June didn’t set out looking for magic. She just wanted some quiet. Some peace from the noise of storms of everyday life that kept her feeling lost. Some space from the people who were demanding so much of her.
Also, it wasn’t magic that brought her to the Hollow. There were no fairies or magical globes of light or keys that she followed and came upon this enchanted place. It was just a for sale sign. An ordinary sign in an ordinary paper.
It was early in the morning and she was struggling to wake up. She knew she should get out of bed and start her day, but her bed was so warm and cozy and nothing she had to do today excited her. But she dragged herself out of bed anyway.
Shivering, she put on her old, shaggy robe that she had tossed on the floor the previous night. She knew she should take better care of her clothes but who has the energy at the end of the night to hang things? And it was so much easier to simply grab her clothes off the floor in the morning. So, on the floor it went. It’s not like she had any visitors to see the mess she made.
Clumsily, she headed into the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. Nothing fancy. A quick mix, poured into a mug of hot water. She filled the mug and placed it in the microwave to heat up. As the plate began to turn and the microwaved hummed it’s droning cadence, she picked up the newspaper that had been tossed on the counter a previous day, unread.
She unfolded the paper and started reading, glancing at the headlines. Stories of politics, crime, and natural disasters covered the page from top to bottom. Always the same. Nothing but terror everyday. It was hard to feel as if there just wasn’t any good left in this world.
Flipping through the pages, her eye stopped on a small ad. It was easy to miss among the flashy commercial sales ads, fighting for her attention. But maybe that is what caught her eye. No bright colors, words covering the entire box in a variety of fonts, sizes and exclamation points. Just a small box that simply said “FOR SALE. Farmhouse on several acres.”
No, June didn’t set out looking for magic, but magic had just found her.