The Hollow Trunk

Step out of the shadows.----Michelle Liew

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Villagers often came by the hollow tree. The wind blew through its wiry branches every night, whispering names of lost souls. No one dared to go near it---except Mia.

Mia had nothing to fear, nothing to lose. She had lost everything in the hurricane---her home, her family, her hope. So she stepped in front of the tree and whispered her name to its hollow trunk.

The whispers died down. A gravelly voice answered from the depths of the trunk, "You are not forgotten. You are not lost."

Mia stumbled back. It was her voice---but much stronger, whole. A version of herself that grief had not touched.

She reached into the trunk with trembling hands, past withering vines, and pulled. Pulled herself free.

Dawn found her standing firm, no longer a pale shadow. The hollow tree stood tall, silent. There was no more whispering.

Mia stood against the echoes of her past---and won.

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This work is entirely original. Any AI tags is coincidental.