The Home

Part one what I hope to eventually be a truly amazing series.

The Gardener �" Prequel

Long before there was ever a garden, there was a home. And in this home resided a father and his son. This small family had been in this neighborhood longer than any other family, and continue to live there even now.

Before there was a home, there had been nothing. Nothing had been built, no suitable living arrangements established, nothing. All there was were supplies and hands to work with. At the start of the father and son's journey, the two are found walking up to their beginning task.

“Son, I believe it is time for us both to settle down. To build a home here and start a life,” said the father, “To begin, we must build our home. This should be a simple task...nothing too extravagant.”

“Ok, father. When would you like to begin?”

“Now would be good. I have a feeling we should finish rather quickly. I'm going to go gather supplies, cut down some trees, and start on the foundation. You, I need you to start clearing away the ground so I can prepare it for the foundation.”

The father and son both began their tasks. Being quick, young, and full of energy, the son finished first (and it wasn't because his job was purposefully smaller). The father began cutting down the trees as soon as the supplies were gathered.

Once the trees were cut down, the father dragged them over to the build site.

“So, what are we doing next!?” the son asked.

“First we must plan. In most situations, it is wise to plan your moves out before you act. Not only does it prevent mistakes, it makes the process smoother and faster.”

The father took out a pen and paper, and began drawing a diagram of what he wanted his home to be. He did this for hours, wasting and crumpling many failed papers due to a distaste for the design. Being frustrated with an inability to find a design he liked, the son asked if he could try.

“Sure, go ahead and give it a go,” said the father while laughing.

The son, giving the paper one long look, scribbled a few lines on the page. These scribbles turned into markings and these markings morphed into art and this art slowly formed into a beautiful and almost magic-like setting. He had drawn a large square in the center, and along it placed plants of every sort. The house he speckled with glass and with jewels. Around the home itself was a large wall with three gates guarding it on each side of the wall.

The son reluctantly handed his drawing back to his father and awaited his reply. Silence.

As a tear began to stream down the fathers eye, he whispered, “It's....perfect.”

With the plans all laid out, the two pitched up their tents and headed to bed.

The next day, the two woke up and began their work.

The father cleared the grass away and began to build the foundation of the house. Once that was finished, his son ran up to him and asked, “Why didn't you just start building the house?”

“In order for the house to stand and function properly, it must have a solid foundation. Any structure, either physical or a belief, must be based on solid ground. For a building, it is simple. Simply make one by hand. However, basing your ideas and beliefs on solid ground is entirely different. You must think and question yourself to see what is true and what is not. If your idea or belief lines up with what you already know to be true, then you can base your belief on that same foundation. If it doesn't...then you may wish to reconsider that idea.”

“So, you did this all, so that the house would be a stable place to live? I guess that makes sense. What are we doing next?”

“You and I will be building the house itself.”

Through the next few days both worked tirelessly on the house. First they began to build the outer structure and then worked inward from there. Once that had been finished, the glass panels and windows were put on the sides and the house was painted. The only thing left for the house itself was the furnishings.

“Well son, our home is nearly complete.”

“What else are we doing,” asked the son.

“Tomorrow I am going to begin building the wall and gates, while you begin building the furniture. I have set out instructions for how to make each thing we need.”

The father showed the son where he would be building the furniture the next day and then both went off to bed, only to wake up the next day to begin work again.

As the father began constructing the wall, brick by brick, the son began working on the first piece of furniture- a chair. This, however, was no ordinary chair. There was a certain aspect of it that made it special. A certain 'glow', if you will. The legs of this chair were large and had a clawed bottom, and the top created an archway laced with gold. The chair itself was colored white and was set in the middle of the home.

The son continued building the furniture, and the father had finished about a third of this reddish wall, coming now to the first gate. The father scrawled down twelve names on each gate of some friends of his that were arriving in a short while. These gates were a colored a milky white, with spheres lining the bars. These majestic walls suited the wall, and the wall suited the house.

The father continued on with each gate, and each section of wall. By the time he had finished with the wall, the son was just about done with the last piece of furniture. The father inspected the pieces made and went back to the son.

“You did really well on these! Y'know, if you ever want to, you have the makings of a great carpenter one day! I'm proud of you, son.”

“Thanks! The tables were a bit tough, but I think I got them down just right eventually. Lemme just put the final touches on this chair and I'll be all done.”

Once finished, the son and father took the furniture and placed the pieces in their respective positions in the house. With this complete, the house was finally fulfilled, or so they thought.

“It looks excellent, doesn't it son?”

“It may look nice, but something feels wrong. As if it were lacking something. It feels...empty.”

“That it is, that it is. Perhaps we could hire some servants to fill the home,” asked the father.

“Sure! When would you like to do that?”

“Definitely not today. Putting up the wall and gates has gotten me all tired. I'm about to go take a rest. We can look for some servants tomorrow morning.”

“Sounds good.”

The two headed off to bed in their new rooms. Both got snug under their covers, turned out the lights, and headed to sleep, preparing for the next day.

