A Paradise or a Prison

The truck honked loudly as it came to a halt raising a cloud of dust around it. Shortly afterwards, the contents of its trunk were unpacked by an unloading party eight men strong. They boarded the large packed boxes into the house where two lovebirds stood at its balcony, serenading each other in a manner befitting newlyweds. Charles had bought this house a few weeks before the wedding and had surprised his wife Carissa with its keys during their valentines. He had been here before and viewed it as the perfect location for them to live a new life alone.

Charles loved the countryside more than his smile could express. Peaceful open  fields which were seemingly unconscious but wide awake with life springing from it. Walking around in the plain rugged field with no obstruction from seeing an endless carpet of green grass with a few patches where trees decorated it into some form of a mosaic. The scent of the lavender triggered a relaxation that beat any hot tub spa massage; wild roses gave of a rejuvenating aroma he was dying to wake up to in the morning while the perfume of the Lily’s aroused all his deepest feelings of happiness.

Charles pulled of a leaf from the wheat stalks and caressed it, taking every detail on its delicate yet coarse texture. A pull too hard would rip it off but too soft would scratch his finger. He dropped it and moved on to plucking out one of the wild roses getting pricked by a thorn as a consequence. Beautiful as they were dangerous, they were still the flowers he preferred over anything else. All these little things were all he ever dreamed off, being in the middle of nowhere and isolated with the love of his life. Perhaps what he loved the most was the way it was so silent, save for the howls of the wind blowing across the field and of waves from the lake crashing onto the rocky bay. The lakeside country house was all he ever wanted and finally being there with the woman he loved turned it into a true fairytale with the happy ever after being as wonderful as the story itself. It felt like he was in the Garden of Eden, with the two of them being all that mattered.

Growing up in the city were every minute something would disturb you, be it some impatient driver blowing their cars horns or some noisy teenage party in a nearby house. Freedom was never really available in the city with it being a hive of activity with crowds everywhere from grocery shopping to going to the bank. Space to walk freely was scarce, nearly every second you would rub shoulders with a stranger and always had to be mindful not to step on tomatoes belonging to the vendor ladies or crashing into a blind person. Sometimes even after being cautious you still needed to be extra alert when crossing the roads as some rogue drivers would speed during your crossing time. Driving didn’t make life any easier, traffic jams struck the road on a daily and had to be put as part of your daily schedule, two hours of the day at least. Without the traffic you had some terrible drivers intercepting you in risky places or a drunkard stomping into the highway while you’re on a speed too high to brake comfortably.

City life had been the bane to Charles life, with Carissa being the only thing that made him happy. She gave him the comfort the streets lacked and the peace he couldn’t find in the roads. A beauty that touched every one of his senses, it was still a miracle too hard to believe that he was finally married to her. The wildest dreams he had never had this in mind and now his reality became even more like dreamland when he landed his perfect house.

Carissa hadn’t had much of a lofty mood ever since she landed at her new home. The valentines got her so excited and all she wondered was what wonderful place she would be moving to. Would they move to an apartment atop the grand skyscrapers where she could see the city lights every night? Maybe they were moving to an uptown mansion judging from the large bunch of keys her husband had handed her during their honeymoon. Needless to say she was at the least disappointed when she found out that her husband had gotten them a house in the countryside, a place she resented.

The fault was partially hers in all truth; she was the one who always entertained the thoughts of Charles leaving the city for fresh air as he always said. “Follow your desires my love, where you go I go” were the sweet connotations she gave Charles whenever his boring rants on how the city life suffocated him. It never seemed that much a big deal to her but probably just the childish nature of her man which would only get appeased by her false comfort.

 Carissa loved the sound of horns being blown in the roads and the screeching of wheels, all these things gave her a sense of awareness. The quiet nature of the new place made her feel fatigued and disinterested, worsened by the monotonous crashing of the waves at the lake. It seemed like the only sounds she was exposed to here were those that were an absolute irritation. A frog’s croak had startled her all night and the crickets made a noise so annoying that she lost sleep. Shockingly enough Charles claimed they were a lullaby in his ears and “listening to nature brings true inner peace”.

It didn’t take long for her to despise the new place, walking in it was a struggle she couldn’t bear. The bushes and hard leaves tore at her tender soft skin leaving her with blisters that ruined the work a two year long skin care regimen had done. Allergies she never knew about came to play; first the wheezing caused by pollen being rejected by her body which welcomed smoke from factories and vehicle exhausts much more. Then her eyes began to swell up into red bulbs after one of the roses Charles tried to gift her irritated them. As if it could get any worse she developed a terrible rash with itching from neck to heel and spots all over. She looked at the mirror and burst into tears, noticing how the new location had turned her into an absolute monster.

Regrets came creeping into her head, not just the regrets of moving to this new place, but of settling for what she felt was safer. She remembered how Charles was always so nice and respectful, with an assured loyalty and honesty. He gave her a security no other man could, a guarantee that he was hers and hers alone. The only tragedy was she never got to love him, she just adored him. Love was what she had for his brother Rob who made her smile in everything he did. Rob had a fierce nature that took on anything making him the most attractive male figure she had known. If only he had been easier to understand and more committed to her maybe then she could have stayed with him forever. The night before her wedding with Charles was the best night ever, a night which she spends in Robs. An unforgettable night she thought of when she married Charles and remembered during their honeymoon and a night she craved. Perhaps this place wasn’t too bad, maybe it was just the distance between her and the real love of her life which was terrible. If it was Rob she was stuck with in undisturbed serenity that would have been a treat sweeter than cake. Location isn’t always about the place, it’s the people at that place who determine whether its prison or its paradise.