myth for holly

The forest has a secret. But of course, you already knew that. There are so many secrets in the forest. But this secret was given to her by all the forests who had come before. It is some essential part of what makes a forest. There are more forests than we can imagine. But they don’t have much in common, except for this one thing. But cannot be articulated in words or gestures; it is something quite different and changing.

This forest decided to create a container for the secret, because she traveled a lot, and she had to keep it safe. So she brought all the trees to her. The builders of the forest. So the trees went to the place where the waters meet the sky where they asked for help because this secret was so elusive. It felt like the ripeness in a poem or the love in a story. It felt more than real. Because of this it was hard to hold, it could break your heart as your arms embraced it - even if you were a tree.

The water and the earth asked the trees for a bit of their leaves and bark and wove these fragments in with the sun into a container with sharp edges and skin so thick not even the strongest talon could break it. Only the sharpest knife could shape it. The container was shaped like a temple and placed in the forest. But the secret within was so strong it moved the temple to the edges of the forest where, it is said, the secret could be seen watching deer run, and birds soar, watching foxes hide and the sun rise and set. The secret was lonely and sang out for the fairies who came and whispered things through the thousand needles.

Then one day, on the coldest day of the year. On the coldest day in a very very long time, a lost hedgehog found their way to the moving temple and tapped slowly at the door. The wind had cracked her little toes so blood trailed behind her as she walked. It took a few moments. There was no wind. There were no leaves and the stars shone through the empty trees. A sigh floated through the night and then the temple opened, just enough for the hedgehog to pass through.

The holly will welcome you too. But you must come quietly, you must come gently