“Ok, son, you ready to go?”

“Just about, just let me finish tying my shoes and then I'll be out and ready.”

Once both were ready, they headed out and went searching for people to hire for their home. Walking for hours and finding nothing, finally a man was spotted a way back. The father ran up to the man, asking for his name, but received no reply. It was almost as if the man wasn't even in existence, just a passerby in a cosmological scale. This wasn't going to stop the father, however. He ran up to the man directly, and placed his hands on the man's shoulders and asked, “What's you name.”

Turning around abruptly, as if he didn't hear the footsteps patter on the ground behind him, he replied with a shaky, “Michael, sir. My name is Michael.”

“Well, Michael, my son and I are looking to hire some people to come work at my home. Would you be interested?”

“I don't think I'd be well suited for that, sir. I've been wandering around here for a while. Never really settled down. This is all I know, and I'm not sure I want to or am even ready to change that just yet.”

“Mike, if I can call you Mike, I don't care whether or not you believe you are suited for the job. I called your name for a reason, and I believe this is it. If it isn't, you can always go back to what you were doing if you don't find it satisfactory. What do ya say? Give me a chance?”

“I'll give you a month, but after that I make no guarantees about my staying.”

“Great! You can start tomorrow morning! Would you happen to know anyone that would be able to help as well? Maybe some family, perhaps?”

“I have a few brothers that could come help. One's named Gabriel, but he's off running a message to to another one of my other brothers. I suppose I could pass along your invitation to them, but they may not all agree, especially Luci. He isn't always co-operative. He' a hard worker though, and it one of the brightest lightbulbs of the bunch, if you catch my drift.”

“No worries. Just pass along the invitation, and I'll be sure to handle the rest. Thanks Michael.”

Michael went back on his regular path, probably on the way back to his family. The father and son did the same, as they headed back to their home.

“Well, it's still only mid-day. What do you want to do,” the father asked.

“Ummmm...how 'bout we go play catch outside?”

“Sounds good to me. Go grab the ball then I'll race you out to the back.”

After playing their game of catch for a few hours, the two went inside, and kicked back in the rocking chairs to relax. The father then looked on the shelf and saw the chess set he had crafted many years before.

“Hey son, you want to play a game of chess?”

“I don't really know how”

“That's fine, I'll teach ya. Here, come on over and have a seat near me. Now, you have six different pieces- the rook, the knight, the bishop, the queen, the king and the pawn. The goal is to keep your king from being captured, or checkmated. The rook moves in straight lines in any direction til it hits another piece or the edge of the board, the same with the bishop, except it goes diagonal. The queen is basically a combination of the rook and bishop. The knight moves in an 'L' like shape, and can jump pieces. Pawns are the most underestimated piece of the game. These sneaky little pieces can move two on their first move, and after that once. However, they can only attack diagonally. If you manage to get one to the other side, though, you can make it into any piece you want. The king is simple. He can move one square in any direction, as long as it won't lead to him being captured.”

“Sounds easy enough, lets go!”

The two player for hours. Despite the son still being very young, he managed to still give the old man a worthwhile challenge. During their last game, the son was nearing victory.

“Aaaand...checkmate! I got ya!”, the son yelled.

“Ah, beginners luck,” laughed the father, “but I think it's about time we both went off to bed. It's starting to get late. Good night son.”

“Goodnight.”

The two went into their rooms, just as they did the night before. The next morning, the two were awoken by a knock on the door coupled by a thunderous roar of conversation. Michael and his family had arrived.

The father scrambled to get dressed and presentable, while the son just curled back up in bed asking for just a few more minutes. The father then hurriedly ran down the stairs and the hall to greet his new guests and workers. He opened the door, and there stood Michael and Luci.

He shook both of their hands saying, “Welcome, welcome to my home! I take it you are here for the job positions. That's wonderful. You are all hired. Michael, if you could come here for a moment.”

“Sure, what is it?”

“I would like to make you the head of the servants and the head of security around here. If you could do that, I would much appreciate it.”

“I don't think I'm the one you should choose for that job, sir. Luci is the more influential one, and would probably be a better guide to them.”

“Michael, I asked you because I know you the most and trust you the most. You are more than capable of handling this task, and are the only one I believe was designed to do it properly.”

“I'll do my best.”

“That is all I ever ask. Now, if you could bring Gabriel over tome please.”

Michael grabbed Gabriel and sent him to the father.

“Thanks Michael. You may go, I wish to speak with Gabriel alone.”

“Yes sir.”

“Am I in trouble, sir,” Gabriel asked.

“Not in trouble at all, but rather the opposite. I wish to give you a promotion, of sorts. Michael told me you fancy yourself a bit of a messenger.”

“I suppose I am. Or at least I was before this.”

“Well, I would like you to be my personal messenger.”

“It would be an honor, sir.”

“Thank you, that is all.”

The servants began their work as intended, and the father and son went through their lives as normal. Everything was going smoothly until...