monster-laden depths, and all women are forbidden to leave our village at all. But I have never been like the other women. While they grow up, marry the men who were their childhood friends and bear children, I yearn only for the woman in the crystal. She is being held against her will, and I have made a solemn promise that I will rescue her. The labyrinth will test me, but I have trained for this day all my life.
“You cannot go. The rule is for your own protection! Women are needed here in the village!” I hear my father’s voice behind me. He means well, but I cannot be bound by arbitrary rules. She has called me, and I must go to her. My brother’s sword hangs heavily on my belt. He understood, and wished me well.
“I have promised her. I must go to the lady in the crystal. I love her...” I confess the truth that has remained unspoken for so long. She needs me to free her from her prison, and I need her to free me from mine. I feel closer to her than anybody else in the world. I know she is the one I want to spend my life with, even though we have only talked in dreams. This village, this way of life is a trap which I cannot endure. I will not play a role laid out for me by others.
“You know nothing of love! You seek a mirage, and of a woman! Your mind has been twisted by dark magic.” My father is angry and scared, I can see it in his eyes. He is not used to rebellion. He tolerated me when I asked to learn to fight with a sword, when I started to wear men’s clothing, hoping I would grow out of it. Now he has revoked those blessings.
“I know that I must go. Perhaps she brings only danger, but I would rather take that risk then spend the rest of my life living out a lie, pretending to be an ordinary woman when I am not!” I stand my ground. I have made my choice, and nothing he says will change it. Not even his next words; “Take one step out of this village, and you will be banished forever!”
I take the step with the vision of her in my mind, and watch my father’s face grow stony as he casts me out from his heart. I feel the sting of the first test I have endured for you, but know this, my love; no matter what tests lie ahead for me, no matter what dangers cross my path, I will come and set you free.
Deviant Hearts Archive | Back to main index