The golden gates parted and swung inward with a delicate chiming sound at the lightest of touches. The little girl stepped forward, blinking at the multicolored sunlight that streamed down from the stained-glass sky.
Topiary animals craned their necks at the sound of her feet on the cobblestoned path. Green shoots shot up from the rich soil on either side of her, delicate flowers budding and blooming into existence just for her. Up a gentle slope there was an orchard of trees, their low-hanging boughs laden with brightly-wrapped presents and cakes. A silver stream that sparkled like diamonds wound its way up the hill and among the trees. Fluttering faeries sang, giggled, and danced in air was full of delicate floral scents carried on a cool, soft breeze.
Just ahead, the path split and circled around a tall white statue of a winged angel, its arms spread out in a gesture of welcome. As the young girl’s face lifted up to see its own, it looked down at her.
“Welcome,” the angel said to the girl. “Welcome, to the Garden of Earthly Delights. All that you see here is yours to enjoy.”
“Why would there be an angel in a garden of earthly delights?” the girl asked.
“Um, er…” the angel said.
“You’re Satan, aren’t you?” she asked. It stared down at her impassively, saying nothing. “Come on, you might as well admit it… it’s pretty obvious.”
“…I might not be,” it said.
“Yes, you are,” she said. “Look, your horns are even showing.”
“What?” it said, slapping at its head to try to feel.
“Yeah, and they look like this,” the girl said, putting her thumb and forefinger up to her own forehead in the shape of an “L”.
“I am not a loser!” the angel said.
“Whatever,” she said, turning and walking back towards the gates. “It’s like you’re not even trying anymore.”
Love it.
Funny! Satan seems kind of like David Tennant the Doctor.
“A silver stream that sparkled like diamonds wounds* its way up the hill and among the trees.”
*wound
awesome