prolouge

Once upon a time in a country far across the sea, there stood a tall hill all alone. Many a man had come from a far to try and claim it, while others had come just to climb it. In the end however, all had failed.

One day, a small child set his sight on the tall hill and vowed that one day, “Maybe….” So the days went by and turned into years and the little boy grew older. Little by little, he worked his way around the bottom of the tall hill. It was there that he took his sweet time studying the base of the tall hill. He learned the names of each shrub and rock and soon knew all the crevasses hidden in them. Each day, his explorations led him higher and higher. As he slowly gained altitude, he still kept an intimacy with the tall hill and its land. In time, he learned to respect the tall hill, and eventually over time the tall hill returned his respect. Slowly, but surely as he grew into a teenager, the once little boy climbed onwards.

Then one day the teenager reached the top. The view that met his eyes would stay with him forever. It was not one of victory or ownership, but one of completeness within. For by this time, he knew every single rock, plant, bird, animal, and even insect that lived on the tall hill. And then out of the respect that he had for the tall hill, he asked its permission to build a huge house on top of it. The tall hill laughed at the youthful innocence of the teenager and gave him the permission he requested.

So the teenager became a man and built a huge house. Inside it he placed many valuable items that he had collected during his journey up the tall hill. He displayed the wealth of the tall hill lavishly, and the tall hill was honored and blessed him. In return of the tall hill’s blessing and generosity towards him, he protected the tall hill from other adventurers and those who wanted to use the tall hill for their evil purposes. Because of this, he prospered in all of his dealings. The huge house grew, and over time, it contained more items, items from both the tall hill and the outside world. In time, the man became the master of the tall hill, and none dared dishonor the tall hill or anything related to it.

One day the man left the tall hill and traveled to a faraway country. There he learned stories and myths of ancient demons that threatened to tear the world apart and destroy the tall hill. So he searched for a cure and a way to stop the ancient demons from destroying his home and the tall hill. When he came back, he carried a small box. Taking the small box secretly to the tall hill, he asked permission to keep it. The tall hill did not understand the significance of the small box, but agreed.

So the man dedicated the small box and its contents to the tall hill. Then silently, he created a hidden room inside the huge house just for the small box. When it was complete, he placed the small box inside and locked it up. Over the next few years, he visited the small box, but never once did he open it.

Then one day, the man fell in love. In the next few weeks, the love the man had towards another outgrew his interest in the small box and caused him to forget about it. The small box became jealous of the loss of attention and blamed it on the love the man had for another. So the small box started to develop hatred towards the man and his other.

A couple of years later, the man stumbled across the hidden room which contained the small box. Thinking that he would visit with the small box, he realized to his dismay that he had lost the key to the hidden room. Therefore the man gave up on the hidden room and the small box within it and left it in the shadows.

But hiding in the shadows of the hidden room, the small box lay containing a secret. The secret was one that could change lives and the course of the world and the tall hill. It was said that the owner of the secret could in time rule the man’s domain, for his domain had now grown to cover not only the tall hill but also other parts of the outside world. So men from far and wide came to search for the key in secret. But the key to the hidden room was hidden in time and with it the secret contained in the small box. Soon over time, though the mystery of the hidden room and the small box with the secret inside was tempting, few dared to spend their resources on the missing key. Seasons passed and years flew by and soon no one remembered the key and thought of the venture as meaningless for the hope that the door to the hidden room could be opened was gone. So the hidden room was forgotten and left to the dust bunnies standing guard.

Then one day a stranger walked by the hidden door. The stranger was not of the huge house or the tall hill, but was connected to them. Stopping at the dusty door, the stranger felt sorry for the hidden room and its forgotten state. So out of compassion, the stranger reached out and pressed a hand against the hardness and stubbornness of the door to the hidden room just to say “Hello.” And with that simple smile on the stranger’s face, the door to the hidden room with the small box that contained a secret opened. And the contents of the small box opened with out warning and filled the hidden room with its presence. And the secret that had been hidden away for so many years was let out for the stranger alone to hear. For a little small voice tenderly whispered, “I can love you, too….”