The Echo that answered back :)

Heisann! Akkurat nå er jeg sliten på en god måte etter en dag der ting har gått i ett frem til jeg kom hjem og så sporenstreks brukte to timer på å skrive ferdig et lite eventyr jeg har tenkt å dele her i dag sånn etter hvert. Og generelt sett er jeg ofte litt sliten for tiden, men det er også mye å drive med og mye som skjer og jeg har det i all hovedsak ganske fint for tiden. Ellers så har livet de siste dagene vært å lytte enda mer til Paddington-musikalcden, det har vært nye kunstverk som dette:

Og det har vært hyggelige ting som at jeg ble invitert med ut på både lang spasertur langs Akerselva OG restaurant av de der jeg har overgangsarbeid i går og det føltes så rørende at de ville inkludere meg, jeg satte skikkelig pris på det <3 

Ellers har jeg brukt litt mer penger enn planlagt de siste dagene fordi jeg a) kom over en skikkelig kul bukse som jeg faktisk fikk lyst på og som jeg skal bruke på fredag da jeg skal være den sofistikerte versjonen av meg selv for variasjons skyld, b) har mål om å boikotte Eurovision i år fordi det ikke er noe kos lenger uansett, men så vil det føles mer som et savn hvis jeg sitter hjemme i stua, så jeg har bestilt hotellovernatting fra 16 - 17 mai på Olavsgaard, sånn at jeg er garantert å ha noe kulere å drive med enn å se på tv den dagen det er Eurovision (sånn hva det sier om meg at jeg rømmer hjemmefra for å ikke risikere å bli fristet av å se noe jeg har mål om å ikke følge noe som helst med på i år vet jeg ikke, men ja) og c) glidelåsen på veska mi begynner å bli dårlig igjen etter at jeg fikk det fiksa for noen måneder siden og den veska er allerede ganske slitt og gammel uansett, så jeg har spontant bestilt en veske på nettet til snaut 300 kr som skal komme i posten. Og jeg er egentlig ganske fornuftig med penger, men det føltes som nyttige ting, så det får gå bra. 

Men da til historien min. Jeg fant ut at april er den nasjonale poesi-måneden, noe som har resultert i at det finnes flere dikt-utfordringer tilgjengelig på Instagram og så på den ene lista var en utfordring: "The Echo that answered back" og så har jeg jo egentlig nok med prosjekter (som musikalideer og boka jeg skriver på og alle tegneutfordringene jeg er med på), men i hodet mitt inspirerte den poesi-utfordringen ikke et dikt, men en liten historie i stedet. Og den ville jeg dele her (ideelt sett fører den til tilbakemeldinger som kan brukes til å gjøre historien enda bedre) fordi jeg ble ganske fornøyd, så nå tenkte jeg å dele historien min "The Echo that answered back", som er skrevet for alle som noen gang har følt seg ensom og alene eller som om de ikke passer helt inn noe sted og som trenger en fin trøstende tanke om at ekkoer noen ganger svarer deg tilbake <3 

God fornøyelse og så blogges vi om noen dager :) (Og jeg beklager at formateringen ikke ble helt optimal, men Word er av og til veldig kranglete når jeg har skrevet noe først på mobilen og så overført det til datamaskinen, dette var det beste jeg fikk til.)

 

The Echo that answered back

 

There lived in a valley an Echo. It was a tiny troll, barely bigger than most squirrels, but it had a big voice and great hearing, as well as a loneliness even greater. Once the troll had a family, it had never been big, but big enough. There was a dad that told him fairytales where the trolls always got the princess in the end. And a mom that gave the very best hugs, as well as telling him all about how to work as an Echo. Because Echoes were both a kind and small type of troll and a profession and they took the profession-part very seriously. They did exercises to improve their listening so that they could echo calls from the valley with splendor and when the little Echo asked why, his mom told him that it was meant to make people in the valley feel less alone. "No one deserves to feel lonely and if that echo can make someone feel seen, if only for a moment, it's really important," she liked to tell him and the little Echo nodded, feeling like he was of meaning himself. So he practiced and learnt and got really good at every part of being an Echo, both the troll and the profession. And time passed, the way time does. The Echo, though still small in size, grew older and at some point he was alone. And he thought he was prepared for that, but he wasn't. Because his parents had taught him a lot, but not what to do when he himself was lonely. What did you do when being an Echo was no longer enough? 

