A Visit with Hoggel

When I finally met Hoggel, he was not at all what you might expect after meeting so many other Fairies in the woods that day. On first sight he looked almost human, although only inches tall of course. Right away you notice he is not flying and fluttering about as most fairies do, and at first I assumed it was due in part to the large haul of what seemed to be twigs all tied up in bundles strapped to his back, which I later learned was his preferred choice of firewood for his bread making oven, turns out Hoggel is quite the bread maker and very particular about every ingredient, and if you’ve ever spent any amount of time with Hoggel you’ll understand what I mean when I say that he loves talking about all things Bread. Hoggel does not dress to impress, that is very apparent. When he arrived he wore a burlap coat that dragged along the ground behind him, collecting soil and leaves as he walked along, filthy and torn. Funny enough, even with the long coat on he chooses to wear burlap shorts that rise just above his knees, revealing skinny little legs with comical knobby knees and suspenders made of braided thread he must have found on his daily foraging adventures, discarded by some human campers I’d imagine. I would comment on the design of his shirt, but with his long grey beard, it was difficult to determine if he was wearing one at all. I don’t mean to poke fun at Hoggel, but I must convey the drastic difference in appearance when you meet him, compared to other Fairies. The truth is, Hoggel is very unique indeed, and his life is quite fulfilled, which made him so pleasant to speak with. Interesting note, “Hoggel” is actually a term that Fairies have used for as long as anyone can remember. To “Hoggel” means “to walk”, derived from Hoggel’s name. You see Hoggel is so old, there is hardly a Fairy alive today that can recall the woods without him in it, and for as long as anyone can remember, no one has ever seen Hoggel fly. Although when speaking with other Fairies that day, Hoggel does indeed have wings under that Burlap Coat of his, but centuries of not putting them to use have left them shriveled and nearly immobile. So I asked Hoggel why he has chosen a life on the ground… his response was simple “Nothing for Hoggel up there” was all he said, and I left it at that. It was clear as I looked around that Hoggel’s interests had nothing to do with living a life high above the ground. He had his love of bread making, a campfire, a profitable firewood business for which he would trade wood for flour in order to make his bread and a make shift shelter off in the woods behind this Fairy Garden. And with that brought up another question… what is this place? It seems to go without saying that this is not Hoggel’s home, nor a home at all. This garden seemed more like a destination… beautiful but silent, except for the crackling of burning firewood coming from Hoggel’s work space. There is a large ornate door that opens into the tree, you might expect to see windows as usual, yet there are none. There is a bridge leading into the tree as well, spanning towards a darkness and a faint view of a water well can be seen. “What is this place?” I asked. With a smirk and a glance around Hoggel replied “Ah, that is a very good question Human, with an equally guarded answer. But I’ll tell you what i can tell you”. With that Hoggel explained that he is what’s known as “The Keeper of the Well” not just locally, but world wide. Hoggel went on to talk about so many things that were hard to understand when there was so much he could not reveal. The best i can explain it in Human terms is like this… This place seems to be one of many stops along a journey that all Fairies embark on. Like a pilgrimage of sorts, a journey young Fairies take to become “what they will be” as Hoggel puts it. A Fairy will come here and peer into the Well, known as “The Reflection Pool”. When I asked Hoggel what he Fairies see in the pool, in cryptic and guarded words he responded “A truth, A lie, A love and A Fear”. Once a Fairy has peered into the pool, the Fairy will than knock 4 times on the door. Hoggel explained that the door will either open, or remain closed. If the door remains closed, the Fairy will begin its journey all over again. If the door opens, the Fairy will enter, the door will close and the Fairy will not be seen again as they were before they entered. Nor will they exit from the same door… so where do they go? What do they become? What’s in the door? I had so many more questions. None of which Hoggel could answer. I had clearly been trusted as far as I was going to be. I would love to imagine that this place is magical and possibly where Fairies get there powers or abilities… but I’ll never truly know. But that’s the greatest thing about the fairy world to us humans isn’t it? The myths, the magic and the mystery of it all. So that was it. I continued to visit with Hoggel that day and we talked about life, when we were young, now that we’re older and of course we talked about Bread… who doesn’t love a great bread?