I like to write stories that could be read to children, but that adults could also enjoy. To me storytelling is a creative way to preserve history, values and culture, while also using your imagination. When I write, I think about all the amazing places I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to over the years, and am able to imagine my own fantastical settings. I also like to include deeper meanings or lessons about nature and humanity that could be fun to learn while reading.
Elin and the Mountains
Once upon a time there was a little girl named Elin, who lived in a village on the outskirts of an old town. One late winter evening she was staring out her window towards the forested mountains near her home. She’d been looking out her window day and night all week, at a spot at the top of the mountain where there was a clearing, and sometimes a small billow of smoke could be seen rising, but there was no sight of a house or person around. She decided one night that the next morning she would try to reach this spot and see what was there. She laid in bed looking out the window until she finally fell asleep. That morning, Elin woke to the first light of day shining on her eyes, it was Saturday and the perfect day for an adventure. She quickly moved around, changing her clothes. She put on her white hat, purple gloves, her favorite green scarf, then laced up her brown boots and buttoned her jacket. Before leaving she took a cloth bag and placed an apple, a biscuit with raspberry jam, and a sealed glass jar of water inside, and wrapped them to take with her. Mother had made the biscuits for breakfast the night before and was sitting at the kitchen table drinking her morning tea when she saw Elin preparing for her adventure. “Where are you going Elin?” She looked at her daughter with a smile, knowing she had the same adventurous spirit as her father. “I want to go for a walk in the forest, can I please Mama?” “Yes of course, just don’t try to climb any mountains or get lost going too far. Come back by the afternoon for lunch, okay?” “Thank you! Okay!” “I love you!” “I love you too dear.”
Elin had just turned 11 years old a few weeks earlier and was already very responsible and curious. She had a big box in her room full of stones, acorns, leaves, pinecones, feathers – anything she could find. She enjoyed picking flowers and collecting rocks along the creek, and she often pretended to dance with fairies and have conversations with the animals she encountered. The world was open and welcoming, nothing scared her or hurt her. The home her father built was small but very comfortable, he worked as a carpenter and knew how to make anything with wood. He had travelled in his youth to learn about natural sciences, especially tree species and tools in carpentry. Mother was known as a healer in the village, though she refused to make money from it, she enjoyed creating balms and tinctures out of herbs. Anyone who needed her help would usually try to give her something in exchange, though mother never expected it and only wanted more herbs to plant. She could also weave baskets from grasses and had been teaching Elin how to do it recently. Everything they had was beautiful. They lived off their own garden vegetables and exchanged other goods with neighbors in the village, sometimes buying things in the town market. Folk in the village were all families with children and their own gardens. Neighbors would have feasts and bonfires, telling old myths of the ancient times. People lived a simple life and studied their own interests. Overall, they had been self-sufficient, and both Elin’s parents were hardworking and honest. Elin had not been completely honest with her mother, but she was determined to go on the adventure she had been pondering about night after night.
Out the door she went, just as a big gust of wind blew. But the cold air was refreshing and made her take off skipping with excitement. It had snowed a few weeks earlier, but now the ground was brown, and a few branches and plants were already beginning to bud. She looked down and saw a lone violet, the first flower she had seen all season. Bending down to look closely, she smiled and then kept going. As she walked, she passed the field and garden of her home, and went into the tall grasses towards the creek. She followed the creek until it brought her to the forest edge. Looking around, she could see the mountains and her home getting smaller. She paused and thought how long it would take to reach the clearing – she could see it still, though the perspective was different now than from her bedroom window. The incline was not very steep, but the mountain was wide, and densely forested. Even though Elin was young, she knew about the four directions. Her father had taught her very early about the sun’s location in the sky, even the names of some stars, and the moon phases – this was common knowledge for most children in the village. Elin looked towards the sun and knew it had risen from the East, in the direction of her home. She had to go Northwest to reach the clearing, which was now the direction she faced. Looking up she started to see a line of white smoke rising and it made her eyes widen with curiosity. Pausing one more time to look back at her house and around at the trees, she made sure she was directly beneath the location of the clearing so she could walk as straight up as possible. To make sure she would be able to recognize the path back, she took a stone from the ground and made a marking in the bark of a pine, “this way I’ll know where to come back to if I go again,” she said to herself, and to the tree as she rubbed the stone to carve a line. As she tossed the stone back to the ground, she looked down and saw another stone with a shiny blue gleam. “What’s this?” she said aloud. Slowly walking towards it, the stone began to shimmer and glow brighter. The wind began blowing again as Elin got closer with her basket, ready to add the strange stone to her collection.
