Howl Your Appellations

The Voice of a Hole

Lissana Mons

“You’re a hole?…” And it’s a dead end too… Is this where Luna wanted to me to end up? Following Boen’s ring led me to a dead end… “Are you okay down there? I’m sorry, I should have told you from the beginning.” Well, at least someone’s finally here.

“Nooo…it’s my fault, I got my hopes up. I haven’t heard another person’s voice in such a long time, I should have expected this…” I know I shouldn’t have expected to actually see a person with my own two eyes, I’m honestly so lost in these caves right now and I might never find a way out, it’s sort of my punishment in a way…hahahaha…ha…

“Hey, for what it’s worth, I’m happy to hear another person’s voice…” her voice has this tired, old lady tone, she’s probably older than me. Maybe she’s lost in the caves too, I should be thankful I got to hear another person’s voice after days, or even weeks in this endless ongoing hole systems. But maybe she’s not the voice of a hole but I’ve finally lost it? “Wait… you’re not just the voice in my head right?…I..I’m not crazy?”

“Hahahaha! Crazy people don’t know they’re crazy! They’re crazy because they don’t know they’re gone.” her voice is echoing from the hole that’s way above my reach, there’s no way up, it can’t be the voice in my head, if it was, how did it get there? Am I even asking the right questions to myself right now? Focus you i***t! Focus!!

“Huh, well, I’m still suspicious of you. A friend warned me to be careful so this is just me being careful.”

“Uh-huh.” Ah s**t, I don’t know if I’m making sense right now, I can’t think clearly. If she’s real she probably thinks I really have lost my mind.

“So prove to me that you’re alive and… uh…Oh! You can just jump down! I’ll catch you! You can trust me!” This is perfect! If she’s real, she’ll want to be with someone too right? “I’d climb my way up there but it’s too high. I’m confident that I can catch you from here so jump!”

“That’s…not such a good plan. You’re not crazy, Miss, but I think you’re  a bit slow, haha, my apologies.”

So she won’t be jumping down? Does that mean…

“My friends tell me to be careful too, so you must understand. If you still think that you’re going crazy, I can throw something down for you, if you like? Like…this rock I picked up? It’s crescent-shaped, I thought it looked pretty neat.”

Ah, so she really is real. “Sigh, okay. If you really don’t want to jump down from there I can’t force you to. Drop that dang rock down here, and let’s be friends.”

“Haha! Oh my, you have such pure intentions. Here, I’ll drop my rock now. Make sure you catch it or it’ll break.” Pshhh, like I can’t catch a damn rock…!!!

“Whoa! That’s a lot bigger than I expcte…OOOOUUFFFF!! Goddamn!! Lady! This isn’t a damn rock, it’s like as big as a croissant! I expected a tiny pebble!”

“Hm, it appears that you have set expectations for a lot of things. But I believe that you caught it? Congratulations. We’re now officially friends. Good job!” I take it back, maybe I don’t want to be this person’s friend after all, she sounds too much like the folks I have at home, little smart-asses. "Oooff.."

Let me just rub my hand a bit, the impact actually hurt I didn’t transform my hand fast enough, ugh.

“Hey, down there, are you still there?”

“Yeah, I’m still here. I just hurt my hand a little, nothing major though. My bones are not the average!”

“Oh! I’m sorry to hear that! There’s nothing much I can do from up here.” Did you not hear what I said about my bones? Anyways, I’m not expecting you to help, just leave me to take care of my hand for a few seconds.

“Hm. Yeah…I’m uh, Lissana. What’s your name?”

“Oh! Introductions! I’m Pat! It’s nice to meet you Miss Lisanna, the lady in the crater.”

“Don’t call me that! And don’t call me Miss, either. I’m not a Miss.” Pat the hole lady, does that sound good to you, huh? Hole lady.

“Haha, so how did you end up down there? I was just passing by when I heard your voice from the crater, it’s pitch black so I couldn’t see anything.” It’s interesting how she calls the hole a crater, it’s just a damn hole of the ceiling, it’s too dark to see the other side though.

“Ah, we’ll I followed my friend’s moon ring to get here but it’s a dead end. This is the first time for me too. These tunnels are supposed to be endless. How about you? How you get down here? D’you get cursed too?”  Ah the fire’s starting to die down, damn these twigs burn so fast.

“We’ll I’ve been up here for years, taking care of my buddies. I’m not cursed at all, I’m positively healthy, in fact. Is that how you ended up down there? Are there more of creatures like you?”

“You’ve been here for years!? And you have buddies with you?! Why can’t you call them and help me out of here! I’m sure you guys can find a way! You can throw me a rope or at least give me a map! Anything!”

“Oh, you misunderstand. My buddies aren’t people, they’re robots! I take care of them and keep their maintenance. Oh and speaking of my robots, have you seen any down there? We lost one a few months back.”

This person is nuts! What is she doing fixing robots in the Eardrum Caves? Where does she get the equipment for their repairs? Why doesn’t she sound concerned about any of this? This is insane, she asked me if I’ve seen a robot anywhere…! The solar panel! So it wasn’t an ancient  relic! But still…

“I have seen a panel thingy. I don’t know if that’s what you’re looking for though…”

“Oh! You found a solar panel?! That must be on of my robot’s!Please throw it up here so I can make sure! ” throw it up there? I mean sure I can but it’ll break if she doesn’t catch it…huh, just like the rock she gave me…

“Alright. I trust that you’ll catch it.”

