Walls

The walls were higher than I had expected.

Behind them was the tree, its soft pink blossoms falling wistfully about the garden. I smiled.

"Do you like it?" He asked me.

"Yes," I murmured. "It's beautiful here."

He took my hand and we strolled together through the garden.

"I've been waiting for you a long time," he said. "I wasn't sure you would remember."

I looked up at him, starry-eyed. "I could never forget you. Not a day went by that I didn't remember and smile because of all our memories."

"You cried often, too," he said. "I'm sorry for that."

As if by magic, a last gentle tear slipped down my cheek and he brushed it away. "Now that you're here, you won't ever cry again. Tears weren't born of this place."

"I believe you," I said.

"Good," he whispered softly. Then he pulled me into the stars, and we said goodnight for eternity. The world fell away beneath me, and I saw the sky growing closer. God's voice called out to us, and our hands parted for the last time. The end had come and gone, and the last beginning was over.