With her hand slowly reaching down, time began to slow and the sounds around her began to muffle. Elin kept reaching, though she noticed it felt like a long time before she could get to the stone. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind nearly pushed her over and the very instant she touched the stone, everything around her flashed. Her surroundings had changed, all the colors were different, and the sounds were as if underwater. Elin fell forward and dropped the stone, but she was still there in this changed place. For the first time in her life, she felt the shutter of her own heart and was afraid, so confused. The forest was the same she noticed, but it was different. She saw her marking on the pine but when she looked for the sun to the East, she did not see her house anymore, or her mother’s garden and field – there was only a blurry emptiness of tall golden grass. She frantically picked up the shimmering stone and looked all around at the trees which were not brown anymore, but a purple-blue color. The season had stayed the same, but now all the budding plants glowed a brighter green. She began to hear the sounds of birds, echoing in the distance and noticed bright red berries shining in the shrubs. In her hand, she held the stone and asked aloud “What do I do now?” She began to cry and reach in her basket for water. Her items were still packed in the cloth and seemed unchanged, so she took a sip of water. The instant she drank, she felt an immense sense of comfort and did not want to cry anymore. She took another sip and felt even more confident – her curiosity reemerged, and her sense of wonder returned, she felt more like herself again. As another gust of wind blew, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and listened to all the murmurs and rustling which began to sound like voices whispering. She listened closer and then heard a clear answer to her question: “Keep going.”
Elin placed the stone in her basket and began to walk up the mountain. Every step she took, beneath her feet there was a glimmer – which made her giggle and dance around watching her feet. Her laughter echoed through the forest and she felt safe again, enjoying the walk with her goal of reaching the clearing still in mind. She began to hum to herself and was well on her way when out of the corner of her eye she saw something dash past her. A floating, bright orange light, and then another, and another. Soon many began to fly around her, darting too quickly for her to see their wings. But then she began to hear a humming, and it was what she’d been humming to herself – she began to smile and hum along again, when one bright orange light hovered directly in front of her face. She could see its sparkling wings and then a tiny face smiling back at her. “Fairies!” she yelled with excitement. She could see them all now more vividly, circling around her and flying ahead. They seemed to love her humming so much they began to dance and sparkle with joy. Elin was so amazed that she lost track of which way the clearing was and had already walked a bit in the wrong direction from all the twirling and distraction. There was no pathway, but she kept humming and walking, not noticing her footsteps were shimmering less. Only a few fairies remained now too, with one sitting on her shoulder for a ride, eventually drifting to sleep from the sound of her humming.
Elin’s humming got fainter as she approached a small pond and all but the fairy on her shoulder scattered as she neared. Stopping to look, she didn’t see her own reflection but instead the water looked like a dark hole. The fairy awoke from the silence and nudged Elin’s cheek, urgently pointing in the opposite direction. Its tiny voice yelled out “Don’t look too hard at the water!” – Elin wondered why as the fairy began to pull at her hair in an attempt to stop her. But Elin turned her face once more to the water. Suddenly a giant fanged spider popped out, with 8 eyes looking at Elin, she could see her white hat in its dark beady eyes. She screamed, clutching her basket, and started to run as the spider crawled up. The fairy instantly circled Elin, pulling her into a lasso of sparkling dust to help her move faster as she ran. Running as fast as possible, she noticed she was actually floating just above the ground, and far behind her now the spider had returned to its lair. As her feet landed back on the ground, the fairy also landed back onto Elin’s shoulder, but not without giving a smirking look of “I told you so” first. “I’m sorry,” Elin said, “now I think I’m really lost.” She could then see her footsteps were not shimmering anymore, and everything around her was unfamiliar, the forest was so colorful and magical that she didn’t mind much at first. But she realized she would need to be home by lunch and worried that wouldn’t be possible. She sat on a fallen log and looked at the sky.
