Hill Of Love

• Clare McNamara, Grade 5, St Joseph'S School
• Short Story
• 2001

Finalist in the '2001/2002 Schools Short Story Competition - Magic and Mystery Theme' competition

One day a girl named Laura was sitting outside in her yard. She was feeling overwhelmed about school. She received good grades but school was becoming more demanding and Laura had to work harder. She was sitting outside because nature calmed her. It was working too, until her mom cam out and told her that her teacher called and assigned more work.
Now Laura was upset so she left her spot under a beautiful maple tree and went to a nearby hill. Laura loved this hill so much because from it she could see the most beautiful sunsets. The hill was also decorated with wonderful flowers. She often went up there at times like this, when she felt like nothing was going right.
Whenever Laura was on the hill she heard a ringing sound. She thought it was just her imagination but it wasn’t. Little did she know that it was something in the ground and it was right under the hill.
On other days Laura ignored the sound. Today, however, the ringing was louder than usual and it distracted her. Some other days she was glad the sound was louder because she wanted to take her mind off her work.
Laura was silent and listened carefully to the ringing sound. In her mind she tried to identify the source of it. At last she figured it out; it was the sound of a bell. But Laura was still puzzled about how a bell could be in the ground.
Then Laura remembered a story her grandmother had told her many times before she died about an old lost church. It was a chapel built in a cave in the side of a hill, called a grotto. Over the years the grotto opening had become covered and hidden by fallen rocks. Her grandmother said that no one alive today knew where the grotto was. Laura was excited about this because she realized that a lost chapel must be somewhere under the hill!
But then another mystery came to Laura’s mind. Who, or what, was ringing the chapel bell? Laura believed that her grandmother in heaven had asked Laura’s guardian angel to ring the bell whenever Laura went to the hill. Laura thought this was her grandmother’s way of letting her know that she was near her. This gave Laura peacefulness and strength.
Laura decided to name her hill the “Hill of Love.” She felt more relaxed about school. She was able to face life courageously. As her life went on she often went to the hill to feel close to her grandmother and to find peace.