Somewhere to Nowhere

Once upon a time in a far off place, there sat a plain little town on the very edge of Somewhere. In that plain little town, there was a plain little house, and in that plain little house there lived a not-so-plain little girl by the name of Emily. Though, being eleven, Emily would argue that she was no longer a “little girl.” Unsurprisingly, this unremarkable town was called Plainsville because everyone who lived there was just as plain as the next. The townsfolk lived uneventful and monotonous lives, and that was just the way they liked it because they knew nothing but plain.

Emily though, was different. Even as she sat in school beside her classmates, ate dinner with her parents, and tidied up her already spotless room each day, Emily could feel that difference inside of her. It had been there ever since she could remember, though she had always tried to ignore it. That feeling was curiosity, a feeling that no one had ever experienced before, and who would expect otherwise from a town as plain as Plainsville? Curiosity allowed people to wonder, to dream, to become something other than plain. Therefore, it was a disease that had been wiped out a long, long time ago, and yet somehow that was the difference inside of Emily, the curiosity that allowed her to question and to dream when no one else could.

As time passed Emily’s curiosity grew more and more to the point that she could hardly suppress it anymore. Several times as she was walking from school, she would catch herself gazing up at the sky, pondering what made it so blue. She would watch the birds and wonder if, one day, she too would be able to soar amongst the clouds, past the boundaries of Somewhere and into the great, yawning world beyond. That place, beyond, was called Nowhere, separated from the land of Somewhere by an enormous 100 foot wall. Emily yearned to know what lay on the other side of that wall, would have given anything to get past it. Something on the other side seemed to be pulling her out of Plainsville, out of Somewhere and into the unknown. Now though, all Emily could do was regard the birds longingly as they swept past the wall.

Most evenings, Emily would fall asleep staring at the stars outside her open window, lips parted in quiet awe as they twinkled and winked at her. It was almost as if they were laughing, like they knew some special secret that Emily did not.

“What is it?” Emily asked them sometimes. “What do you know that makes you laugh so much?” But the stars would never answer, only continue in their silent amusement.

One night though, as Emily fell asleep, she dreamed that the stars answered her. In her dream, she lay in her bed as usual, her head tilted toward the window.

“Hello,” said the stars. Their voices were one but many, tinkling like the chiming of bells.

“Hello,” replied Emily, her voice tentative. “Will you answer my question? Will you tell me what you know?”

“Yes,” the stars crooned. “We will tell you what we know.”

She waited quietly.

“You are different, Emily. You are different from everyone else.”

Different, yes, Emily knew she was different. She had known that all her life.

“But how?” she asked. “Please tell me how. I know that I am not like the others, I just don’t know how.”

The stars seemed to smile, shining even brighter. “You are curious.”

“Curious,” Emily reluctantly whispered the word to herself, carefully shaping each syllable with her mouth. “What does that mean?”

“It means,” they answered, “That you are unwilling to accept what others say as the truth. Instead, you yearn to find your own truth. Your mind cannot be shackled by the dull routine of Plainsville, for it roams free in a world of questions and answers and possibilities of your own making. This is curiosity. It will take you anywhere, allow you to do anything, if only you let it.”

Emily gazed up in amazement as something inside of her clicked into place. It felt like she had found the final piece of a puzzle she had been trying to put together her whole life. She paused for a second.

“Can my curiosity allow me to fly, then?” Emily questioned softly, daring to hope.

“If you permit it to,” the stars chimed in reply. “The power is all yours.”

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, Emily and the stars, the night a velvet cloak of darkness between them.

“I have one last question,” said Emily.

The stars waited expectantly.

“What is beyond the wall, in Nowhere?”

It was a question that had been nagging at Emily for a while now. The wall kept the order of Somewhere separate from the chaos of Nowhere; at least that was what the people of Plainsville were told. That was how things had been ever since anyone remembered, and nobody questioned it. This didn’t stop Emily, though, from dreaming about what was beyond Somewhere, what lay in Nowhere.

“That’s for you to find out,” the stars said back.

At that moment, she realized they were right. She really could find out, and she would.

“Thank you for your help,” Emily said gratefully.

“Wait!” cried the stars. “Don’t go yet!”

Confused, she looked back up again.

“What is it?” she inquired

“We have not told you yet what makes us laugh each night.”

“Then tell me,” Emily urged. “What is it that makes you laugh each night?”

The stars danced now in excitement.

“We laugh in delight and in pleasure because it has been ages since anyone last gazed up at us the way that you do. We are overcome with joy and cannot help but laugh as you watch us with such adoration.”

Emily smiled and said, “Then I am honored to bring you such happiness.”

“And we are honored to be gazed upon by such a curious girl.”

“Goodbye stars!” called Emily.

“Goodbye Emily!” sang the stars.

Early the next morning, while Plainsville slumbered, Emily set out for the wall. The town was quiet and even more boring than usual with no activity. As she walked along, she let her mind wander to the conversation she had had last night. Though she knew she had been dreaming, Emily did not try to fool herself into believing that it had been all a figment of her imagination. She had truly spoken with the stars, and she knew they were watching her now from whatever secret place they went to during the daytime. Hours passed, and the blazing sun reached its zenith, yet Emiliy doggedly pushed on. Soon, the sidewalk turned into unpaved dirt as she neared the wall. There were only trees and bushes and grass to the east and west, but a few yards in front of her loomed the wall. It was made of solid, gray stone and towered above the trees, casting an ominous shadow over the vegetation. Before, Emily had only ever seen the wall from afar, but as she continued forward, she could have touched it if she only reached out a hand, though she didn’t dare. She knew that the stone would feel ice cold beneath her touch, despite the afternoon sun. Something about the wall made her uncomfortable, and seemed to draw at her very essence. It was almost as if it were trying to pull something out of her. She took a step back and then another. That wall was dangerous. Emily could sense that now. She realized that the pulling sensation had been the wall trying to make her … plain, attempting to suck the curiosity and life out of her. She shivered involuntarily, observing the wall cautiously for a moment. Raking her gaze up and down the smooth stone, Emily saw there would be no easy way to get over, but that didn’t discourage her at all. Closing her eyes, she remembered what the stars had told her.

“It will take you anywhere, allow you to do anything if only you let it.”

Emily took in a breath and slowly released it, letting herself slip past the plainness of Plainsville, allowing her curiosity to burn like a candle in the dark.

I wonder if I can fly. I wonder if I can soar with the birds on the wind, rising higher and higher.

She heard the tinkling laughter of the stars.

I wonder, I wonder, I wonder....

Emily let her thoughts sweep her away until she felt as light as a feather, as weightless as a cloud in the sky. She looked down and gasped, her feet now an inch off of the ground. She giggled in utter amazement as she rose another inch and then another, passing the top of the wall and hovering a foot above. Her attention fixed on the sight before her, Emily was still as she took it all in. The grass and trees beyond were a vivid emerald that she had never seen before, and the sky was bright, mottled with the crisp white of the clouds. There were flowers of every color and every shape scattered throughout the green; their sweet, intoxicating fragrance reached Emily on a warm breeze. And then she saw it. On the horizon, she could just make out a town. It wasn’t one like Plainsville. No, this town was different because, though it was so far away, Emily could sense vibrancy and life emanating from every part of it. It called to her like a siren’s song, singing a melody that was so familiar to Emily that a deep, hidden part of her began to sing back. A quiet tear slipped from her wide eyes and fell to the ground many feet below, but she did not notice. Emily said a silent thanks to the stars as she flew into Nowhere.