The sun was still about midway to the center of the sky, so Elin had only been out for a little over an hour, there was still time. “Are you hungry?” Elin asked the fairy – the little fairy nodded and then zipped away behind some bushes. Elin opened the cloth bag to get her biscuit from the basket, she wrapped her apple back up and tucked it away. The fairy darted back with two wild strawberries, one in each hand. Fairies had the ability to make any wild fruit or vegetable grow faster in case it was hungry. “For you,” said the fairy, holding out one berry while taking a tiny bite out of the other. Elin gently took the strawberry and ate it. “Mmmmm! Thank you!” Then she broke off a little crumb of biscuit so the fairy could try. But the fairy said it could not eat anything cooked by humans, kindly declining the offer but encouraging Elin to finish up. Her mother’s biscuit was tastier than ever, she thought to herself, the flavors of raspberry and strawberry delighted her and gave her a burst of energy. Feeling more courageous again, Elin sought a way to the top of the mountain and figured she would eventually find the clearing. She began to hum again, the louder she hummed the happier she felt, and more fairies followed along again, soon she could see her footsteps were shimmering. Elin was sure she was going the right way.
Walking along, she stopped only to collect more items, picking up other little stones, leaves, feathers, pinecones, acorns, and putting them in her basket. She found so many beautiful items, all of them were special, colorful and had a glow. The blue shimmering stone was still at the bottom of the basket too, glowing brightly underneath all the other items placed inside. As she continued, Elin heard a strange whimpering nearby. To the right of her there was a big rock and what looked like a tail jostling. A few fairies flew over to check and came back laughing. Elin went closer and walked around the stone, seeing the back of its hooves, realizing it was an animal. “Are you okay?” Elin asked. Its white tail hairs whipped around, and hind legs kicked out. Elin backed up and could see that its head was stuck between the big rock and a tree.
Its front hooves were pushing against the rock attempting to free itself, but the ground was muddy from the struggle. As Elin walked towards its front, it nervously pushed its head upwards again, wedging itself further. “It’s okay, let me try to help,” said Elin. Then she gasped! It was a unicorn! The horn had gotten stuck when bent to graze, then lifting its head right into the silly trap. Fairies were watching and giggling as the unicorn neighed and snorted in agitation. Elin pushed down on the unicorn’s head with all her might, and just like that, it was free. “Ah! There you go!” she said while patting her hands and picking up her basket. The unicorn shook its mane and whinnied once more, and then to Elin’s astonishment uttered a “Thank you,” sheepishly. “Oh, you’re welcome,” she said, not questioning the fact that the animal could speak to her, she was just happy to hear one talk back. “How can I repay the favor?” said the unicorn. Unicorns had to return favors if someone helped them. “Um, well I’m just trying to get to the top of the mountain before noon time, there’s a clearing there I want to find. Do you know how to get there?” “A clearing? Hmm well I can take you to the mountain top to see. Get on my back.” The unicorn knelt and let Elin get on its back. The fairies scattered and darted forward, hopping onto fungi along old mossy barks – just the one remained again on Elin’s shoulder, having gotten attached to the girl’s kind spirit. Elin took hold of the unicorn’s mane and clasped the basket in her lap. “Hold on!” said the unicorn as it took off with a gallop. As she rode, she saw the forest from a new perspective – she felt the rushing wind as she looked at the tree branches above, and into the glowing forest. She saw a great big oak tree with massive roots, squirrels scampering around, deer grazing, and a hawk flying to its nest.
