A Rose in Heaven and Earth

“Damn mosquitoes,” he mumbled to himself as he scratched at the red spot forming on his arm. Mark Swansberg was on his knees in his garden pulling at the weeds invading his garden bed. He loved gardening. He loved everything about it. Being out in nature, putting his hands in the soft soil, digging and placing seeds, anxiously awaiting the plants to grow, and just the rewarding feeling of having a beautiful garden to reflect his effort and time spent caring for it. Mark had lost the love of his life and the mother of his grown children a year and a half ago and he had planted a beautiful red rose bush in her memory. That red rose bush kept her alive and he didn’t mind taking hours out of his day to care and tend to this bush. He didn’t mind the time he spent caring for his wife when she had forgotten who he was and when she cried herself to sleep from pain.

“Good morning Mr. Swansberg!” Mark’s thoughts were broken. He looked up to find a tall man dressed in a black suit standing on the opposite side of his brown wooden fence. Mark smiled warmly and waved to the man without saying a word. He didn’t know who this man was, but he would never turn away a kind gesture. The man smiled back and then continued down the street. Mark chuckled to himself out of amusement over the gentleman’s random outburst.

Mark realized that he was hungry, so he dusted his gardening gloves off and slowly raised himself off the ground. He went back into the house and rummaged through the kitchen cabinets to find something to eat. He found a can of sardines, his favorite. His wife would always buy a dozen cans of sardines. The kitchen cabinets were always well stocked for snacking purposes. They made for a perfect snack. He hadn’t eaten sardines in a while, so he figured this can had been left over from the last time his wife went grocery shopping. He usually forgot to buy sardines when he went grocery shopping himself.

He prepared his sardines and went out to the porch to eat his snack and admire his garden. It was incredible how fast the plants had grown lately. They were full of life and their colors were wonderfully vibrant. He was very impressed with the results of his hard work. He sat back in his rocking chair and inhaled deeply. He closed his eyes and rested his head on the back of the chair.

“Lord bless my husband and keep him under your protection,” a whisper flowed through his thoughts, almost haunting. His wife’s sweet voice echoed in his mind. He smiled. He remembered when he would stand beside the door of the bedroom and listen to her praying for him. He loved that she cared so much about him and all she would ever think about was his wellbeing.

“I miss him so much Lord, I can’t stand being so far away from him,” the whisper grew louder and her voice was shaky as if she were crying. Mark’s eyes opened immediately. He looked around frantically. It sounded as if she were right beside him. He held his head in his hands and tried to calm himself. He had heard about people who would go insane after losing a loved one. They would imagine seeing their wife or husband and they would claim to hear their wife or husband’s voice. He didn’t want to end up that way. He tried to reestablish his sanity. He ignored what had happened and stood from the rocking chair. He walked back into his garden, put his gardening gloves on, and continued pulling weeds from the soil.

Hours passed and he was still working on his garden. He paused for a few minutes to remember how his wife used to pour him a cold glass of water while he worked. It was so refreshing and she would always time it just right. He smiled to himself and stood to grab a glass of cold water. It wouldn’t be the same,

because he hadn’t remembered to fill the pitcher with water and put it in the refrigerator so that it would be cold and ready to drink. He would probably have to put some ice in a glass and fill it up with water. Mark walked into the kitchen and swung the refrigerator door open. To his astonishment, there sat the pitcher of water, filled to the top. He must have filled it without even realizing he had done such a thing. He poured water out of the pitcher and into a glass. It was certainly refreshing. He looked at the empty glass and realized that his wife wasn’t completely gone. She still existed in his everyday activities.

Mark’s stomach growled. It was time for lunch, but he didn’t want to eat alone. He walked to the phone and dialed his oldest son’s number. The phone rang and rang with no response from his son. Mark let it ring for about five minutes. It was odd that not even the voicemail message was heard. He hung up and dialed his youngest daughter’s number. He received the same response, nothing. He was frustrated that his own children would ignore his phone calls. He prepared lunch and ate it alone at the kitchen table.

“I pray he has found the place where he is most happy and most comfortable.” Another beautiful whisper from his wife passed through his thoughts. He stopped and listened. “Lord, bless him with the gift of companionship, don’t let him be alone. Give him happiness and joy and the love he deserves. I can’t be with him any longer, I understand that, but I need you to give him the things he needs to be as happy as he was when he was with me.” Mark squeezed his eyes tightly to keep the tears from escaping. Was he really hearing her? Was she really praying for him up there?

Mark finished eating quickly and went back to his gardening. He didn’t want to go crazy. As he knelt down beside the base of the rose bush, he heard a loud panting from behind him. He turned to find a beautiful dog walking quickly in his direction. It was a massive dog with golden brown fur. It slowed its pace as it drew closer to where Mark was sitting. The dog gently nudged Mark’s arm, and then gracefully sat beside Mark and placed its head on Mark’s lap. The dog had a leash around its neck. Mark gently lifted the dog tag and read it. Engraved into the silver dog tag were the words “Hallow. If you find this dog, please return him to Mark Swansberg. Thank you.”

Mark was extremely puzzled by this. He’d never had a dog before, certainly never a dog named Hallow. This was a day filled with outrageous surprises that he couldn’t quite explain. This scared him more than it had before. Was he forgetting just like his wife had forgotten? Was the curse of growing old kicking in? The thought of such a thing terrified him. But, whether he had gotten a dog and forgotten or not, he had a beautiful and loyal dog sitting at his side and he had instantly fallen in love with the much needed company. He stood from where he was sitting, and so did the dog. He walked up the porch steps and the dog obediently followed at his side. Mark smiled. He had wanted a dog like this for so long. He had that now and that made him happy, but he really wished he knew when he had gotten such a wonderful dog and how it all happened. He spent the rest of the day with the dog, walking around with him, feeding him, and playing with him in the yard.

Around eleven o’clock, Mark knew it was time for bed. He could feel his brain insisting on sleep and his eyes not resisting the idea. Mark and Hallow made their way back into the house. Mark brushed his teeth and walked to his bedroom with Hallow continuously at his side. He tucked himself into bed and

Hallow gently laid himself beside the area of the blanket that covered Mark’s feet. Mark smiled as he closed his eyes.

A whisper accompanied him to sleep. “Lord… I can feel that he’s happy and I am thankful to you for that. I pray to you, when you decide that my time on this Earth is through, please take me directly to where my husband is up there. Please tell him that his children miss him so much and that I can’t wait to see him again…”