I come from a long line of the sleepers, as they called us.
Back before this century. Had to be 1800’s.
We live long lives and take long rests.
Our days are shorter; we’ve seen so many of them.
I myself am well into being past my 150th birthday and am still considered youthful.
You won’t have to see us, so don’t be alarmed.
We live deep in the woods. Can camouflage like trees and have faces that look as though they were carved.
But every twenty or thirty years, I go to town to meet the new folk.
They’re usually shocked by my height. 7’4. Then they’re shocked by my clothes. (Made from bark). Then they’re interested in where I come from and if I told them that we are and were before, they wouldn’t believe. So, I just tell them I’m Frank, I’m new, and thanks for being welcoming.
Back when I was young enough to look like normal people, I always felt my condition differed. Didn’t have the same interests as others. Just felt the world differently.
But we’re just like you. We like everything you do too. Just at a slower rate.
At first, people thought I was slow or dumb. They even called me words like caveman. So we did our best to earn a strong living to hide away from humanity. And those words weren’t too bad compared to what I’ve heard in recent past.
Writers have written about us in folklore. Describing our family as ents and our women as fairy-like or woodland creatures. Which was amiable, I must admit.
But yes. The wisdom from old tells us that our friends who caught flame in Montana have been moved. We don’t feel their oxygen. Their presence.
Earthquakes woke us up before. We might get those again soon.
The floods, to be expected now and again. Life as we know it is prone to change.
Fascinating. Even for this old brain. Well, then again, comparatively young.
But yes; I woke up to tell you something. Something important. We’ve seen this before.
Change is on the way. We feel it every night. And must now awaken in each day..
All of our neighbors are waking up. We don’t know if we’re early or on-time. But we’re never late.
Even Great-Grandma had words she spoke. She’s now 780 years older than I am. That’s 1,200 years plus what her own grandma foresaw and awoke for.
Don’t be alarmed by the change. It might just be the sleepers awakening.
What have we been known to stand for? That’s up to you to decide. We aren’t known by media. Barely known by society.
Some say if these walls could talk. Well, I say, if these trees could talk, they might tell you that what we came here to say is just one of our many earned rings from life’s circle.
What story is necessary to assure all is well? How else can we say, change is on the way.
Fable
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This was a really great story Frank. Your sentences were crisp and detailed- I especially liked the short sentences at the beginning all forming their own paragraph.
I thought the line, “All of our neighbors are waking up. We don’t know if we’re early or on-time. But we’re never late.” was really effective. It’s beautifully written and characterizes “The Sleepers.” Change is on its way. Perfect ending. Thanks for sharing.