Soon they reached a large mossy patch that trailed towards a pathway. The unicorn trotted along, slowing to a walk as the trees began to thin out, Elin could tell they were reaching the top now, the air felt brisker. Looking at the open sky, the clouds were shades of pink moving across the deep blue sky, the sun’s golden rays shone down – “it’s nearing noon time, I’ll have to go home soon,” said Elin to the fairy… “I hope I can get home.” But the surroundings were so beautiful she was not bothered, she only hoped not to worry her parents.
Finally, they reached a gate made of stone and wooden posts, when the unicorn said, “This is as far as I can go, we are at the top. Behind the gate is the guardian’s home.” But Elin did not see a house, only an empty clearing. The unicorn knelt to let Elin get off. “Is the guardian friendly?” Elin asked. “He is very old and wise, as long as you are nice to the mountains, he is nice to you.” The unicorn watched as Elin turned to look through the cracks of the gate. “I love the mountains,” she whispered to herself. The gate latch suddenly opened with a gust of wind. The fairy’s bright light swirled around Elin, showering her with orange sparkles, then it hovered next to the unicorn and they both bowed towards Elin. “What’s that for?” she asked. The unicorn still bowed said, “You have been chosen.” With that, they both lifted their bow and Elin looked confused. The fairy zipped over to Elin’s ear and said, “Go in and meet the guardian, I will wait for you here.” Elin held out her finger and the fairy stood on it. She smiled big, “Thank you.” Then she went to the unicorn and took out the apple from her basket. “Here is a treat for letting me ride on your back.” Taking the apple from her hand, the unicorn neighed with happiness, apples were the its favorite. The apple had come from a villager’s plentiful orchard, but the unicorn said between bites that apples were very rare to find. “Thank you, that was delicious. Now I will also wait for you here and take you back to the forest edge.” Elin turned towards the open gate.
Once she stepped through, she saw a completely different sight. The clearing turned into a large cottage with a mill and surrounding garden where plants were budding and glowing with colors. As she approached the cottage steps, she noticed a few more violets sprouting up around the entrance and it made her smile. The great big wooden door had a heavy brass knocker, which Elin barely could lift. She managed to knock twice and then stood back a bit looking down into her basket. The door slowly opened, “Hello?” said a deep voice. “Hello!” Elin said. The guardian was very tall with a long grey beard and curly grey hair, bushy eyebrows and deep blue eyes. Hearing the small voice he looked down and said “Oh! Welcome child, I’ve been expecting you, come in.”
Elin hopped up the last big step to enter the door. Inside it was bright with large windows and a grand fireplace with a tray of wood ready to be put in. “I was just about to start the fire,” said the guardian. Elin watched as his big wrinkly hands tossed logs in and then as if by magic the fire began to roar as he turned to sit in his armchair. Elin sat on the rug in front of the fireplace and set her basket in front of her – it was glowing immensely now. “What’s that you’ve got in there?” Asked the guardian with a grandfatherly tone. “I like to collect things, see?” She showed him the basket and took out a few items. The blue shimmering stone was so bright she squinted as she picked it up. The guardian’s eyes widened, “Oh my, you have found my dimension stone – I have been looking for that for a few weeks!” He cleared his throat, “But then I realized it must be time… you were meant to find it.” Elin started to hand the stone to him, but he shook his hand and said, “No it belongs to you now, I don’t need it anymore.” Elin held the stone back towards her chest and said, “But when I picked it up, my house disappeared.” The guardian chuckled a bit and explained, “Yes, your home is still there but you are in the second dimension now. To cross back you’ll need to toss the stone up above your head twice and catch it both times to switch back to the first dimension. It will only work if you are in the forested mountains.”
