My Creation Story

Mother's voice sounded breathy as though she were whispering hurriedly.

"Glory. I am sad that I am no longer with you. I knew this day would come. Perhaps I should have prepared you better for my end so that you would be more strong on your own. But I felt strongly, perhaps too strongly, that innocence would serve you better than too much knowledge too soon. I have seen it before. Youth rising beyond their capabilities to fight against what they barely understood. And the atrocities men will invoke when they are afflicted with the unreasonableness of fear.

There is so much to tell you that a single letter can hardly share it all. I have staged letters throughout our wanderings so that as time went by, you would find them to provide you with information that would serve you in times of need.

For now, I impart these truths to you about your creation. You are a cross between a Human and a Nature Spirit. They call your kind Discommodious Beings because you are an inconvenience to society. You are more than they are. Dangerous if your temperament takes you there. Or a great help to those you deem worthy. You will be pursued for many reasons. Some will track you to dispose of you out of fear. Others will desire to capture you and wield you as a weapon. Still others will seek you to grant them favors. Many will honor you as a special being gifted to this world by Nature.

Mankind, my race of beings, is a crazy lot. We are complex and unpredictable. To me, WE humans in truth, are the Discommodious Beings but we are greater in number and therefore rule this Earth.

The realm of Nature has closed its doors to the realm of humankind. At least for now, and I know not how long more. Your Father was one of only a few that stepped through the veil to interact here. He did it only because he heard my cries as I was battered and abused by a vile group of men that caught me on a path through the woods near my childhood home. They had intent to have their way with me even though I lay battered and helpless on the forest floor barely clinging to life. Noble stepped from his Oak Tree and slew them with merely a burst of a single word. 'STOP!' His voice was more than his mortal targets could withstand. They dropped and never rose again. Their reign of terror on Earth forever ended. My ears, however, heard only the whispers of the wind in the trees. Lifting me from the ground, Noble carried me back through his Oak Tree and nurtured me back to health. The short time I lived in Noble's realm, I went from pubescent girl to grown woman.

I loved him as I could never love any human man. That hardly describes my feelings for him. We never interacted sexually the way humans do. But I could feel Noble merge with my essence and it was wonderful. I felt more alive than at any other time of my life. Neither of us knew that from those mergings for healing me would come you and your sister. Yes, there are two of you. You have a twin sister named Laurel.

Eventually, the Nature Spirits missed Noble. They reached out through the network of trees to find him. The roots of his Oak Tree had no choice but to respond to the call as thousands upon thousands of intertangled roots sent pulses out seeking Noble. Even had they not sought him, his relationship with me could not last. In his realm, he would remain as he was forever, never showing signs of aging and just ever acquiring knowledge. But here in my realm on Earth, Noble would wither and die like a fall leaf that dries and crumbles to dust after separation from its tree.

Likewise, I would unfortunately age rapidly in his realm at the rate of Nature. You and your sister had already sprouted from birth and grown strong and tall like saplings racing to become trees. In just six weeks of Earth Time, I had grown from age 12 to 22, endured a full pregnancy, and given birth. When I stepped back through the Oak Tree, all around me had changed but little even though I had advanced in age a full ten years and transitioned to motherhood. For this realm my absence was merely a span of weeks. And yet there I stood, an adult mother, holding hands with two toddlers not quite knowing what I should next do. I marched us away from the stench of the rotting corpses of the scoundrels that had attempted to end my life. But I did not go back to my home. How could I? There would be no way to explain such things. And in fear, our lives would be ended. So, the only option was to get us all safely as far away as possible.

Noble cautioned me that the Nature Spirits would be very displeased about you and your sister, and just as with fearful humans, they would seek to end you both. There was no other option except to keep your existence a secret. At this point you must be wondering since there were two of you, why were you the only one with me? Noble and I agreed that it would be unwise for both of you to be kept together. That it was better to separate you and move often so that no one had a chance to know us for very long. But who could be trusted to do this deed of caring for one of you if not me? Noble had an idea to which I agreed. He split me and grafted me to the spirit of his Oak Tree. It provided me a way to be Mother for each of you. But the trade off was that not only would I age at the rapid rate of the tree to which I was bound, but because I was split, it would be twice as fast. I would not live to see you fully grown. But I would be with you long enough.

I never spent any significant time with my second half. So, I have no way to know Laurel's experience with the me that raised her. I do know from that day in the woods after splitting me in two, I had parts of me that I no longer felt. I can only guess those pieces of me passed to the version of me that raised Laurel. My boldness, courage, and fierceness that I no longer had have surely heavily influenced who Laurel has become. This version of me that raised you was meek, cautious, and secretive. I do hope that the influence of my milder traits does not serve you poorly.

One last thing, Noble gave me gifts for each of you. I have passed them to you in your separate letters. Now is not the time to make use of them or to even know their purpose. But do not part with them. Not ever. You will need them and must have them with you for them to serve you.

You are dearly loved my child. I am so sorry we did not have more time together. I have attempted to serve you the best I can with the letters you will find when you have need.

And Glory, find the Holly Fort.

*****

I sat still as my Mother's voice faded away.

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Part 4 coming soon....

Part 1 here:

Part 2 here: