One night my best friend Elise couldn't sleep, so I was on my phone and I was texting her. I told her I would text her a story. I didn't know it'd turn out to be this long.. but, I texted each paragraph one after another, she kept asking for more to be added, so it turned into this. I wrote and thought of it on the spot. :) haha
Once upon a time... There was a man who lived alone in a house deep in a forest up on a hill. On the hill there were trees scattered around and the man would use the trees for his house. He wanted to make his house become a mansion someday, so every day he went out and cut logs, brought them back and added onto his house, taller and taller, and taller. Then one day, he built windows and he could see out from the top of his mansion from the hill all across the forest, where he spotted a clearing upon which he saw a river that ran through, and by the river was a bunch of animals and a child calling out for help. The man took off downstairs and ran to the clearing, but when he got there, there was no child, only an owl that told him ''if you're looking for help, it’s not because you're a child, you're an adult.'' The man thought about it and knew what it meant. The next day he heard the child asking for help but he didn't go this time. The owl flew to him, and said, ‘‘Just because I said something, doesn't mean you shouldn't help others'' so the man thought, "oh...ok." The next day, nobody cried for help and the owl told him, '' you're the one that needs help, stuck alone in a forest, in a house by yourself and surrounded by silence, waiting for human life''. The man knew he was right, so he started walking down the river.
As the man walked down the side of the river, he reached a spot where there was three stepping stones across the width of the river, so he decided to jump them. He hopped from one to the next, thinking he's finally doing something with his life, no matter how small an action, it's more than he had hoped for. He gets to the middle of the river and a gust of wind rushes at him that knocks him off balance and he wobbles and tumbles into the river. The man starts panting and clawing at the water and realizing that he can't swim, quickly tries to grab a hold of something. He grabs a branch hanging from the side and makes his way to the other side of the river. On this side are three frogs that say he needs to answer a riddle to pass. The first frog says, "Here's my riddle, what’s something you lay your head on at night, that sinks down to your level, that will hide you from your fears and hold your tears?" The man thinks about it and knows too well, he answers, "A pillow, I've cried many tears feeling all alone these years.'' The frog jumps into the water and the man gets to the next frog which asks "What's come so far this way that hasn't moved, it has its bends and keeps you under forever and ever, if it can.'' The man knows this only too well too, saying ''The river, I was almost under it...forever." The frog jumps into the water, and the last frog asks "What's in the sky that reflects ourselves, what's on the earth, that graces us, and in the water that lures us?'' And the man answers "Being alone, I've only had these things, peace, and quiet. Only peace can be found in heaven, on the ground, and death leads us there."
The man continues on. The man makes it to the next clearing and finds a soft patch of earth, and decides that he wants to camp there for the night. Tired from his travels he lays down and falls asleep, dreaming a better dream. He wakes up and starts heading out of the forest when he meets up with a family of deer. They don't run away but stay with him. Over the next days travel the deer open up and say they want to help as much as possible. As he sleeps the next night, the baby deer comes over and whispers in the man's ear "You're almost there.'' and goes away. He wakes up to find the family of deer all gone.. He sees the dear's trail leading back from where he came and decides to go on his own, weary from his travels he wonders how much further he can go on. He makes it to a part of the forest that has large cliffs rise up that would make his mansion look like the size of an ant hill.. an ant hill that got squished. He gets to the cliffs and sees jagged sharp edges sticking out, knowing he can use those to plant his feet, he sticks his hands out and starts climbing. He gets halfway to the top when an eagle soars by him several times then calls at him, and keeps yelling at the man '' you won't make it, you won't get there, you're going to fall, its too far, you'll get too tired!'' the man carries on. Reinforcing his thoughts to strengthen himself, saying "I can make it! I can do this!" he gets to the top, panting and out of breathe with beads of sweat going down his forehead.
He lays down and rolls over and the eagle joins him, and says, "‘never have I seen anyone persevere so far... good luck." The man drinks what's left of what he brought and carries on. He reaches a natural waterslide shaped out of the cliff on the other side, and decides to take it, fastest way, and most fun way. He splashes water all over his cuts from climbing, and splashes his face with water to clean the dirt off and clean his hair out all the way until he gets to the bottom. Now on the other side of the cliff, away from the forest he reaches a dirt stone path, with a sign pointing east reading, ''every step in life takes you closer to every goal you ever wanted''. He takes a step and feels confident enough he can keep going and never stop. He goes on the path walking for 3 kilometers until he sees a lit house at the edge with a sign that reads "mansion being built''.
He goes to the house and knocks on the door, the door opens to him and the owl climbs out quickly and closes the door shut. The owl then starts by saying "in all your life, you've done nothing but build a house, which has let you survive, but have you really lived your life? The last couple days, you figured out you were intelligent in riddles, the will to survive a thrashing current, you held kindness with animals, you persevered through by climbing the cliff with so much hate, and you enjoyed yourself at the end having fun, and you ended up still looking clean by the end of it. In all your life, you know yourself, you have not truly lived until now, and the reason is not to be alone. For all this you won't be.''
The owl opens the door to a beautiful house inside where the man walks in, as the owl flies away. A woman comes downstairs and asks ''do you by any chance know how to build a mansion? I need someone's help'' the man is thinking, ''this is the first time, in so long I've been needed, and not alone..'' he decides to help her. Each day he cuts logs, brings them and builds upon the house while the woman cooks him cookies and brings him milk. They get to know each other as the days go by, and the man asks '' have you ever felt lonely?'' The woman turns and says, ''I have, but not since you've come to visit me.'' In the end, the man finishes the mansion, and with it built they get married and live happily ever after.
