by Nathaniel Nathaniel Hawthorne
First published 2018
A young woman meets an ancient crone in a secret hollow where no one can see them. The lady appears graceful and beautiful but carries visible marks of distress and premature aging that suggest dark troubles in her past. The old woman seems impossibly ancient, so withered and decrepit that she appears to have lived far beyond normal human years. Their meeting occurs in strange times when dreams and madness blend with reality. The encounter takes place at a predetermined hour in this hidden location among three hills. The contrast between the two figures creates immediate tension - youth meeting extreme age, beauty confronting ugliness, desperation seeking ancient wisdom. The lady's pale and troubled appearance suggests she has come seeking answers or aid that conventional society cannot provide. The supernatural atmosphere and secretive nature of their meeting hints at dark bargains and forbidden knowledge, exploring the lengths to which people will go when driven by guilt, loss, or desperate need for understanding about their fate.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, supernatural, dark-fantasy, 19th-century, gothic
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: beauty-and-the-beast, forbidden-knowledge, youth-vs-age
Setting: Three Hills
Period: 19th Century
24 pages · Paperback · Independently published