A Short Story by Adam Sill
Brianna charged the fountain in the middle of the vacant, muddy park. Mascara-stained tears ran down here face. She wore dirty, tattered clothes. Her eyes were red and vulnerability and instability were displayed in each step as she strode through the mud and grass. Her hands were clasped into fists as they sat motionless at her sides. When she reached the fountain she dropped to the ground and sat with her legs crossed as she cried. She looked down at her wrists to find the scars of her past mistakes. She fell silent and just sat, staring at her hands. Then she stood up again and screamed at the top of her lunges. She kicked the fountain and and hurt her foot so she fell to the floor once again.
"Okay." she said, "I'm ready."
Then a man walked up to her. He was wearing a white suit, and though he walked through the mud, it did not stain his clothes. He had a loving look imprinted on his face, and his eyes were filled with sympathy. "I have been waiting here for a while." He said. His voice sounded firm and disciplined, but at the same time it was soft and inviting. "Waiting for you to come back here."
"I know." Brianna said, "I know I shouldn't have left."
"Tell me, Brianna," he said, "What happened?"
"You know what happened." She answered
"I know. But do you?"
Brianna looked down at her wrists again. "I thought I was ready. But I wasn't. I thought that you were with me in my heart. I thought that all I had to do was let you take over and I would be okay."
"So you do not know what happened." The man said
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, not only have you failed to make the right decisions, but you fail to understand why you made the wrong decisions in the first place."
"No," she said, "I know why I failed. I know why I have made the wrong decisions. And it's what I just told you!"
"So you are saying I'm wrong?" the man asked.
"I-" Brianna started, but did not know what to say, "I'm sorry."
"I forgive you."
"Then why did I fail?"
"Think." The man said, "Think really hard about it and you will find the answer."
Brianna closed her eyes and thought hard. Millions of thoughts rushed through her mind and as she read through each one, the man read along until suddenly he said, "Stop. That one." Brianna stopped on the current thought she was reading through, then she spoke.
"I tried to do it on my own."
"Yes." the man said, "I bring you to this fountain to be at peace for a short period of time. So that it can be just the two of us. This fountain is not a place for you to sit for all eternity. You have to leave eventually. I will go with you, but you have to bring me with you."
"How?" she asked
The man held out his hand and a crystal bowl appeared in his palm. He walked over to the fountain and scooped out some water. "Stand up." he said.
Brianna did as he said. The man held the bowl over her head. Brianna looked up at the crystal bowl and stepped back away from the man
"No." the man said, "Trust me."
Brianna hesitated but eventually stepped back underneath the bowl. The man poured the water over Brianna's head and it washed over her entire body. She felt free and refreshed. When she looked down she saw that she was now wearing a beautiful white dress. She looked at her wrists to find that the scars had vanished. She looked up at the man's warm face and smiled. "This is how I want to stay." she said.
"Good." the man answered, "Whenever you become stained by darkness, I want you to pour this water over your body and you will be forgiven and freed of everything." The man held out his other hand and another crystal bowl appeared. He dipped both bowls into the fountain, scooping out as much water as possible. He then welded the two bowls together forming a crystal ball filled with the fountain water. He handed it to Brianna. "Keep this with you at all times. If you do this, your life will be prosperous. And remember, I am always with you, all you have to do is look for me.
