Tabitha’s tale is not one for the faint of heart, nor is it
one for those who refuse to believe in the unbelievable. For Tabitha’s tale is
a tale of the peculiar sorts, stewed in solitude, growth and the kind of magic
that has you believing in fairytales.
Tabitha has led a lonely life, yet through her hazel eyes
she cannot see this obvious fact. You see, the strange thing about loneliness
is that if one is born into it, they are sure not to understand what loneliness
truly is; for you have never indulged in the company of your own kind before,
and you do not understand what it is to not be lonely.
Allow me to begin at birth, a time in which Tabitha’s parents
abandoned tubby-baby Tabitha, and left her to grow up alone in the woods of
Lulluba. Mostly alone Tabitha would have indeed been in these woods, and surely
tubby-baby Tabitha would not have survived if it were not for the strange
creatures of the woods, The Lunduloo’s of Lulluba Woods.
The years went by and Tabitha grew, keeping company with the
many Lunduloo who would come and go on their journey through the Lulluba
woods. The Lunduloo were a creature like no other. Their features were very
similar to those of Tabitha’s very own, yet a fine furry moss of many earthy
shades grew all over the Lunduloo's skin. They were a short folk, never growing
taller than 4 feet in height; neither friendly nor mean, for the Lunduloo’s
could not communicate in a manner in which Tabitha could make sense of.
Overall the Lunduloo simply existed.
And then there were the Sparrowloo. Half Sparrow and half Lunduloo the Sparrowloo lived a simple
life of flight and squawk, and they were indeed amused by strange little
Tabitha. How unique she was with her fiery pumpkin coloured fur billowing out
of her head, and her porcelain skin covered in teensy tiny spots of a darker
shade. Tabitha spent her childhood playing games in the woods of Lulluba with
the cheeky Sparrowloo. She would make the strangest of sounds as she ran around
in a flurry attempting to catch the Sparrowloo in flight. Unbeknown to the
creatures of Lulluba Woods, these strange sounds were in fact the familiar
sound of a child's laughter to us Human folk.
Tabitha had been rather content. Yet as the years went by
and Tabitha grew, her height had become quite the concern for the Lunduloo and
Sparrowloo of Lulluba woods, upon which Tabitha found herself getting far few
passers-by. Until one gloomy day not even the most curious of Lunduloo or
Sparrowloo would pass by Tabitha. Not even for a sneaky glance at the strange
beast that stood taller than all the known creatures in the mystical woods of
Lulluba.
You see, imagine if everyone you ever knew was either the
same height as you or a slight smaller, no one ever dare grow past 4 feet tall.
And now imagine a creature like no other, with skin as white as snow and fur
only sprouting upon her head. How curious this creature must be. And now
imagine even further – if you dare – that this little creature girl with hair
the colour of fiery pumpkin would continue to grow, simply refusing to cease
reaching further heights! Making said creature girl taller than every other creature you had ever known
and visualised in your whole entire
existence! Most terrifying is the unknown.
And so every morning as Tabitha rose from her luminous green
bed of moss, she would proceed to the Oak tree stump that resided in the very
centre of her tree house. Here Tabitha would position her back against the Oak
trees stump and take out her sharp & shiny trinket to carve a line above
her head. And on this particular morning Tabitha let out a long and dreamy sigh, “Why, oh why, do I
continue to grow? I’ve passed the height of every Lunduloo!” And as the days went by, Tabitha only continued to grow ever
so slightly taller, and with her height came a longing that pretty little
Tabitha had never experienced inside of her. A longing that one-day she could
be lucky enough to meet someone just like her, someone who was different too.
One day no different to another, Tabitha started her usual
mid-morning stroll through the field of daisies. Lonely the fields now were,
Tabitha took solace in pausing at random moments to breathe in the essence of
the daisies and woods, remembering those days of her childhood when she was
welcomed with open arms and wings …the days when she wasn’t considered a giant
fire-fur alien that had appeared in the Lulluba Woods as a harmless tubby-bubby
only to grow into the tallest strangest creature in all of the woods that was
surely sent to execute every last Lunduloo and Sparrowloo that stepped within
the reach of her giant being…
The faint smile that had always remained upon
Tabitha’s face subsided as her pink tinted lips began to quiver. Stranger still
was the sensation as Tabitha’s big hazel eyes filled with a salty liquid, causing
her face to scrunch as it cascaded down her speckled cheeks. At that precise moment Tabitha finally understood the true
meaning of loneliness, and it weighed her down to the dirt and daisies beneath
her bare feet. As the day passed by Tabitha sat slumped and confused, alone whilst
contemplating her existence, “Who am I?
What am I? Why am I so strange?”