Elin listened to the guardian, and the fire crackling in the background. She was so curious and asked many questions about his life and the house. She learned that the guardian was 200 years old and had lived on the mountain cottage since he was 22. He told the story of how he was a villager from the west side of the mountains, and had found the dimension stone at age 11 too while walking in the forest, “that is the age a guardian is selected, and at age 22 your abilities will become undeniably apparent to you,” he said. Before him, the guardian was a woman who came from a village to the south near a different creek along the mountain side, it switched from man to woman every time. Only villagers living near the mountain had been guardians, and as long as there were villagers the mountains could be protected – so long as people knew how to live peacefully. The line could be broken if there came a time when no more villagers lived near the mountains, or if the mountain was destroyed by greed. She learned the dimension stone fell to Earth from the sky and had been passed down since the first guardian. The line of guardians went back thousands of years, and little Elin could barely grasp all that she was being told. “You were chosen by the Sacred Wind, because of your love for the mountains, to be the next guardian when I pass away.” Feeling the new sense of responsibility, her face got very serious. Elin was quiet and realized mother was waiting for her, she’d better leave soon. “I.. I don’t know..” she got up, holding her basket, “but what about my parents?” “You will still see them and can be with them any time. You can tell them and even bring them to this dimension. If they believe you as you toss the stone, they will see the house once they pass the gate…only people who are invited can open the gate. Fear not young guardian, I will teach you how to use your powers and care for the mountains, come back whenever you like. Off you go now,” said the guardian. Elin knew there was still so much she didn’t understand, but she had to go for now. She thanked the guardian as he got up from his chair and walked slowly to the door. Elin wrapped the dimension stone in the cloth bag and tucked all her collections into the basket. The guardian shuffled to open the handle and pushed it wide open for her, Elin smiled, “Goodbye for now,” she said as she passed through the door, “Goodbye, little one,” his voice roared. He watched as she stepped down and then turned once more to wave, seeing the smoke rising from his cottage – she finally knew where it came from. He waved and closed the door.
Elin looked ahead to the gate and could see the sun was reaching towards the middle of the sky. As she passed through the wooden gate gently closed behind her, fairy and unicorn were still waiting, as promised. She skipped towards them, “Wow!” her mind was racing. She took out her glass jar of water and finished it, thirsty from asking questions. She took her hat off, setting it and the glass back into her basket. “Ahh!” – The fairy encircled Elin with sparkling dust and lifted her onto the unicorn, then plopped on her shoulder, Elin laughed and felt so cheerful. “Thank you for waiting and taking me back!” She looked up and the sky was past the center, it was afternoon and time to get back home. No remarks were made and the silence was comfortable. The unicorn started slowly down the mossy pathway, shadows of tree branches were swaying in the wind, as Elin felt it blow her hair. It was calm and a little warmer now, but she still had on her gloves and scarf. The forest thickened and Elin turned around to see no sign of the pathway anymore. “My house is to the East,” she said. The unicorn began to trot into a gallop, as Elin held on, trying not to lean or bounce around. She could still see the glowing purple and blue colors of all the trees, and hear the echoing birdsongs and rustling leaves, the unicorn’s graceful hooves thumping in the dirt. Her love for the mountains grew even more.
On their way, the fairy darted forward and soon Elin recognized it was where she had been humming and gotten lost, she was getting closer. Bright orange lights started hovering all around her and cheering, she could hear their tiny high pitched voices in unison. Then came many animals from the forest, she saw them all gather around throughout the forest and in the trees above, all looking at her. The unicorn stopped for just a moment and neighed loudly, then all the animals made their sound and it was like a symphony. Elin was smiling so big and saying “hello, hello” to any animal she could name. It seemed the news was out that Elin had met the guardian. The fairy came back to Elin’s ear and said “We love you!” Its wings flapped then it spun around up into the air, and the unicorn started walking again. The stone in her basket began to glow bright blue and the wind picked up. She uncovered it from the cloth, it shimmered and felt cool in her hand. She looked towards the opening in the trees, the unicorn slowed and snorted then knelt down on all fours, so Elin could get off. Once she stood up with her basket, unicorn got up and bent its neck down. Its horn still had a little mark on it from getting stuck, Elin reached out to touch the swirling bone of a horn, to dust off the bark that had been ground into the top of it. Once she did, it shone a bright silver and she stepped back to let the unicorn raise its head. Shaking its mane and stomping a front hoof, “Your genuine, nurturing kindness is very much appreciated.” She remembered then what the guardian had said about tossing the stone, looking down at her hand. It was time to try and she felt nervous. “You will see us again,” said the unicorn, while moving to the side of a nearby tree and finding a small patch of grass to nibble. “Try not to get stuck again!” she shouted as she walked forward a bit.
