The Hollow Tree
A story of
friendship,
betrayal,
and a realm divided.
“Can’t break the silence, it’s breaking me.” No truer words could be spoken, not in Jamie’s opinion. Perhaps that’s why she listened to Evanescence so much, why she idolized Amy Lee. They didn’t know her, but they understood her. They understood that she hated her mother for walking out on her. That she hated every square inch of Uvalde, that she was desperately alone, that she wanted out. They understood her in a way Emily and Gwen just didn’t get, that her dad just didn’t understand. That she was lonely, afraid, and wanted more than anything to leave, to make the pain go away, to just…disappear.
She knew she sounded whiney when she voiced her complaints. She knew she didn’t always feel this way—when she with Emily and Gwen, it didn’t matter. It was when she was alone that it did. When it was just her and her thoughts.
That’s why she hated summer; Emily went off to visit family in Maine every year, and Gwen spent the first two-and-a-half months in Arizona, also with family. Dad was out most of the time, minding the shop. Summer was misery, and Jamie knew it.
One day, in the sweltering Texas heat, Jamie could take the bored silence that lay about the house no longer. Thinking to distract herself from her mournful thoughts, Jamie jogged over to her father’s shop.
The bell over the door tinkled as Jamie walked in. Mr. Fallow, Jamie’s dad, looked up.
“Afternoon, sweetheart. Did I forget something?”
“No,” Jamie mumbled, walking over to the counter and jumping behind. “I just thought I’d, you know, help out today.”
“Oh,” he replied, smiling. “Well…. As it so happens, I need to take inventory. Mind the register for me, okay Jamie?”
“’Kay,” she sighed.
When he was out of sight, Jamie leaned over the counter. The shop was never too busy this time of year—it was a deer hunting shop, didn’t much business till the season opened. Still, it was away from home.
Jamie must’ve dosed off, because she awoke with a start to the bell’s tinkling call. A tall stranger, dressed in black duds from head to toe, entered. Now, being dressed like that in the summer is one thing—to dress like that in the Texan summer is murder!
“What can I do ya’ for, stranger?” Jamie called, straightening up.
A story of
friendship,
betrayal,
and a realm divided.
“Can’t break the silence, it’s breaking me.” No truer words could be spoken, not in Jamie’s opinion. Perhaps that’s why she listened to Evanescence so much, why she idolized Amy Lee. They didn’t know her, but they understood her. They understood that she hated her mother for walking out on her. That she hated every square inch of Uvalde, that she was desperately alone, that she wanted out. They understood her in a way Emily and Gwen just didn’t get, that her dad just didn’t understand. That she was lonely, afraid, and wanted more than anything to leave, to make the pain go away, to just…disappear.
She knew she sounded whiney when she voiced her complaints. She knew she didn’t always feel this way—when she with Emily and Gwen, it didn’t matter. It was when she was alone that it did. When it was just her and her thoughts.
That’s why she hated summer; Emily went off to visit family in Maine every year, and Gwen spent the first two-and-a-half months in Arizona, also with family. Dad was out most of the time, minding the shop. Summer was misery, and Jamie knew it.
One day, in the sweltering Texas heat, Jamie could take the bored silence that lay about the house no longer. Thinking to distract herself from her mournful thoughts, Jamie jogged over to her father’s shop.
The bell over the door tinkled as Jamie walked in. Mr. Fallow, Jamie’s dad, looked up.
“Afternoon, sweetheart. Did I forget something?”
“No,” Jamie mumbled, walking over to the counter and jumping behind. “I just thought I’d, you know, help out today.”
“Oh,” he replied, smiling. “Well…. As it so happens, I need to take inventory. Mind the register for me, okay Jamie?”
“’Kay,” she sighed.
When he was out of sight, Jamie leaned over the counter. The shop was never too busy this time of year—it was a deer hunting shop, didn’t much business till the season opened. Still, it was away from home.
Jamie must’ve dosed off, because she awoke with a start to the bell’s tinkling call. A tall stranger, dressed in black duds from head to toe, entered. Now, being dressed like that in the summer is one thing—to dress like that in the Texan summer is murder!
“What can I do ya’ for, stranger?” Jamie called, straightening up.
