The Bee in the Castle 

One morning in a far off land there was a woman, Lola, who loved to wander the woods. But most of her day was spent stuck up inside of a castle. A place that she did not find cozy, or warm, let alone inviting. All it was a cold dimly lit gray castle without any vibrant colors or pretty things to look at. Lola thought of this castle to be a place she was stuck in just for now until she was able to go outside into the woods. 

“Mother, can I go for a walk today?” Lola would ask repeatedly day after day. 

For the most part Lola would get, “No you need to do too much around the castle to go for some silly little walk into the woods. You will stay inside until all the work is finished,” as a response. But, only once in a while when everything was clearly done and her father was out on a trip, “Yes, but only if you promise that you’ll be back way before a cloud shows in the sky.” 

Those days were the best days Lola could ever hope for. It always seems to be brighter and more colorful outside of the gray cold castle. Today was one of those days. A day where she can walk far and wide into the woods outside of her casile. But, all of the sudden fog starts to come into her view. She starts to stumble in the woods frantically looking for her way back to the castle. Soon enough, she realized she gotten lost in the woods. 

Lola looked back and forth looking for something that was familiar. But nothing did. Everything was different from what she had always remembered. Even straight behind Lola looked different to her eyes. Maybe it was the fog messing with her but either way, Lola started to lose her breath. 

“Come here, we can guide you home. Come here it’ll be safe in here,” a mysterious voice whispered sweetly, in a way that seems familiar. So Lola followed, nervously at first but somehow it seemed to be safe. She started following calmly, until she got to the point where she knew she wasn’t in the woods she had always walked in. The sounds were different. The ground felt different. But she couldn’t go back now. She was so deep into the woods that she couldn’t even hear the city foke that should've lived right by. 

Then all of a sudden, a worn old house shows up out of what seems like nowhere. Lola was very weary about the house and its strange presence right in front of her. The house was worn into the ground, with moss growing up the side. With the smell of moss and fresh fallen rain, an old woman showed up outside of the house. 

“Ahh you finally made it. I was starting to worry about where you had gone. Come, come, sit, sit. I have your favorite tea already on the table.”

“Umm who are you ma’am I don’t think we’ve met before.”

“Yes you did, I told you to come with me into the woods. I could have sworn you saw me.” 

Lola shakes her head no as she slowly starts to back away. 

“Hmm I guess you didn’t. Oh well dear you followed me anyways.”

“I thought it was someone sweet telling me a way out of the woods, not further into the woods,” Lola stuttered out to the ancient woman. 

“Oh no need for all of that, you must be cold come in. I'll lead you out as soon as you are warm. I promise you you haven’t lost any time in your world,” the strange woman said with a wink. 

“What do you mean my world,” Lola whispered as she slowly walked into the house. The same one that looked like a strong storm could blow it over. But somehow it was still standing. All with a strange feeling that a storm had no match for it. 

“I know you think this house shouldn’t be standing but I've kept well care of it. Just come inside you’ll see, just wait.” 

Just then when Lola and the woman were walking in the doorway of the house it opened up to a brightly lit room full of ornate golden trinkets. It was a well decorated living room that was as big as a mancens. Lola went back out the door to see that the house she walked into was indeed the one she saw when she first walked up. It was. Lola was so amazed that the little mossy house could turn into this massive room that was clean, and decorated to the tee. Even though Lola couldn’t exactly see that there were more rooms there were doors in almost every direction. As the sun shined in the golden colored room she felt safe and at home for the first time since Lola was a child. 

“See dear I know you would remember this place. Well at least I hoped you did used to live here before you went off that one stormy day,” the once old lady said now that she was a younger looking woman with the same sweet voice that she heard in the forest. 

“Where did the old woman go? What did you do to her?!”

“Sweety, sweety, don’t you remember me. Just think of me as a little older and you’ll see I'm the same woman I've always been.”

All of the sudden it all made sense to Lola. The interest in the woods. Why she never felt safe at the castle even though everyone said that was her home. It wasn’t. This old house in the woods was. Because it wasn’t an old house in the woods. It was a house that could not be touched by the normal person. A house unfamiliar to time itself. This was her home. 

“Why did I have to leave though? I don’t even remember your name now. You are just a strange woman to me.” 

“I could say the same thing about you. So, let's go to the basics. Hello my name is Elberta. What is your new given name?”

“What do you mean by ‘new given name’?”

I gave you a name but I highly doubt that they would give you the same name I did. So what is your name now?”

Oh. . . Well my name is now Lola. But some people call me Bee, like the animal, because I'm always stopping for flowers.”

With a little giggle Elberta responded, “I like that name I’ll call you Bee too then. But, only if that is fine by you.”

“Yes I think that will be fine with me.”

“Alright then Bee, welcome home.”

And with a swing of her arm the outside changed completely. It was no longer the woods Lola used to wander but now the lands of her dreams. Or what she was always told was her dreams. Beautiful yellow rolling hills with flowers dotted about them. The most magnificent animals that Lola had never seen before and to top all of it off a place for her to swim with gentle giant fish that look like big goldfish. Away from the noise and away from a castle that never felt like home. Lola was finally in a place that she could call home.