The Void

One day, as I was working on the Row Gossip Chronicles, something tapped me on the shoulder.

I looked around. Nothing. I kept working, and it happened again. Still nothing. How strange. It was there, but definitely not there.

A few more times of this, flipping pages, editing and cleaning something up, and I almost fell over it.

You might wonder what the “it” was.

It was also ... nothing.

I had found the Void, and the Void, of course, stared at me accusingly, but utterly silent, as Voids are known to do.

Peeking into the Abyss ... the Void corrected me. NOT Abyss. Just Void. And now you made a gigantic Hole.

Wait, what? I did not make any such thing. I only posted a story.

The Void nodded and pointed at the last entry marked “a long time ago.”

OK, I see what you mean.

So a Void does not need boundaries, and once there is an end and beginning somewhere, Void turns into a Hole?

And if there is also darkness, it is an Abyss?

Still no, but also yes. With a deep sigh of impatience, it asked if I was going to fix it. I really should.

Me???? Fix it? Why? How, even? And why the impatience?

It was in no mood to explain itself or educate my obvious ignorance. It just demanded that it be fixed.

And again, what is “it” and how?

By creating retroactive stories? They are there somewhere as notes, starts, ideas, but ... that seems a lot, just to fill in a seasonal blank.

At least fix the edges, it suggested.

That sounds like a plan. A bandaid on a sinkhole. That I can do.

The Void rolled its eyes, or it felt like it, if it had eyes ... and I agreed to at least acknowledge the missing entries.

Rest assured, they are seasonal, and this year the Row Gossip Season started later, because ...

Just because. There were reasons. Good ones.

Maybe the vegetables were not in a gossiping mood; everything was not-dramatic, and really, for farming, that is very much preferable.

I also suspect that sometimes they keep their gossip to themselves.

Oh yes, they know when I am listening in. They pretend not to know so they can let me think that some things were my idea, and I'll allow it.

To challenge this, I would have to admit things, which I will not, and they would too, which they won't either.

It is a working arrangement.

And yes, this means there are some secrets. Probably.

And that is OK too.

by SBH