Cathedral on the Hill

Over a hundred years ago she was built on the hill, with loving hands. She was assembled in ways long abandoned but infinitely better then any modern technique. She was not only the pride of the farm, but of the county. She was the largest of her kind.

As time went on she watched the children grow. She enjoyed their laughter and cries of Ollie, Ollie, Oxen Free. She sheltered them when rain came fast. She housed many an animal and project.

Soon, one of those children became her new owner, and he got her a new roof, paint, and boards. Through the years she was loved by her new owner and his wife.

She waited through the years to hear the laughter again. To see children caring for the animals, playing hide and seek, and telling jokes and stories would bring her great joy.

The years went by, and the winter was coming for her beloved couple. She had lost hope for a new generation to play in her stalls and to have childish laughter echo off her walls.

Then, one summer day, there was a little girl. Wide of eyes and good of heart, that made the barn on the hill full of joy again. She cared for the animals and the barn itself. Her friends and cousins once again filled her with joy, and the barn was happy.

Then one day, she was gone. She moved away and took the laughter with her. The barn was damaged later from a storm, she was patched up, but the years had begun to take its toll.

The little girl had grown, and would come back to visit, but there were no games of hide and seek, no jokes or ghost stories to hear.

The barn was feeling tired and old, her owner kept her walls painted and her roof looked like polished chrome, but when the wind blew her bones creaked, and the roof rattled. There came a time when the wood would no longer hold paint and she was lonely as now the animals were gone.

Then, one morning, there was a little boy standing outside her door. Curious, he opened and went inside. Once again she was able to hear the laughter of children. A few years later he was joined by his little sister. The barn was alive again, filled with love, she didn't notice any of her injuries. She was happy again.

And then tragedy struck. Her owners wife passed away. The whole place felt hollow. The man that had lovingly cared for her was changed forever. The love of his life was gone and he was lost with out her.

Soon too, he grew sick and moved away. The barn stood, lonely on that hill. Waiting for him to come home. He did, but never stayed long. His visits becoming shorter and the time between longer, until he never came again.

She stood on the hill, getting full of birds and rodents. Getting overgrown by vines that started to peal the boards from her exterior.

Cars replaced cows and moles took out her east end with an ill placed tunnel. Leaving her soul exposed to the elements. All was lost, her collapse was imminent.

Until one day, she was awakened by children's laughter. Two beautiful girls chased each other around the barn. The barn was happy once again. They played and told stories as old as the barn. She knew that this was probably the last generation she would see. How she loved this family and did the best she could for them.

A few years have gone by, and she still stands, against the odds. She stays there to hear the kids when they come to the farm, to be a safe harbor from the rain. She fights and holds on, even as the red turns to gray and the beams begin to rot away. She stays, and hopes to see another generation stand before her and play in her rafters.

In her final years she has become more then a barn. She has become a Cathedral on the hill.