The Gift

This is the beginning of a drawing to illustrate the story,
and the end of a film I plan to make based on it. 

Long ago, in a garden planted by the Angels, there was a single rose bush. But, it was unlike the extravagant and unruly roses we see today. It was simple and elegant, and possessed only one blossom. The petals were said to contain venom from Satan himself, and grant immortality and wealth to whomever consumed one. The flower was so beautiful that men would be blinded by its grace if they ever laid eyes on it. But no man ever has, for it rests upon the peak of a wretched mountain covered in poison-tipped thorns. God placed it there as His most precious gift at the dawn of time to lure back his children on Earth. Every day, the Devil tries to diminish and replicate its glory in our gardens and homes, and draw us        away from our true desire. God sees this, but still He guides us toward the dangerous path up. He knows that the only way to ensure an eternity with us is to watch us suffer through pain and injury, trying in vain to reach something He has already given us.