The Heart Of Thorns: Chapter One

The Heart of Thorns

Chapter 1

By: Crystalina A. Scales

There was once a girl whose heart grew of thorns; she carried it shyly but appeared so bold many feared to hold it. Knowing this she felt it would be safe to hide it far away amongst the highest mountains in the tallest trees with the thickest foliage. So she set out to search for such a place.

 She had heard of such trees as tall as the sky where clouds danced among the thick growth of leaves and mountains smoother than the sands of the great deserts east. Knowing the journeys time she packed her satchel with bread and bottles of morning dew to sustain her till the end of her travels.

Time had past and her feet grew black with the hard cracks in the road…she saw the great hills and tall trees near, only a few miles away, but sadly her strength was gone and she collapsed resting her head against the hot ground closing her eyes to repose away the feverish pain.

Many creatures lived in these regions but only one saw the girl and grew curious, He was used to the birds singing for him, the small ones dancing along the low flowers, and the others running from his burly manner. Yes he was used to all this but to see the girl was something different.

The ground shook and her head nodded thinking it all a terror of dreams, sighing with fear and hope. When she opened her eyes she could no longer see the mountains, no longer see the trees nor the clouds dancing, the heat turned to cool and the light, a soft shadow casted down by a growing mountain…. no…. not a mountain, a giant.

“OH”, she cried curling her fingers along the dirt trying to take hold of something real. “Dear Giant Please…. I only wanted to see the trees give me pass thru your land” 

He smiled kneeling down closer “Hmmmmm…the trees? That is my home and what would you want with my home Lady?” he boomed a laugh standing straight up so fast it gave her a fright.

“Oh please don’t laugh so giant, you’ll frighten me and I can barely walk let alone runaway,” she said holding her knees close along her chin.

“Forgive me dear Lady I sometimes forget my bulky nature, If you truly want to see the trees let me carry you along your way” With this said he picked her up lightly cradling her gently up the hills, to the tallest trees with the thickest foliage.

Setting her down on a nearby branch he smiled and sat on a tall peak where he could behold her glances.

The town was so small to see from up here she wondered how small she looked to the giant; opening her satchel she took out the heart turning it around in her hands and cried knowing she may never see it again.

“What do you hold dear lady?"   He took a pipe from a nook in the mountain and began to light it watching the girl with a more inquisitive notion.

“Oh, it is my heart but, it is a bad heart for no one will hold it “ She bit her lip and watched the giant make great smokes from his little pipe. Some she swore resembled dragons swimming up to reach the stars! She giggled a little and almost forgot her sorrows.

“A bad heart?” He snickered with curling smoke coming from out his nostrils “How could such a pretty creature have such a bad heart? “

She blushed “You are kind but it is true, I cannot rid it of the barb it has grown” she looked down sad and wondered if it was of no use.

The Giant paused for a moment then turned his pipe down packing a fresh one to smoke. “Maybe, it only needs to be carved.” He smiled a silly grin with a flick of a light creating his great bellows of smoke, now looking of swimming ducks in a pond of pearly waters.

“You see this wood I smoke from? It was carved from that tree ….you see?” He pointed to a tree far away that looked gnarly and dead.

“But that tree is ugly and…the bark so callous how can such a thing become your beautiful pipe?” She looked at her heart and wondered if he could carve it into something just as beautiful making wonderful shapes.

He Laughed and furrowed his eyebrows in a jester like manner. “ Oh, I am sure I can manage, a lonely heart such as yours only needs tending to carve, let me have it and I will stipple and shape it to a pattern befitting of such a lady as you” He reached out a finger hoping she would entrust him in doing such a task.

She looked at him shyly but felt excited and wanted to kiss him and hug him for only mentioning the idea, “Yes! Okay thank you Giant I will trust you to make such beauty as you do with your pipe!” She let the heart go to the Giant feeling lighter and also sleepy. Falling to slumber along the trees branches she dreamt of dancing in the low flowers with knowing her new heart and Singing songs that only came from dreams.

The Giant sat all night with the heart turning and caressing every thorn, He felt it was a treasure she had given him and didn’t understand why she was so sad to carry such a thing. “It will carve well and when she wakes maybe she will stay with me and see the ones that would never hold with thorns, were never meant to be” With that said he carved away humming to himself songs only heard in dreams.

The Girl woke stretching along the tree and smiled at the sky “Giant where are you?” Looking around she heard a rumble near the mountain peak. Seeing him fast asleep her heart at his side, she climbed near to him slipping into his lap and marveled at the heart.

It was carved smoothly with small trails curling along the sides, flowers and moon beams from top to bottom but she was puzzled as some the thorns were still there.

“Wake up Giant …what have you done?" A start and a roar and the Giant stretched with a yawn slapping his lips and grinning into her eyes. He lightly held her near his lap and brought the heart closer for her to see.

“Look, it is still your heart because it was never bad, it was never ugly, it was only scorned and feared to be held, but your brambles once protected you from harm, and the ones who are true take the time to carve around, and see underneath the unyielding hardness ”.

It took her some time to understand, but with a smile and a glint of her eye she turned to the giant and kissed him holding him tight till he fell asleep once again.

And from that day the girl stayed with the giant, dancing among the low flowers and singing songs from dreams. While the giant laughed and smiled, bellowing his shape shifting smoke that moved along so fluently with such songs and dance that it could only be of fables. 


© 2010 Crystalina A. Scales