She walked along looking down at the stone and recognized the way out – she found the marking in the bark. The sun shone bright as Elin paused one more time to take in the colors and sounds of the dimension. She couldn’t see her house but she wanted to go home. “I hope this works.” With the basket on her arm, she tossed the stone up high over her head once and caught it with both hands. She threw it up high again and this time it fell slower, everything around her slowed, quieting for the split second it took to fall into her hands, the moment she caught it, all the sounds loudened and the speed of time came rushing back as Elin felt a gust of wind and nearly dropped her basket. She checked on her collected items and then wrapped the dimension stone back into the cloth bag, tucking it away. She looked up and around and saw brown trees again, the forest seemed much more still. She turned to see her home across the field and took off running.
Elin passed the creek and got closer to her mother’s garden, she started to slow down and pull at her scarf around her neck. The mountains were behind her and the only thing on Elin’s mind was how she would begin explaining the experience. Would they believe her, would they get upset? She walked now through the garden and approached the door. Looking down into her basket at the items, she lifted the cloth bag to peek at the dimension stone, but it was not glowing blue anymore – it looked like a regular brown stone. Elin gasped and hoped that it was supposed to be that way – the guardian hadn’t mentioned this part. She covered it back up and looked around to the porch of her home. As she started walking towards the door, a gust of wind made Elin’s hair fly in front of her eyes… she reached for the door handle to open it… and with the click of the lock – everything flipped and warped to darkness. Elin woke suddenly in her bed, breathing heavily and absolutely dumbfounded. She jumped up and looked out the window towards the mountains. It was nearly noon time, she could see the sun high in the sky, and the clearing was still there. She ran to the kitchen, her mother was eating a biscuit with raspberry jam. “Oh Elin, you slept late today, I just ate the last biscuit but I’m making lunch now if you’re hungry.” Elin was quiet and out of sorts, “What’s the matter dear?” Elin looked around to see her boots by the doorway and the basket – she ran to it and looked inside, but nothing was there. “It was all a dream,” she said. “Oh you must have had a wild one, your hair..” her mother walked over and touched Elin’s head. “What did you dream, my child?”
Elin sat down at the table and began to explain.. Her mother continued to prepare lunch. Elin went on and on, telling the whole story. Mother laughed and was in awe of her daughter’s imagination. Elin kept talking, as her father came through the door to join for lunch. He sat down listening and looked at mother. “What’s this dream about?” His voice said lovingly. “The mountains,” mother said as she brought over the meal she’d prepared. “There is a clearing, and I saw some smoke at night!” Elin said. Father knew the clearing was where a crew had been burning piles of brush and cutting trees for a building project during the day but didn’t say anything, only chewed his food. Elin wanted to go outside – Mother could tell, “I am going out to collect grasses for weaving, we can go for a walk together.” “I’ll come with you too,” said father. Elin anxiously finished her plate and went to get dressed. Then they all went out the back door and started towards the field. Mother had a large basket in hand and a scissor to cut grasses for weaving. Elin ran ahead, pointed towards where she’d been and yelled, “maybe it’s still there!” She thought about the marking she’d made in the tree bark.
