THE WHITE ROSE IN THE SUNFLOWER FIELD

By Reggie

10/1/2008

He ran with all of his might, shaking the earth with his thundering steps. Even with a thousand cheetahs chasing in pursuit, he would easily outrun them all. He ran with intense focus, intense desire, and with all his might. No matter what, he was determined to reach his destination. There was only one thing on his mind -- her!

He was stopped suddenly by a tall building, covered with brick and laced with steel. There was only one door that led inside; he carefully opened it and stepped inside. There was nothing there, but just darkness and rough ground. He looked around briefly before discovering the back exit. He wasted no time and took off running again, but a little faster this time. A thousand men couldn't catch him, not even to touch the back of his neck. Suddenly, he came in view of a man who was dressed in regular clothes, maybe a lapel pin on his shirt, and dark shades on his eyes. He stopped right in front of the man with the shades and waited for a response.

"Ken?" The man spoke. "Why are you running?"

Ken, gasping for air, gave his response.

"Because, I need to get there!"

"Where?" the man said.

"With her." Ken said

"Why hurry?" the man asked.

"There isn't any hurry, but I really do need to get there." Ken replied.

"Why?" the man asked again.

"Because she needs me! I can't leave her to face the odds by herself!"

"But she has God!" the man said.

"I know!" Ken replied.

"So, why does she need you?" The man asked.

"Because she does; is that alright with you?" Ken replied sharply.

The man gave a huge ridiculous laugh.

"That's pathetic. Don't you know what happened last time?" He said.

"I know what happened last time, but this time is different. I know it. Something is really different!" Ken said.

"But you have stuff you need to do; you don't have time to think of someone else right now." the man said.

"What?" Ken shouted!

"You have things to get in order and you need to be concerned about yourself; worry about Ken right now, that's the most important thing."

"I don't think so." Ken protested.

"How do you figure?" The man asked.

"I know I have things to worry about, but I can't think of what's best for me. I have to think of her and what she needs. I know I need to take care of some things and they will get handled. I just can't ignore her and what she really wants right now. I can't be selfish anymore; I'm laying it aside. She's worth everything I have and what I don't." Ken explained.

"Boy, you are foolish. You know people think you're nuts and that they've been trying to keep you here because they think you've lost it."

"Who the heck cares! I know I need to get some things done before leaving and if it does get done, fine, it not then I don't really care! Just as long as she is finally happy and she gets what she needs. Right now, she needs me. I can't wait too much longer!" Ken said.

"Fine. Go on run to that place. You're just insane; why are you risking your life for this woman? Look at her family -- some of them don't even like you and they probably won't ever accept you! Are you willing to put up others who may not like the two of you together? Can you really give her what she really needs? How do you know she really loves you?" The man questioned.

Ken closed his eyes and gave a huge sigh.

"I don't know. But I know that I love her enough to do what is necessary for me to be self-less enough to consider her in everything and look out for her needs ahead of mine. All I can do is love her and do the best I can to get along with her family and friends no matter what. I matter what she thinks and I will work my hardest to help our relationship grow and work out. If that means that I must change some things I do for her sake, then I will. She loves me for who I am and I really adore her personality and who she is inside. I'd do absolutely anything for her, no matter what; no limits! Because I care about wanting her dreams to come true and I will work towards to helping her achieve what she wants in this life. I want her as my partner in life and I will stand and support her in anything that she does because I know that we serve the same God. Surely, He will take care of us."

The man smiled and finally moved out of the way, revealing a path that led to an unknown destination.

"Fine. Go. I can't stop you, but you'll be sorry." The man said.

"No, I won't be." Ken said

Within moments, he continued running again, but only much faster this time. He ran so fast that it seemed like the whole earth moved a thousand times than it did before. As he ran, he noticed another building up ahead; it was an old building but one very familiar. He quickly went inside and looked around. There were pictures of classrooms and people that looked familiar. He sensed that this was the place that he loved to spend time at, and was very important to him. As he searched for the exit, he noticed that it a small desk sat by the door. A book was placed on the surface. The book was rectangular in shape and on it's cover was etched three letters: W.B.C. Ken was inclined to look through the book and noticed that it contained the records of classes, people, and events that took place there. All of it he remembered exactly as written. At the end of the book, however, he was shocked to realize that pages were missing. Puzzled, he sat the book back down and as he did, a picture fell out from it. Looking at it, he smiled and folded it and placed it in his pocket. He started off running again.

This time, it was bit slower than usual, but it wasn't long before he ran into a large open field. He looked around and saw nothing but a bright but cloudy sky. The sun felt warm, the air was rich and pleasant, and there were plains all around him. Ken found himself standing in a plain surrounded by sunflowers, each one bustling it's head showing off it's beautiful yellow buds. Ken walked around and smelled them, and even picking one, and held it in his hand. It made him smile, but feel absolutely calm. As he made his way to the center of the field he noticed a red rose standing alone in a patch of grass. He went over to it but didn't pick it. He sat himself down, and gazed the beautiful rose. The buds were open, yielding its center to the sky towards the sun. He knelt to smell it's fragrance, which smelt of a dozen roses surrounded by a garden of daisies. In his mind, he felt the fragrance resemble a young woman with blue eyes, free-flowing chestnut hair, a soft and gentle smile, the frame of crane, and the spirit of dove. In his mind, this rose was the reason he was running. He tried with all his might to get there just so that he could finally have the rose in his hands. He took the rose and the followed a row of sunflowers to a small body of water. He took some water into his hands and washed off the rose before planting it back into the ground. This time, however, he stood beside it to make sure that it wouldn't be disturbed. He kissed it and cupped the head of the rose around with his hands. He then took the picture out from his pocket and laid it down beside the rose. He then closed his eyes and fell asleep, right beside the rose that he loved. As he turned to his side, he uttered something about the picture but it remained unclear. Within moments, he fell asleep and dreamed about his rose; after running so far and through many places and hardships, he finally ended up being beside it so that it wouldn't be alone ever again. With peace, incredible joy, and perfect happiness with the blessing of heaven, he slept embracing the most beautiful thing he had even found -- the white rose in the sunflower field!