A Small Story Behind "Red Paradise"

[Don Atchison]

"I am a book never read," said Red Paradise to me. "I am a tale never told. I am an emotion never felt."

"I am an epic struggle known to all who have ever embarked on a journey to be, yet have not become."

"Be my instrument and through your soul will vibrate my pain."

And so I sat down with a pen and blank sheet of paper and scribbled the very first words of Red Paradise: I too will return to the dry dust, no matter my trepidition of that impending, eternal oblivion.

Those few words layed so heavy on my heart that the next thirty three thousand or so words carried with them that very spirit. I questioned, What is there truly after this life? Is there a greater being, called God?

Wrapped in those first few words are hidden secrets of deep passionate love, loss, and sorrow. Within those seventeen words relate someone who is torn, who is very old, and who possesses power beyond normal man; and hints at his dangerous nature.

As Red Paradise grew, I discovered that voice that came to me which seemed so certain.... wasn't so much making a statement, but was asking a question.

From that moment on, I had to reconsider the whole story. Cain, the voice, was not arrogant as I had thought. He was searching. He was....afraid.

What did all of this say about me? Was Cain more than a cruel vampire with unforgiveable sins on his hands? What did Cain represent at my own core?

Conflict. A troubled soul. Love, and its opposite. Forgiveness? Maybe.

The small story behind Red Paradise is as deep as the regions of space; talking about people caught in between worlds others have made.

All of this, while an immortal being trapped in the middle strives to find his own.

If he can.