The Hollow

When I awoke that day, nothing was the same as it had ever been before. The moment the morning sun hit my face I knew I was somewhere unfamiliar. I was lying in the middle of what seemed to be a field of tulips. I felt confused, did I wander off in my sleep? No, I mustn't have, I’d never seen any place like that before in my life. Was I dreaming? This seemed the most likely option but when I failed to rouse myself from rubbing my eyes or willing my sleep to end, I decided it must indeed be real. 

That is when the dread came. Someone must have taken me in the night and brought me to this place, but who, or why? I have no answers, but whoever the culprit must be coming back, I thought. I then decided to run. 

I took in the surroundings, I was in a field in the middle of nowhere, there were woods all around, whoever brought me here must be nearby, possibly watching me. What would he do to me? In the distance I could see mountains, beautiful mountains, if I hadn't been so afraid I would have stopped and admired their grandeur. After realizing I had no way of navigating the place, I began to get overwhelmed. Where could the next town be? Which way should I go?

I paused, if I was to survive it, I would need a level head. I smelled the air, there was a smell of flowers, along with something more familiar I could not place. I looked around the beautiful landscape, it was almost iridescent, everything glowing and reflecting light. It was marvelous, thinking back it should have hit me then. I was not anywhere near my home, nor would I be ever again.

I noticed a small opening, possibly a path made by an animal, into the woods, and decided to follow it, I mean, it was something, right? The forest was bursting with life, there were animals, which were unafraid of me, a small chipmunk even climbed onto my foot. How odd, I thought as I foraged on, looking for someone who could help me.

Continuing through the wood, I thought harder about how I’d gotten there. It didn't make sense why someone would kidnap me to throw me in a field alone and leave me there, there had to be another explanation. Maybe, I thought, it was a dream and it would just have to run its course before I woke, this thought calmed me. 

I continued my trek when I came across a small stream, I was watching the small fish swim along when I lost my footing and cut my hand on a rock when I landed headfirst in the stream. The pain brought something to my attention.

This was no dream.

The fear this realization brought me struck my senses. I stared around, desperately, I was a fool, this wasn’t some fairy tale dreamland. I noticed the familiar scent had gotten stronger, and I decided to keep along my path. After my fall, I was placing my feet gingerly along the small path through the trees. I could smell clearer, and the thought struck me, a bakery! 

My feet now moved quickly, with a purpose. I dashed along until.. A clearing! I ran towards the small shop with smoke coming from the chimney above and burst through the door. I didn’t stop until I was inside. I was the only person aside from the one behind the wooden counter. The man looked at me as if I had a toad on my head. I looked down to realize I was in my nightgown that I had gone to bed in.

“Oh..erm, I apologize,” I stammered, bringing my arms over myself in embarrassment. “Where exactly am I? I mean, what town is this?” I asked. The man looked me over, “town?” he asked as if the word were foreign to him. “Yes, where is this place? I must find my way back home. I do not know how I got here.” The man eyes me, he almost becomes standoffish, “you aren’t from here, are you?” he asked with a coy look in his eyes, I thought by the accusatory look in his eye that the truth was not the right answer. 

“Oh no, I am just,, from another place nearby, I have some old friends that live here, trying to find them that's all. I’ll be on my way,” I dashed out the door before I could see if he believed me. I didn’t know where I was, but I was not safe. 

I ran back into the wooded area, heavily breathing and trying not to panic. I wondered where I was and how I so desperately wanted to wake up and be back home. I looked through the trees, at the people scurrying around the little village, they were dressed rather oddly. Some wore garments that started as a skirt and converted into pants halfway down their legs. There was a menagerie of odd clothing, a sister to the first creation, pants that changed into a skirt. These were just two of the many odd clothing . Everyones hair was slicked back or was so large it must have disrupted their sight. No two people were alike.

There seemed to be no color coordination, every outfit was as bright and out-there as possible. I quickly realized I looked nothing like those people. People… are these people not.. People? He asked me if I was human, what does that mean? That these beings are not? If they aren’t, then what are they?

I was intrigued by them, I wanted to know more.

My curiosity from the time I was born got me into trouble, and it wouldn’t stop here. I was walking in the woods, just out of sight when I saw someone had hung clothes on a line to dry. I ran to them, they were barely damp, almost done drying. I took them. I put the clothes on, mimicking these people , if you could call them that, as best as I could. I used mud to smear on my eyes to make up for my lack of cosmetics. It would have to do. I used sap that had run down a nearby tree to slick my hair back in the same fashion as the others. I stepped out of the woods, and as I passed the small bakery I had been inside, all around the town there were makeshift homes, huts made from natural elements. Straw, mud, rocks, and sticks. I wanted to see how they were on the inside, but I did not have the gall to break into any of them,especially when I didn’t know who or what would be inside. I walked around the place for what must have been over an hour, taking in the people and how they spent their time. They were constantly outside, running into the woods and back, even the owners of the small shops left them unoccupied to go and have a stroll. 