* 

In the valley there lived a girl that never really fit in. Not for lack of trying, because she really did try, but she found it so hard. The girl was named Midolin and to the few people that took the time to get to know her, she was in many ways beautiful. It was beauty in the way she got so enthusiastic about things, as if just being normal about stuff she loved was out of reach. Or in the way she cared so much about things that most people overlooked. Like snails or earth worms or finding rainbows in puddles or walking in the nearby woods and feeling a presence. To Midolin the forest was obviously more than just a forest; it had ghosts and fairies and magic in the air and she felt that most people were missing out on it, something that at times made her quite sad. Midolin lived in her own world and the only people that really got her was her father; a former light house keeper that still dreamt of the sea every night, and her grandma; to Midolin the proof that if you'd ever been a dancer, you never stopped being one, not really. Midolin's grandma still had the dancer inside her, although age tried it's hardest to get in the way and if you listened to Midolin's dads heart beats, it was like listening to a conch, you always heard the ocean instead, as if every heart beat was a wave against the shore. To Midolin they were her whole world and it felt like it should have been enough, but she still felt lonely. She didn't know how to adapt or change enough to be accepted and part of her also did like having strange quirks that made her unique, but it also was a lonesome existence. Midolin felt like just having one singular friend that wasn't family would be pure magic, but that seemed impossible. So she tried to enjoy her solitude and when it hurt too much she went to the top of the hill, shouting her name and finding comfort in the echo that came back. At least the echo cared. 

* 

 

Out of boredom mostly, the Echo gave himself a name. To  

 

his parents, calling him "My little Echo" had done its job, but now he felt like being something more. Deciding on a name though took some time, because there was like a whole buffet of options. Part of him wanted something sophisticated, something that sounded important and elegant, so he could be like "Confidius Consequential Echolian, first of his name, of the southern part of the valley, you have done well today, be seated and celebrate with newly baked pie." At the same time he didn't know if he'd earned something so grand, not in a universe where he could be a Ted or even a Bob. In the end he decided to go with something in-between, he gave himself the name Timeus Echo (though on rainy evenings he did add "first of his name, of the southern part of the valley, to the right of the most red apple tree, you do deserve hot chocolate for having conquered the cold") and it made him feel a bit more special, just that fact of having a name now to keep him company.  

* 

Armed with a name, Timeus, the Echo, woke up to that Thursday where everything changed. It didn't seem like a day that would make a difference, or at least not a positive one. It was rainy and gray and one of those days that felt meant for teacups and staying in bed all days with one or two small breaks when you listened to "On my own" from Les Miserables four times in a row while singing along with melancholy seeping into your bones. Timeus though went to work, being the professional Echo that he was, and started listening, ready to echo back everything he heard. Everything was going according to plan for a while and it was in fact a quite slow day, as if most people were staying inside. And  

then he heard a call and it seemed different, like the one calling was just as lonely as he was. At first Timeus did echo just what was said, while a female voice called "hello" and "are anyone out there", but then the voice called "thanks for listening" and for some reason that Timeus couldn't explain he decided to answer with "you're welcome." 

 

Observant readers, or even unobservant readers that have read at least one or two stories before, may have guessed it, but the female caller was of course Midolin. She'd had a day where she'd felt especially alone. Inside of Midolin there was this buzzing intense cacophony of feelings and thoughts and she didn't know what to do with it all, so soon as school was over, she'd decided to go for a walk. Luckily Midolin quite liked the rain, finding it freeing, and it was as if that walk in the rain made her mind a little more slow and gentle. She still felt lonely though and that made her walk to the top of the hill, seeking the comfort of an echo, never though expecting it to answer her back. As far as she knew, echoes didn't do that and yet, that was exactly what happened when she heard that "you're welcome", three little world that would be the start of a whole new story.  

"Who are you?" Midolin called, hoping with all her heart that she hadn't just imagined the whole thing, and then feeling much relief when she got the answer, "I'm Timeus, the Echo of this valley." 

"Cool," she said and continued, "I'm Midolin. I have to go home for dinner now, but I'll return tomorrow." 

She added a "yay" and felt a small thrill hearing an echoing "yay" in return.  

 

As Midolin walked home she felt warm, the way you do when drenched in sunshine. It didn't really make sense since it was still raining, but then again, perhaps that was what happened when you finally found a friend. If that was the case it was absolutely a feeling she could get used to. 

* 

For the next few weeks, Timeus and Midolin talked every day and Timeus felt so thankful to finally have a friend. He had of course heard about friends from his parents when they were still alive, but having not seen or experienced it in practice, it had felt like one of his father's fairytales. Now though he knew that it was real and did happen and he really appreciated it. The Echo did worry though, because what if Midolin at some point wanted to meet him? He couldn't imagine that she would want to be friends with a troll. And that fear, that she would want to meet settled in him, it became like a constant murmur, and yet each day brought a new conversation without her  

asking. And then,  after almost three weeks it happened. She asked. 