She became so eager to find it, that she nagged at her mother for stopping to cut grasses. Father decided to tell Elin what the clearing was, but then she began to get teary eyed… “But that’s not nice to the mountain,” she said. They kept walking – father pulled Elin towards him as a breeze of cool wind blew. She pushed away after a moment and said “Can you tell them not to hurt the mountain?” Father nodded and said somewhat humorously, “Yes, dear I’ll tell them the guardian says so.” He looked at mother but they both were surprised when Elin wiped her tears away, sniffled and boldly said, “We need to protect the mountains!” Her parents let her go on, watching her run forward towards the entrance of the forest. She was determined to look for the marking. Soon Elin began to feel as if everything was rushing by, she could remember the colors and sounds. She stopped abruptly, breathing heavily, then began touching each tree and getting close to search for her marking. Stumbling over roots, she came to a pine and… there it was! Elin gasped, “It’s here!!”
She yelled and ran straight back to her parents as fast as possible. Her parents were happy and sweet to each other, father held the basket now and mother held his other hand. She urged them to come quick and look, and they did. They walked right up over the roots and looked at the tree with Elin, but now there was no clear marking, just the cracks in the bark that her parents thought she’d fooled for a scratch. “No it was here!” But her parents thought it was just her imagination. “Maybe it’s the bonfire stories just giving her wild dreams,” father said quietly to mother. They didn’t believe her. They smiled and said, “Okay Elin, let’s go back now, we aren’t climbing any mountains today.” Elin was distraught but couldn’t see the marking anymore either so she started questioning herself too and stopped believing. She started back with her parents, holding her mother’s hand. Elin looked back one more time, almost too sad to notice a tiny sparkle of orange fairy light flickering further up the way. Her eyes widened – she watched it fade then turned her head and kept quiet, but in her heart she believed.
Mother and Father stood on either side of her now and talked about the coming Spring. Elin started to hum softly and looked down at her feet as she walked. Nearly stepping on it, she saw a patch of violets and hopped to avoid it. Her parents both looked down to see the little flowers too, and smiled as they kept going. When Elin got home she looked one more time in the baskets she usually would take out with her on walks. Her mother called from the other room, “Elin, come let’s practice your weaving!” “Okay I’m coming!” She rushed around and looked in the boxes at the rocks and items she already had – all of them were different shapes and unique, she searched for the familiarity of the blue stone, but she couldn’t exactly remember what color it had turned.. Grey or brown, after it was blue. She closed the box and started to head towards her mother, when she noticed a cloth bag at the corner of her window sill. She went to open it and saw a sudden blue glimmer as she took the brown stone into her hands. Her heart beat fast… and she knew then it was all true. “Elin?!” She wrapped the stone back into the cloth and quickly placed it beneath her pillow then ran to her mother. She would have to figure out a way to make her parents believe one day, but for now, it was her secret. She’d have to grow up and find a way to get back to the guardian to learn more before she was 22. For now she had time, so she went to be with her mother and practiced weaving, while listening to her parents tell her all sorts of interesting things. They laughed and remarked on the walk then about what to eat for dinner. Evening came and the sunset was a beautiful pink and burning orange behind the mountains.
Elin went to bed that night with a full belly, clenching the dimension stone under her pillow when she saw a small billow of smoke rise in the distance. She got up slowly from her bed to look closer out the window. Mother walking by to her room, saw Elin standing and came to stand behind her. She didn’t see the smoke, but Elin still did. Gently patting Elin’s head, she said “I love you, get some sleep and have sweet dreams my darling. The mountains will be protected, I know.. you would be an excellent guardian.” …Elin smiled as mother guided her back to bed and tucked her in, then walked out of the room, “Goodnight.” Elin put her arm under the pillow and took the stone in her hand, thinking to herself that someday surely her parents would believe. Her mind was racing but she was sleepy… so she closed her eyes.
…. The End.