Stopped were her wonders upon hearing the most peculiar of
sounds, so peculiar it was that she understood every syllable. “How am I to know who
you are? But I can tell you I’m Frankie. Who am I to tell you
what you are? But I can tell you I’m a cat. And why are you
strange? Why, we’re all a little strange, are we not?”
Frankie the cat stood what had to be almost 6 whole feet
tall! Remarkable a creature he was in Tabitha’s widened eyes, for never in her
life had Tabitha seen such a creature, and surely she should have been afraid,
yet she could not help but sit and stare with the goofiest of smiles upon her
pretty little face. Could it be that Tabitha was indeed no longer so strange and
alone? Frankie returned Tabitha’s wide smile with the toothiest
grin that there had ever been in the whole of Lulluba Woods. Could it be that
giant toothy Frankie the cat was no longer so strange and alone?
Frankie helped Tabitha upon her feet and they strolled
through the field of daisies. Frankie spoke quick and with wit, yet Tabitha
did not mind for even a moment, as she was pleased as punch to be able to keep
up with Frankie’s tongue and understand every word of it.
The afternoon passed
quick as Tabitha and Frankie exchanged many useless nothings, and as the sun
began to set they reached what seemed to be the end of the Lulluba Woods. “It cannot be!”
Proclaimed Tabitha. Both Tabitha and Frankie exchanged a look of confusion mixed
with wonder as they examined the scene ahead of their path. There was a
rippling wall of water for which neither Tabitha nor Frankie could see where it
began nor where it ended. And in front of this wall stood the
two strange creatures hand-in-paw-in-awe, not quite sure where their next two
steps would take them.
Testing fate Frankie placed his paw forward and touched the
rippling wall of blue and purple water. Surprise clouded over Tabitha and
Frankie upon the realisation that Frankie’s paw had come out dry. Furthermore,
it was no longer a paw at all, for Frankie’s paw had come out a hand – almost identical to Tabitha’s! Confusion took over the two
strange creatures, as they stood completely and utterly bewildered examining
Frankie the cat’s used-to-be-paw. Till came a moment in which Tabitha and
Frankie’s confusion turned into an absurdly strong sense of curiosity, and they
looked at each other exchanging cheeky smiles, hand-in-hand, knowing what they must
do next.
Together Tabitha and Frankie leant their curious faces
forward through the rippling wall, and to their great surprise, it did not feel
even the slightest bit wet as the liquid substance touched their faces. Instead
the substance tingled Tabitha’s porcelain skin in the most delicious of
sensations as she fluttered her eyes open. Examining the
beautiful scene of nature in front of her, the biggest surprise of all occurred
as Tabitha faced Frankie the cat.
Frankie looked Tabitha in
her beautiful big hazel eyes; she was the sweetest of creatures Frankie had
ever seen. Frankie took in every delighted sparkle as Tabitha saw the truth
that had remained hidden inside of Frankie,
Frankie was no cat. His fur sat above his head, a combination of brown and
blonde. His eyes remained the colour of water, yet they seemed brighter than
they had appeared before. And As Tabitha and Frankie looked deep within each
other’s eyes it finally registered, they weren't so different after all.
The moment came to a halt as Tabitha felt a tug upon her
dress from the other side of the wall where her body remained, and
then she was gone. Frankie observed the beautiful infinite grounds in front of
him, before he too was yanked back into Lulluba Woods. A small
group of distressed Lunduloo stood before Tabitha and the fresh faced Frankie, yet as it had always been, Tabitha could not
understand what the Lunduloo were trying to communicate.
Sick and tired of not being able to follow their conversation, Tabitha and
Frankie had a stroke of genius at the same precise moment, and with that they both grabbed an arm each of the closest Lunduloo and thrust them
forth through the rippling wall, before abruptly pulling them back. The Lunduloo reappeared
as a human boy, his face in shock, and his hair a messy mop of dark brown, he
stammered upon his words, “Wha… wha… What
have you done to me?”
Silence fell upon all of the Lunduloo and a flock of
Sparrowloo that had flown in just in time to witness the miracle. Confusion and excitement flooded the face of all that had appeared, until the
not-so-strange little Tabitha began to giggle and clap her hands in a rapid
momentum, “We’re not so different
after all, it’s clear to me now. It doesn’t matter how we appear, nor does it
matter what tongue we speak; for deep down inside, the truth is that we are all
the same!”
Turning to the rippling wall of magic, Tabitha took the hand of Frankie the half-cat and said “Now
Frankie, how about an adventure?”
With that the two outcasts walked united through the wall which was to become known to those of Lulluba Woods as the
Mystical Wall of Truth, and known to Tabitha and Frankie as the gateway to adventure. And many adventures there would be beyond the walls mystique, for those who dare to believe. For beyond this wall lay a strange little place, a very strange place indeed…
&.the.bohemian.girl.xx.
