Author: Cornelia Spiegl (Conneline from "Mostpearsland")

"Most" is a regíonal drink in Lower Austria

it is produced from pears - pressed and fermented

* Mostpearsland is only a name, I created for this story.

The usual name of the region is "Mostviertel".

This region got it`s name because the landscape is dottet with pear trees. From the pears farmers produce the drink "Most"

... a small gnome ...   lived happily and contented in his cottage.

One day he realized that he indeed had a lot of joy to his cottage and the beautiful world in which he was allowed to live. But something was missing..... he just did not know what it was. What made him having a heart so heavy?

"I need some advice", he thought, "someone has to help me figure out what I'm missing".

He went to the Big Birch, standing at a nearby pond in his enchanted forest.

As powerful as she stood there, this great, wise birch, in her wonderful dress of white bark, swaying to the rhythm of the gentle wind, that gently stroked by her green foliage and whispered, that a visitor has arrived.

The birch stopped swaying and looked down to the little man, standing reverently in front of her roots. With calm and friendly voice she asked him: "Hello, little man, what can I do for you?"

The gnome took the pointed cap from his head and replied in a low, shaky voice: "Dear, wise birch, i need a good advice, because i don`t know what to do".

"Oh", the birch said "you don`t know what to do!?". Surprised she shaked her leaves, cracked with her sprigs and asked: "what are you missing?"

The gnome answered: "Oh, birch, this is precisely the problem! I don`t know, what i miss!"

"Oh holy mother nature!", the birch exclaimed, shaking herself so much, that some of her wonderful green leaves immediately changed colour, lost grip and fluttered down to the ground. "How is it possible, that you don`t know what you`re missing? You did`nt recognize what you are destined for? You have not found your great task you have to fulfill!?", the birch asked shocked.

"No", the gnome said subdued and shrugged his shoulders in resignation. Thus, he looked even smaller than he already was.

The birch, full of compassion for the small man, bent down to him and said in a kindly voice: "Little man, I'm going to reveal a big secret. You're small, but you do have the greatest power in the world. You only have to find this power and learn to use it wisely. Than you can cause great and recognize the true sense of your existence".

"But", the gnome said with big eyes, "how can I do that? I don´t know what I`m asked to look for!"

The large birch responded promisingly: "I`m not allowed to tell you, little man, you have to find out by yourself. But I think, when you have found your soul in Mostpearsland, you will know, what you have to do".

After saying this words, birch straightened up, stretching her mighty poor towards the sun and started swaying with the gentle wind again.

The little gnome did`nt realize at the moment, that audience of the wise birch was terminated. When he noticed that, he went on his way home. Many questions in his head and no answers. So he decided first to sleep. Maybe a new day could bring more clearness.

He went to bed and soon he fell into a deep sleep and he began to dream.....

..... he dreamed of last days incidents and his visit to the birch. Her words started to sound like an echo in his ears: "when you have found your soul in Mostpearsland, you will know, what you have to do"....

A gentle wind breath drew to the little face of the gnome and suddenly it seemed to be, as if he were truly faced with the big, wise birch, swaying into the nightly wind.

He heard her leaves rustle - first softly, then louder and louder: "You have to find your soul!  Go and surch your soul in Mostpearsland! Hurry up! It`s urgent!" ...

... the words of the birch leaves were so impressive that the little goblin awoke.

But... what he could see unsettled him very much. He really saw absolutely nothing!!! He stood in a sea of black fog and around him he could see absolutely NOTHING!

"Where am I? What´s the matter here? Why is nothing here?", he stammered stunned while he made some steps beside to see, if there would also be NOTHING. But it was true ... there was nothing too...

"For heaven's sake why is everywhere absolutely NOTHING!?" he exclaimed and began to stride back and forth restlessly. After a few steps he stopped as if frozen, because an unfriendly voice called to him out of nowhere: "Get out of here! Here is nothing and nobody!"

The little goblin stood there and felt himself as stirred by the thundering and nothing he had liked more than to follow the unfriendly voice and disappear speedily. But ... where should he go? He could not see his hand before eyes in this deep dark fog!

He stopped and thought feverishly what to do next. While he thought, from far away he heard rustle the leaves of the birch, they whispered to him: "if you have found your soul in Mostpearsland, you will know what you have to do" ...

"Hmmm" he thaught, "what does it mean? My soul in Mostpearsland? Hmmmm" ... and some minutes later he noticed, that he became quiet and curious.

He summoned up all courage and shouted into the dark: "Hey, you! Tell me! Am I in Mostpearsland?"  He listened intently into the darkness, but there was no response.

He wanted to give up, just as it echoed back: "Yes!"

The answer was short and sounded unfriendly as the words he had heard before. But it didn`t matter. The little man was happy. He surely knew now, he was on the right place.

He asked: "Than ... you are ..... a soul?

"Yes, I am" the voice said now in a friendly tone.

