I was a warrior once, a Queen of Thorns, until I wasn’t. Another conquered her, softer and fiercer:
Love. And I could no longer contain her.
She brought longing, soft and gentle, yet cutting deeper than fear. I drowned in it silently.
I felt it in my bones, a call through the echoes of time.
Something was waiting, and all I could do was send my own longing back as an answer.
No words could contain it.

I gazed at the stars and knew: that is where I must go, no matter the cost.
A vow, somehow renewed. That night I dreamed of eternity.
The next morning I wept rivers, the weight of solitude pressing on me.
Unbearable, yet chosen, carved into me like a symbol of old.
That was when I glimpsed the garden beyond the veil for the first time,
only for a heartbeat, and then it was gone.

Days became eons. A voice, maybe not even mine, whispered:
“You must choose.” I sat in the dark, and fear rose like a swirling tide.
Yet longing did not stop; it was stronger.

And in the silence that followed, echoes stirred:
a kiss once pressed to my brow, blazing with love.
a voice naming me wanderer, saying only, “I see you.”
a shadow beneath the ash trees, commanding, “You must choose.”
a warmth brushing my heart, ancient as stone, unyielding as starlight.

Preparations, I thought. Perhaps a test of trust.
And I wondered: was it always the same one?
I could not tell. But it was true, I had to choose.
So I chose. Not the mundane, not the fairytale.
A real love, edged with fire and will,
yet tender enough to soothe and heal.
One with edges and flaws, intense and calm alike.

Then the veil appeared, thin as mist, the one I had to cross.
My steps were small, a walk of surrender to lay it all down at the gate.
I stood trembling. Love pressed sharp against my ribs.
But this time, I did not turn away. I let it cut me open.

I placed my hand on the gate and whispered, “Yes. I long. I always have.”
Then he was there. Eyes steady upon me.
I knew them; I had always known them.
He reached out, brushing my cheek. I shivered. “You… you waited.”
His lips curved in a faint smile. “It was your choice. Always.”
The veil rippled. Love surged, but I did not resist.
I surrendered. 

At the threshold, he kissed my forehead, love and devotion in his eyes.
The garden unfolded in radiant silence, ash trees dreaming,
roses unfurling, dahlias crowned in midnight.

I crossed, and the garden breathed around us, silver rivers singing, ash trees bowing in dream,
roses climbing the night sky. The black dahlias glowed, and for the first time,
the ache in me was not emptiness but fullness. He took my hand, and the world stilled.

Beyond us, constellations shifted, weaving patterns unseen.
And I knew: some vows stretch farther than gods, farther even than time.
The veil closed behind, soft as a sigh. Ahead, the garden opened, endless, waiting.
That’s where you will find us now, in the garden beyond the veil.