Once upon a time

Not all stories written have a happily ever after endings and some even have a moral. Many stories were written on a thread of truth and passed down through the generations.

Once upon a time there lived a maiden, who spent her days frolicking in the garden and caring for the animals of the hollow. The hills were many and the tree's thick that she could never ever see beyond the horizon. Many spoke of her existence, but they never ever went down into the hollow to see the maiden. The maiden thought this meant she was ugly and wasn't very smart and she refused to challenge the boundaries made by the hollow. Some of the restraints could not be seen to man nor animal but chained the mind so severely that the maiden became drowned in sorrow and loneliness. She took refuge to her bedroom and rarely stepped again into the hills of the hollow. She lay there trapped by the barriers of her mind and she no longer could hear the birds sing and the sun shine, she began to whither from the tears that flooded from the soul.

When all seemed impossible and darkness filled the hollow, a crack of light came through the trees. She woke from the dark spell that had been cast upon her and she saw a man, he was young and smart and attractive. He came to her for help and she felt a warmth grow insider of her by this extraordinary young mans need for help. Months went by and many things had happened and the maiden began to feel pretty and to smile again, she took to gardening and tending to the animals of the hollow. The young stranger who breathed life into the maiden found his needs filled and had to return to the far away land in which he lived. The maiden again felt sorrow and she spoke softly to him" " don't leave I will be lonely again" the young man wise beyond his years said "no you will not be lonely, you are beautiful and you are smart and you will seek the company of others." The maiden distraught cried " I don't want others I want you"

Days and weeks passed the young stranger returned to his homeland and the maiden met another stranger, the faceless man appeared to the maiden. He had a sense of humor and he made the maiden of the hollow laugh and laugh. Everything she did he knew the next step, he was not only smart but he was exciting. She felt such energy from the faceless man, she felt the beat of his heart and she began to dance in the clouds. Each day people outside the hollow would gaze into the sky to see the beautiful maiden dancing on the clouds. Months and years went by, the maiden became stronger and stepped beyond the hollow. The faceless one rarely came around anymore but she so wanted so to see him and to laugh and smile and dance upon the clouds. The faceless one spoke in riddles and the maiden of the hollow was confused by the message.

The maiden of the hollow did not understand the visits of the various strangers. Why did they come so quickly into her life and so quickly disappear? The maiden felt lost and though she went about her day she wondered what happened to the strangers and she wanted them to come back.

One day something magical happen another stranger came by, he was different than the others, he had the look of a king and he had a heart so wide that she could feel his embrace from the very first moment the came in contact. He showered his love down upon her like magic from the heavens. When she wanted to quit he nudged her gently, when she wanted to run he held her hand so she would slow down. He pulled her down from the clouds and taught her how to walk carefully through the doors of reality. Still troubled the maiden began like a puzzle to put the pieces of her life together. She opened the invisible door of the hollow and she went out into the world. She walked through life knowing she would never be alone again, She now understood that the strangers were leading her down a path all along and that from the very beginning she was never ever alone.

The king had many responsibilities and she weeped as he return to his kingdom to fulfill his destiny. But the maiden kept something from each she kept their love tucked away safely in her heart and whenever the tears would flow the sky would take on the bluest of blue and the sun would shine. People say to this day that if you look into the sky on a hot summer day right after a rain fall, you can still see the maiden and the many hearts she holds close

as she dances on clouds. .