"Tell me, why it is so dark and why here is NOTHING?", the goblin asked,  whereupon the voice replied: "A long time ago, everything was different. There was flurry of activity here and there was a sea of ​​beautiful hire..... deep feelings, sociability, joy, laughter, creativity and great zest for life. All these things had flooded me with bright light. And then everything changed.

Too large and ambitious tasks of duty, often far beyond the limits of endurance have all the nice things repressed and stifled.............  and now ........ now, here is only NOTHING..... only darkness inside me".

This answer the little goblin had not expected and what he heard it made him very sad.

He was thoughtful, the little man......and suddenly a feeling came over him ..... "could it be true....... could just this be his soul?"

Und at this moment he realized what was meant by the birch when she said, he would know what to do when found his soul ......and .......he has to fulfill a duty and a determination.

He realized that his job was to find a way, to bring these poor, tortured soul, the lost light again and to bring them back to life.

And he said into the darkness: "Yes, you are my soul. I have found you and now i know, what I have to do..... I will rescue you". Spoke it and immediately he went on to surch the light.

He stumbled back and forth and  relentlessly worked his way through the darkness. With every step his determination grew and he moved forward constantly evolving.

While he went he spoke to his soul and he asked her to tell him about the souls, because he knew nothing about them.

He really was happy when she started to tell her story.

She told, that she actually is part of a person named Conneline........... but connection to her was lost in the darkness.

Thoughtful the little man was and as he didn´t want to loose her again to the darkness, he tried to distract her and changed the topic of conversation.

He asked: "You told me, that human have names? How do they get their names?"

"Somebody gives it to you", she replied, "somebody, who can see you. But only human can see..... and they only can do it, when there is light in their soul. They are blind in the dark".

"Aaah, I understand" he said, and now he surely knew, that it was really the right way to surch the light. 

The little man was so engrossed in the conversation with his soul which actually belonged to a human child named Conneline, he had not noticed that with every word they spoke, the black mist began to fade a little. He was only aware of, as suddenly shadowy outlines appeared in the distance, and now he could feel that there was much more than "Nothing" to find in the darkness of this soul.

He felt a tingling sensation that flowed through him from head to toe and he went on as if directed by magic hand.

His thoughts were constantly around this human child that obviously was the key to everything else... The key to his fate and also to the fate of Connelines soul.

He realized that he had to find a way to get contact with this person.

While he went on in the brightening fog he shouted, as loud as he could: "Conneline! .... are you there!? .... Conneline, please, talk to me!"

And more demanding, he called: "Conneline, Conneline, where are you? .... Can you see me?"

Suddenly he stopped as if rooted, because he heard a voice saying: "No, I can not see you. Who are you and where are you!?"-

"It`s me", he stammered, "I am ME! .... aaah,... no, .... I am not me ..... no, I mean, ... yes! I am surely I, but I have no name", he stammered, while he began to whirl wildly with his arms in the air around.

He exclaimed in despair: "Can you see me!? ....  I am here! .... Here am I! .... Please, tell me, that you can see me!", and he hopped from one foot to the other in order to make any noticeable.

Giant Great was his joy when the voice replied: "Yes, I can see something now. Although it is quite blurry, but I see something that looks like a small, wriggling man with a stocking cap on his head".

"Hooray, hooray!" the little pointed-hat-man cried and danced wildly around in circles. He danced until he ran out of breath and exhausted, he fell to the ground and he fell into a deep sleep, which lasted for many days.

While the little man slept, the dark cloud began to dissolve more and more and slowly but surely, the light turned back into his (Connelines) soul and enveloped the little sleeping figure like a warm coat....

... Many days passed, and the little man was still in the same place, lost in deep sleep. But suddenly he was overcome by a strange restlessness, and he began to turn from side to side. He felt that something was happening to him.

Something significant, would change everything ...

.... it smelled of olive soap and wool .... it felt like a bath in warm soapy water ... and there were hands .... hands, that stroked him gently at first, then rubbed with a little pressure until it finally worked so hard that he seemed quite fulled. But he did not mind this treatment. On the contrary. The more strongly this was handled, the more he felt  and he felt like he gained in stability and durability....

.... and then something wonderful happened:

Little man awoke, because a voice came into his mind. A voice, that touched him strangely, and it magically attracted.

The voice said to him: "Come on, little man, it's time you come to life. You now have a body, a beautiful coat, a stocking cap on your head and a beautiful white beard made of sheep wool, and in that moment you get your eyes so you can see what you've accomplished in my soul".

No sooner had he heard these words, his eyes opened and he could hardly believe what he saw. A motley array of small treasures opened up and he could not get enough of everything to see.

Then he heard, Conneline said to him with a warm, loving voice: " Yes, little man. You've mastered your job very well. You have brought back the light in my soul, and I will give thee thanks for a name.

From now on, you shall bear the name bimbolino and it is your destiny to be the guardian of the gate to our world of magic, all the time of your life".....

.... and so now they both lived in harmonious symbiosis ...

and together they bring

THE JOY AND THE LIGHT

to the souls of its world of magic visitors....