The Hollow Hills

"Why are the hills hollow?"

The young child's question was innocent, naive, and asked in an earnestness that could not be persuaded, no matter how much he wanted to reroute her questions to another day... if ever.

"These are special hills," he said finally when his daughter's antics grew more lively as she awaited her beloved father's question. "Each of the hills has a waiting place for one person, and one person alone.  When it's their time to go on the next...."

For a moment, his voice halted, his thoughts splintering as he thought not only of how to word the answer, but also the renewed sense of loss. "When it's their time, that person and that person alone can enter. We won't see them after that, but it's kind of like a magic door to another world."

"And it was Mommy's turn? She got to go on another adventure?"

"Yes. Mommy knew that she wasn't going to get better, and so she started to get ready for her next adventure."

"Oh.... so that's why she got quiet. She had lots of planning to do. Did she know where she was going?"

"I think she had a pretty good idea. Sometimes, we don't know where our next adventure will start, or even when. That's why it's called an adventure- the biggest part is in trying to figure what's going to happen next."

She was quiet for a moment, her expression pensive as she took in the words. A long minute later, she looked up, searching her father's face, trusting that he would be able to answer her every question.

"Do you have a hollow hill with your name on it, Daddy? Are you gonna go on an adventure?"

He coughed, then, caught entirely off guard.

"I'm sure that there's one, somewhere out there, but I'm not ready for quite that kind of adventure yet. There's lots more places that I want to see, ones that I want you to come with me to discover."