Writing Challenge (Day 1) 1/10/2022
“Transformation” it is all around and in us, “take what you love inside”
Reconnect with breath, use sense of taste
Use words:
Orchard
Shade
Impossible
Wing
Jubilance
Blossom
Short story:
Once there was a girl named Abilene who lived on a small farm across from an apple orchard. In the summer, she loved to go frolicking among the trees with a basket, picking up a few fallen apples to take back to her horse. The apple orchard belonged to her neighbors Mr. and Mrs. Engle, but they didn’t mind the girl, they enjoyed her jubilance and could see how happy it made the horse too. Occasionally, the girl would wave as she ran up and the neighbors always gave her a big smile. It was impossible not to chuckle at Abilene as she searched the ground, getting distracted by butterflies or birds that were also visiting, watching her slowly walk up to any little creature she’d see, only for it to flap its wings and surprise her every time. When Abilene went back to her horse in the pasture that was situated in front of her family’s farm, (15 min up!) she held up her hand, giving the horse juicy apples, one at a time until the basket was empty. The neighbors could sometimes see out of their front window the tiny image of her with the horse, standing beneath the shade of their Mulberry tree in the distance, sharing so generously. As the season changed and after the regular harvest, there were no more apples to be collected. Abilene would wait patiently all winter, just to see the apple blossoms in the Spring. Her excitement was always fresh even as she grew up year after year. The neighbors got older too… One summer afternoon Abilene went to collect a few apples while Mrs. Engle was outside on the porch. They waved and smiled at each other, as Abilene shouted, “Thank you for sharing with me all these years!” Mrs. Engle shouted back, “We have enough to share that’s for sure!” Once she filled her basket, Abilene headed back to her farmhouse, stopping only briefly to give the horse one apple. It was unusual, but the neighbor thought nothing of it, only wondering if the girl had ever tasted the apples for herself, assuming she finally would now. Later that evening, there was a knock on the neighbor’s door – it was Abilene carrying a warm apple pie. “This is for you,” she said to Mr. and Mrs. Engle. It smelled and looked delicious. “Oh, thank you so much dear! Did you ever get to taste the apples yourself?” Mrs. Engle asked. “Yes! They’re so good, everyone loves them! I just wanted to save enough apples to bake a pie, so my mother helped me prepare it.” Her parents were standing in their doorway across the way, smiling as Mrs. Engle happily took the dish with a cloth. “I hope you enjoy it and know that we are so grateful to have you as neighbors.” Mr. Engle waved to Abilene’s parents and said, “You tell your parents they raised a thoughtful young lady.” Everyone went to bed that night with full bellies and gratitude in their hearts.
Writing Challenge (Day 2) 1/11/2022
Trees as transformed pillars of light – letting go, feel through the body
Write about what you take in and what you can get rid of – nourishes you vs. letting go
Use words:
Bodies
Cinnamon
Fulfillment
Nameless
Floating
Cattails
Short story:
Early one misty morning, Esmerie walked into the forest, a familiar place that nourished her whole being. A place where she felt nameless, accepted by the nature surrounding her. Thoughts rushed through her head; how could she ever find fulfillment in this mundane life? Her spirit ached for more… The forest full of giant bodies of trees, so still and confident in their place, was her comfort. Esmerie scanned their roots and branches, looking for a way to let go of her doubts, a way to be more like the trees. (15 min up!) ‘Oh, what would they say if they could give advice?’ She thought, ‘maybe I’m just not listening close enough.’ In that moment, the breeze carried a dandelion seed in front of her face. She watched it, floating slowly, and decided to follow it. It continued down the path. Esmerie was entranced, mind blank and completely quiet for once. The little seed suddenly darted to the side, she quickened her pace and pinpointed where it finally landed. Smells of Pine and Cedar filled the air here. Taking a deep breath in, she went off trail towards its location and found herself standing on the edge of a small lake, in a place that looked new. Cattails bordered the perimeter nearby, swaying and seeming to nod at her. ‘Is this what I should do, go off trail?’ Esmerie wished to know the answer so badly. She stood for a while, staring at the ripples reflecting sunlight on the lake. She took in the glow, letting it warm her soul like a hot cup of cinnamon tea. Her perspective began to change, she no longer felt pressured by expectations. The forest had shown her that she could choose to follow a different route.
Channeling Passions 