"I don't think that's a good idea," called Timeus. 

"Why not?" Midolin asked, sounding genuinely curious. 

"You wouldn't like me, and I don't wanna lose what we have now," called Timeus.   

"I'm sure you're mistaken," called Midolin, but Timeus stayed insistent. His experience was that no one liked trolls, not even when they in fact were very kind trolls.  

"Well, we'll talk again tomorrow," Midolin called, sounding disappointed. Timeus felt a bit guilty, although in his heart he really felt this was for the best. And that could have been the end of the story, if it wasn't for the fact that Midolin was a very curious person. 

* 

That evening Midolin was more quiet than usual, but when her father or grandma asked if there was anything wrong she still denied it. Midolin's grandma though was very observant and that night after Midolin had gone to bed, she came in and turned back on the light. 

"Did you know that your mother used to dance too?" Midolin's grandma asked. 

Midolin sat up in bed with great interest. She barely remembered her mother, since    she had died when Midolin was three years old, but she loved learning bits and pieces about her.  

"She did?" asked Midolin, who preferred not to dance herself, but still found it very fascinating to watch. 

"Yes, for many years. Like you she was a rare flower, never really like everyone else, but she always liked to say that dancing made her feel like having a friend," told Midolin's grandma with a smile. 

"But what if you find something that feels like a friend and it disappoints you?" asked Midolin. 

"If something really matters, I think it's still worth fighting for. I know your mother really fought when she got sick because she loved you so much, she liked to tell me that you and your father was like finding purpose and balance, that it gave her what dance for a long time had given her," told Midolin's grandma, before adding, "but sleep now our dearest Midolin, I just wanted you to know."  

As soon as Midolin's grandma had left the room Midolin made an important decision and that was to spend the next  

day, luckily a Saturday, looking for Timeus. Because she felt certain that she needed to know him, not just through calling him from the top of the hill. Whatever reason he had for not wanting to meet, Midolin thought he was wrong and she would prove that. Then she went back to bed, looking forward to the next day's grand adventure. 

* 

As Midolin went looking for him that next day, she wondered about what she'd find. She realized that she didn't really have an idea about what to expect, she just felt certain that it would be someone kind and thoughtful, things she'd already learned that the Echo was. She walked through the forest, to the top of the hill, to the bottom, looking around and she was about to give up, when she heard a very familiar voice. It was someone talking to himself, and Midolin quietly got closer. And there it was, a small troll that fussed about in a small garden, all the while talking about how it was for the best to not meet. From his conversation  Midolin realized that he was in fact the Echo and before she managed to stop herself, she said, "but you're wrong." 

The Echo called Timeus, suddenly stopped and Midolin walked towards him. 

"I'm sorry, but I was so curious about who the kind Echo I have been talking to was, and I have nothing against you, I still want us to be friends," she explained. 

"But I'm a troll. No one likes trolls, why should you be different," said Timeus with a sigh. 

"I just think that you being a troll is cool," said Midolin, before sitting down so they were eye to eye, and giving him a pat on his shoulder. She gave him a smile and Timeus looked up with tear-filled eyes. 

"Really?" he asked. 

"Of course," said Midolin, as if that should have been obvious.  

"Thank you," said Timeus with a smile so joyful that Midolin got a little teary-eyed herself. As she left him later that day, they'd already made plans to have a picnic the very next day. Midolin smiled, thinking about how this day had made a  

difference and brought them so much closer. She was happy that she'd decided to look for him. 

* 

As for Timeus, he felt a lot of feelings, too many to name them all, but most of all he felt a connection, because finally there was someone that cared, someone where he being a troll didn't matter, someone who saw him and then thought "friend". And it was so magical to not be alone anymore, it was the best feeling imaginable.  

 

That night he went up to the top of the hill where he layed down in the grass, looking up at a sky full of stars.  

"You don't know it, but the most wonderful things happen when you answer back," Timeus told the stars. He smiled, being so glad that he'd dared to be the Echo that answered back.  

* 

Dearest reader. Though many years have passed, there still is a valley with a hill that feels as if it's meant to call from. I hope you do. Not because there's any guarantee that someone will answer the call, but because just the belief that it may happen in itself is worth a lot. And what if someone does. Someone that makes you feel seen in a way that feels so new and exciting, someone that teaches you that you're not too strange and quirky. Or perhaps you can even be someone's echo yourself. If that is the case, just imagine me calling "I wish you a wonderful day." 

 

(And then the silence at first, but also the feeling that there's something in the air and then it is, as your voice, small at first and then bigger and bigger, answers "you too" and yet another story of finding a friend in an Echo begins.)