For the Love of Arthur

 

He had been walking for hours and the trees had begun to thin. The wild and unrestrained chaos of the forest had begun to change. Almost an order of sorts had begun to reveal itself and he found the undergrowth through which he had been struggling began to take on a path-like feel. The massive canopy that had blocked nearly every beam of sunlight had begun to thin and the air began to warm.

Feeling encouraged, Arthur paused and looked around. The forest had certainly taken on more of a park-like setting and colors other than brown and green started to reveal themselves. With the opening up and the greater sunlight, he felt drawn toward the order and beauty of this new realization. The further he traveled, the clearer the path became and the more motivated he became to continue onward.

While the motivation to keep moving had greatly increased, so did the difficulty of travel, as the way forward had taken on an incline. Continuing to push onward, the forest eventually opened up to a vast field and the brightness of a summer day. Looking to his left and right, the tree line extended beyond his line of vision. Stepping out into the wide-open field, he looked forward and for a moment, thought he saw someone, his first sighting for as long as he could remember. Increasing his pace, he hurried toward the possible friend, only to realize that it was no person at all but a statue.

Approaching the intricately carved granite figure, he circled it several times and marveled at its beauty and perfection. Reaching out and feeling it, he was in awe of its polished finish and the flawless execution of its production, for clearly someone had created it with great care. He stood and stared for quite some time and turned around, realizing that this was only one of many. Moving from statue to statue, his awe only increased, each more breathtaking than the last.

Soon there were small gardens of amazing beauty, the colors perfectly flowing from one to the next. Bubbling fountains and beautifully manicured hedges soon surrounded him. He came across a gazebo containing stunning paintings of people, of animals, and of landscapes. The grass beneath his feet had slowly changed into beautifully tended lawn, flower beds and pebbly paths with steppingstones.

Sitting on a bench, he could only marvel at the incredible beauty and tried to imagine the unbelievable number of hours, days and even years that must have been spent in crafting this grand garden. The day never seemed to come to an end and Arthur finally stood back up and continued his journey into this marvelous garden. The beauty of this wonderful place continued to grow and mature. The further he journeyed, the grander his view became. As he circled around a massive, yet delicately crafted rosebush, he bumped into a woman who was equally enthralled by this particular display of beauty. The two of them walked together in silence, enchanted by the overwhelming beauty. Finally, Arthur introduced himself and the woman reciprocated.

Eventually more and more people joined them, and Arthur found himself in the company of nearly a dozen people. Small talk was exchanged, and they all marveled at the beauty that surrounded them. A variety of opinions were given as to the nature and possible origin of this wondrous garden. The group continued to move further into the garden but then Arthur began to notice a change in the attention of the others. While he continued to be focused on the handiwork and beauty of the plants, flowers and even the architecture of the benches, the gazebos and the statues, the others began looking at the ground, scraping their feet through the dirt and commenting on the designs that were left.

Arthur stepped back to a far edge and began watching the others. Soon, no one else paid any attention to the beauty but had focused all of their attention on the dirt and the small scrapings they made with their feet. Perplexed by their behavior, he finally interrupted a debate taking place between two of them over the size of the arch one of them had made in the dirt. Many large and impressive words were exchanged over their artful endeavors and Arthur tried to redirect their attention to the beauty of the garden, but his efforts were futile.

Stepping away from the crowd, he began working his way back toward the way from which they had all come. Soon he was alone in the midst of the simple and beautiful garden. Moving from one display to the next, he still found himself overwhelmed by the beauty of it all but perplexed as well as to the odd misdirection of the others. “Toe marks in the dirt as art?” he thought to himself. “How could they even compare the two?”

Returning to the first gazebo he had found, he stepped inside and climbed up a small ladder onto the roof. From his new perspective, he could see the overall grand design of the entire garden. From his vantage point, he could see the small group of fellow travelers but still they stared at the ground and their odd obsession with the dirt. He could see for miles and even from this high up, the beauty of the garden was even more grand than before. He could see patterns and organization that he could not before as he stood within the garden itself.

The day continued on and he never grew tired of the beauty of the garden as a whole. As he watched, the small crowd that he joined him earlier slowly drifted off into the wild and untamed field that lay to the far left of the garden. Still they looked at the ground and argued among themselves.

Finally, Arthur climbed down from the roof of the gazebo and lay down on a bench at the entrance to the garden. Drifting off to sleep, it was the sound of hummingbirds, the scent of roses and the waving of the hydrangea bushes that filled his senses.