“Thank you, Lissana.”

I just need to focus on my aim since the hole isn’t too big. I just need to focus on the target and, “Hyup!!!”

…Did she catch it?

“…”

“Pat? Did you catch it? Are you okay?” she’s still quiet. I’ll wait…no I can’t! “Pat?! Did I hit you? s**t!”

“No! I-I’m fine! I’m just so happy that I couldn’t say anything…Wonderment…”

She sounds like she’s about to cry. It must have been very important to her, well I'm happy I took it with me, if it made another person smile then it has completed its mission. Maybe the robot that used the panel’s still wandering around the cave and having a good time. A little robot explorer.

“This was the panel of the rover we lost a few months ago. To think that he fell down there, Are you sure you didn’t see anything else?”

“If I did, I would have taken it with me. But I tripped over that thing so maybe there’s more? I doubt it though.”

“Oh well that’s fine too. As long as I finally have a piece of him back, I’m satisfied. Thanks again, I’ll be sure to remember what you did Lissana.”

“Oh nahhh, I didn’t do much. I just picked up a piece of junk, I found interesting! I actually thought Sol worshipers used it!…But they could have!”

“Sol, like, our sun? I haven’t heard of that name in years. People don’t talk about Sol as much as they used to.”

“Yeah. We all know Luna’s the one calling the shots. She’s the reason I’m down here in the first place! ”

“What? That doesn’t make any sense. What do you mean it’s the moon’s fault that you’re down there?” Oh Luna, could this person not be a Were after all? Are they just a regular human in the Eardrum Caves? Is that even possible? And she says she’s repairing robots up there too, that’s just not natural…could it be…

“Pat, are you in the Eardrum Caves too?”

“Eardrum Caves? Is that in Holo? I’ve never heard of such a cave. No, no. I’m Patricar Far. I’m in-charge of taking care of the rovers on the moon!”

THE MOON?!?!?!?!?!!?!!??!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!!?!!?!??!?!!?!?!?!?!?!!?!

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU’RE ON THE MOON?! THE CAVES AREN’T ACTUALLY CONNECTED TO THE MOON ARE THEY?!?! Ow!”My neck’s starting to strain from looking up too much!

I can’t believe this! This means I’m still alone here in the caves. Pat’s on Luna right now collecting space rocks and feeling Luna on each of her step. If my pack finds out I’ve been conversing with Lunarians, they’ll freak out! People who have the gall to live on the same orb as the fairies are crazy, I feel like I’m gonna get cursed!

“Tell me you’re joking. Say sike right now!”

“Why would you think I’m joking? I’m looking down on a large crater right now. I was shocked when you told me to jump down. That would have been the end of me!”

“Is that why you kept saying crater instead of hole? Oh Luna, so it must be true!” Did Luna intend for me to meet Pat? When will I ever get answers in here! I think I deserve a few right now! Come to think of it, why is Pat reacting like this is a normal thing? Shouldn’t she be panicking too?

“Uh, Pat? Why aren’t you panicking? I’m not on the moon right now with you. I’m on Abalone.”

“Abalone! I grew up there! I see.  It makes much more sense to me now.”

Huh? “Huh?”

“Listen, Lissana. I may not know what your circumstances are and I’m not one to pry but, I think it’s best for you to manage your expectations more. You’re lost in the caves that the moon operates, correct?”

“Well I’m not so sure about that, but there are rumors that the caves are connected to Luna, acting as, like, her ears. That’s why we call it the ‘Eardrum Caves’.”

“Doesn’t our conversation confirm those rumors? The caves are undoubtedly connected to the moon, one way or the other. ”

“I…you’re not wrong. But what’s this about managing my expectations? Are you saying I should just accept everything?”

“Listen, I’ve lived on this satellite for more than half of my life now and I’ve encountered things that I shouldn’t have, that no person should have. Maybe it’s what prevents me from separating from the moon for too long, I’ve become part of it, in a way.”

A part of Luna?

“As the moons vessel, I can tell you this: it does not hold good or bad intentions. It merely provides and takes as it wills. It’s indifferent and that’s what makes it terrifying.”

“Heh, well I know that much. I grew up with those thoughts plastered on to me, and I’ll take those with me ‘til I die.”

“We’re the same then, that makes me feel less alone.”

“Me too.” for the first time in my life I finally met someone who isn’t afraid of Luna, and she’s a human no less. I never would have expected to relate to a pure-blooded outsider.

“I never thought anyone would understand how I feel about Luna, just because she gave us power and superiority doesn’t mean she’s a messiah. She’s incredibly cruel, and she doesn’t even think that’s the case.”

“It sounds like it made you go through devastating circumstances, I’m heartbroken to hear that but, I’m just like you in that way. I continue to live under her circumstances.So what are you going to do about the ring?”

 The ring? Why would she bring up the ring so suddenly?

“Huh? What do you mean? The ring is what led me here to you.”

“Yes, but now you’ve ended up in a dead end. You could have met another person by now if you didn’t follow it.”

“That’s…”

“I think it’s best if you didn’t rely on it. It’s probably better to discard it, or..”

“Or what?”

“You can destroy it.”