I had not been paying attention when a woman approached me, “Hello,” she said in an airy voice that gave me a warm feeling on the inside. “Hi!” I replied back to her. She smiled, which comforted me. “Follow me,” she told me as she turned and walked towards one of the many huts around us. She stepped through the door and sat at a table carved from an old tree trunk. She eyes the chair across from her, inviting me to sit down. 

“I can tell you aren’t from here, how did you get here?”

Her questions caught me off guard, I was unsure of how to answer. She seemed so trustworthy. I decided to tell her, because I needed answers and I felt as if she would help me.

“I don’t know,” I said. She just looked at me. “I mean, I woke up in a tulip field and found my way here, and I can't figure out how to get back.”

“Ah, there is no going back child.”

“Excuse me? What do you mean?” I said.

“ I cannot tell you why or how you got here, because I don’t know, but I can say that it is fated for you to be here if you have found your way.” she told me calmly with a lighthearted smile. 

My head began to spin, why was I here, who is this lady, and what does it mean?

“I know it is confusing, we’ve actually never had a human show up at our hollow.” she told me.

“Human?” I questioned, “if not human, what are all of you?” I asked her.

“Well that is a complicated question dear, while human in nature we could be, to your understanding, nymphs or fairy people, or even forest spirits.” 

“Oh,’ I said in utter shock. What is happening. I have heard fairytales of course but now it seems I had found my way into one. 

“Confusing, I know, you will come to understand in the future.”

“How am I supposed to live here, I have no money, not clothes, no home, I,” 

“None of that matters here,” she cut me off.

Why was I here? This question racked my mind. I suppose I never really had fit in back home.I was a misfit. I was always picked on, always the outcast for being too odd. The only person who ever took any interest in me was a wide old lady at a farm stand I went to almost weekend. She taught me how to gather things from the woods, how to take care of animals and plants. It was becoming clearer to me that she was one of these people, and she must be who sent me here. She was the only woman I ever trusted, and that mustn’t falter now.

“Will people dislike me because I am human?” I blurted out.

The woman across from me looked up at me then spoke, “possibly some will be wary, but you mustn’t blame them, the only stories of humans they have heard are destructive and violent.”

I must have looked disturbed by this because she added, “as long as you are kind they will be kind in turn.”

I am a kind person, I thought, I will try extra hard to fit in. 

Over the next few weeks it became well known in the hollow that I was indeed a human, some asked me questions, others just listened, and some avoided me entirely. There was no money, and I stayed with the woman who accepted me into the community, I learned her name was Batellia. I tried to act just like them, do the same things, but I never could find people who I fit in with. I had accepted that I would never have any friends of my own. 

Batellia told me one evening that once everyone accepted me and I had asked the gods to stay that they would give me a new name, I had almost forgotten my old one entirely. I cried. No one liked me, I would be nameless forever.

“What is wrong dear?” Batellia asked as she arrived at the hut finding me curled into my blanket on the floor.

“I do not understand, I have been doing everything to make friends but they don’t like me,” I said.

“They do not like you because they do not know you,” she stated.

“But I do not fit in here, I am a misfit.” I told her.

“This is a town of misfits,”

I started to object but she continued, “when I arrived this was a town of differences, still is. Everyone looks the same to you because we are all odd to humans, but if you look closely then we are all different. Extraordinarily different. Try being your human self, they will accept you."

I took her advice, I stopped pretending to be what I thought these people would want and just being me instead. They enjoyed hearing my human stories over and over again. I made several friends and I loved them more than I had loved anyone before. They all had jobs, some were chefs, tailors, and other normal jobs sure. But I learned some were in charge of keeping the grass green, or keeping the river flowing. I still do not understand quite how they do it, but they keep nature in check. They are after all, ethereal beings. I can one day hope to be one of them. They are training me, teaching me to speak to animals, heal plants and the earth, and keep the balance. Soon they will ask their gods if I can join them. I have wanted nothing more for them to say yes, I love my new home and have forgotten my past life and past name. Nothing matters to me now more than this place, these people, the creatures, love and friendship, which I had never experienced before, is rampant here, and is not to be underestimated. After around six months of being accepted by the hollow, the gods were finally about to make their decision. I was waiting in the hut desperately hoping I had done enough. All the possible reasons for me not being allowed were going through my head, I had almost been certain the answer was no when I heard the door open and Batellia walked through it. She looked at me and smiled,

“Welcome Isonei.”