Short Story: The Third Knoll of Emong

“Places everyone!”

WEE-oww-WEE-oww.

“Everyone into the tree. Hey, little Alfredo, stop pushing your sister. Enter in an orderly fashion! Remain calm!”

Gwenda sat perched on the low-hanging branch above the emergency port dangling her toes just above her grandma’s favorite purple and red hat. The black daisy twirled carelessly in her hand as she counted the stripes on the petals.

WEE-oww-WEE-oww. The nearby branches sprung to life with the flashing red alarm lights.

“Gwenda! Let’s go!” Gladenia was the tightly wound leader of the knoll. Everyone was issued a walkie-talkie, which was to be tied around their neck, and no one was to ever leave the bounds of the security border. Unfortunately for Gwenda, Security Sally was also her grandmother.

“Grandma, please. I searched all day for this flower. I promise to keep it out of sight.”

Gladenia let out an exasperated noise as if she had spent a long day dealing with an unruly Wingpiper trying to steal her hat.

“Okay. Just this time. In you go.”

Gwenda hopped down from the sagging branch and skipped into the hole with her neighbors, causing her favorite polka-dotted hat to flop down over her left eye. Gladenia was the last inside, tightening all five bolts from top to bottom.

“You know the drill. Keep it down.”

They waited in silence.

GOUDOU. GOUDOU.

The tree shook violently, threatening to split in half, exposing them all to what they cowered from above. Once the shaking stopped, they could hear the muffled voices, which sounded as if they rained down from the sky.

The shaking returned after some time, knocking the emergency kits down. Gladenia had secured enough grass pouches to the ceiling of the hollow tree to sustain the entire village for many days after the ceased and Gwenda darted for the door.

“Gwenda! Remember the drills!” Gladenia barked her hefty, panicked voice at Gwenda, who was already free. “Fine. You are all free to return to what you were doing. But, stay alert. We don’t know when the creatures will return, and I need time to reset the alarms.”

The gnomes emerged from the crowded hole one at a time, breathing in the fresh forest air, and headed back to their homes.

Gwenda’s favorite time of day was approaching. The sun was fading, and she could see the faeries dancing among the tree branches high in the air with their florescent wings shining multi-colored lights through the forest. The faeries usually kept their distance. The deal was to share Third Knoll of Emong. The gnomes could build their houses low in the branches, while the faeries sang from above.

Each member of the village carefully crafted a home. Gladenia had built a home for Gwenda and herself that exerted prominence and hope. She found the perfect spot high off the ground to avoid small critters, tucked away in a quiet corner, facing the brilliant ocean sprawled in front of them. On windy days, they could smell the salt wafting in on the wind, filling their home with the happy smell of the unobtainable ocean. Gladenia had carefully chosen each piece of bark to create a whimsical roof, twisting in all directions up to the point, and she spent a full Summer dying the wood of their front door the hopeful color of a purple Lupine plant. Gwenda spent her nights lying on the crooked roof, watching the faeries dance from branch to branch, dreaming of joining them.

During the day, Gladenia was often too busy with village business to keep track of Gwenda, so she could sneak off for adventures. She longed to find starfish and seashells, to dangle from their crafted purple door, but she had to keep her time hidden. Her grandmother would never understand her craving for more beyond the Knoll. Gwenda took her time waltzing through the flowers on her way to the waves.

 She returned to the same ocean rock each day. It was solid, stable, yet precariously elongated above the waves, allowing the water to curl underneath where she sat, striking a balance between security and adventure. She settled into her chosen spot and stared out at the white-capped waves rushing in. If only I were a faerie. I bet they could come to the beach anytime they pleased, flying here without a hitch.

Just as she settled in, she felt a familiar thud.

GOUDOU. GOUDOU.

It can’t be…

GOUDOU. GOUDOU.

The shaking returned, getting closer and closer to her seat. Before she could gather her things, an enormous creature splashed down in a tide pool to her right, staring down at her with enormous blue eyes.

“Hi there! What’s your name?” The creature was speaking to her as if they were one and the same. “Oh, that’s okay. My grandma says you guys are shy sometimes. She says you hide, dancing to music as we drive along the trees. We always take time to stop and search for you on our way to the beach, but we can never see you. My grandma will be jealous. I hope it is okay I sit here. You don’t mind, do you? Good. What are you doing out here, anyway? Where are your friends? That’s okay. We can be best friends.”

Gwenda sat for a while, still as the rock she sat on, hoping not to be found out. She thought of all the possible escape routes, but none of them would allow her to outrun this creature. She decided to wait it out. The creature kept talking without a breath.

As she was panicking about how to escape, she saw the odd shaped forks at the end of the creature’s top branches reach down, squeeze her tight around her waist, and lift her into the air.

I can’t breathe. She is going to throw me into the water, isn’t she? Oh, how I wish I would have listened to granny.

The creature turned away from the water, however, and began skipping just as she loved to do, too. In this moment, Gwenda realized she was like the faeries she often dreamed to dance with on Summer nights. She soared through the air, allowing the wind to brush across her face as she flew. She twisted and turned through the tree-lined path. She closed her eyes, imagining beautiful wings sprouting out of her back, lifting her higher still, soaring above the tree line and over the waves.

“This is brilliant! Simply brilliant!” Gwenda let the words escape her mouth without thinking, as she soared, eyes closed, far in the sky.

Screeeech. They came to an abrupt halt and Gwenda jerked her eyes open, being pulled reluctantly back to reality.

“Did you just speak?” The creature was staring at her incredulously. “I knew it! I knew you could speak!” A wide-spread smile sprawled across her strange pale face. “We have to tell grandma! GRANDMA!”

“Wait.” The creature didn’t seem to hear her. “WAIT!”

“What?”

“You can’t take me to your grandma.”

“But she has to see you. She has spent her whole life waiting for you.”

“You have to let me go home.”

“Can you please just…”

“I’m sorry.”

The creature reluctantly bent down to the ground with her hand outstretched. Gwenda paused, holding her breath.

“Here. Take this. My grandma says they are a way to bring the ocean home with us.” She held an oddly shaped seashell in her hand.

“Where did you find this?” Gwenda had been told legends about shells found in peculiar tide pools, but she knew they had never been found by one of her kind.

“We have hundreds of them. Grandma and I like to hunt for them in tide pools. Thanks for sharing your rock.”

“Here.” Gwenda slid her gnomish hat off her head and swapped it for the shell. “For helping me fly.”

Gwenda slipped off back into the tree line and headed for home. This time, she rushed through the flower patches and she didn’t stop to dream among the faeries. She rushed until she saw the stark purple door underneath the winding roof. Gladenia sat on the piled branches leading up to the door, waiting anxiously.

“Where have you been?” Gladenia smelled the undeniable sea salt on Gwenda’s hair. “You went to the ocean? You crossed the line!”

“Grandma. Look!” Gwenda held her hand out, showing the seashell to Gladenia. For the first time, she saw her grandma speechless. A single tear streamed down her face.

“Where did you find this?” Gladenia could barely find the words as her eyes filled with tears.

“Somewhere among the tree-tops.”

“I have heard only legends of the hope found in such a thing.”

Gladenia pulled a sturdy blade of rich grass out of the patch next to her, wove it carefully through the shell crevasses, and tied the end securely. She placed the shell against the purple, allowing it to dangle from their door.

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