Beloved of the Sea

Laija enjoyed the feel of the grainy sands on her feet. It oddly relaxed her as it slid between her toes as she walked leisurely on the shores.

It was very early in the morning. The sun had come up a while ago but the breeze caressing her skin was cool and gentle.

The sound of waves had awoken her at dawn. She could not contained her excitement so she sneaked out of the castle to have this new, fascinating experience of the sea.

It has been quite fulfilling so far.

Laija stooped down and picked up an empty white shell. It was pretty like she had imagined it to be.

When she was younger, Laija had promised herself that if she ever went to the sea, she will put the shells and sands she found inside a glass jar and take it back home with her. Her childish self even dreamt about finding pearls.

She smiled reminiscing about it. Those were simple times when everything seems good in the world.

'So, you were having fun here?' A voice spoke suddenly.

Laija raised up her head. Francis was standing before her with an amused expression on his handsome face.

'What is it?' She asked, averting her gaze away from his.

'Breakfast. Everyone is waiting for you.' He told her simply.

'Oh. I lost track of time. I'm sorry to keep you all waiting.' She replied, feeling a bit embarrassed.

'It is alright.' Francis turned around and moved. 'Come on, it's a special breakfast of Aurvina.' He added in a lighter tone, beckoning her to followed him.

Laija stood up and walked behind him . Francis led the way across the sandy beach then stopped at the edge of a long wooden staircase besides a rocky wall.

'Watch your steps.' He said as he took the first step. They climbed the steeped stairway until at last a narrow door shrouded with flowering vines appeared. Francis opened the door and a familiar garden was there.

And in the middle of it, old Hanim was sitting on one of the chairs in front of a round table. The man turned when he heard the door creaked opened. 'Good morning, my dears.' He greeted them with a warm smile.

'Good morning, Lord Hanim.' Laija greeted back.

'Uncle, where is little Domi and Aniya?' Francis asked looking around.

'Oh, Sara insisted they have their breakfast first. Then, suddenly Yoel and Kandi's kids and the others came. It seems they heard about the two and came to invite them to play together.' Hanim replied.

Hearing about this, Laija was relieved. This is exactly what she wished for them.

Now, only the three of them sat down for breakfast. They gathered around the table and the maids began to serve them. Toasted bread and butter alongside sunny side eggs sprinkled with salt were on the ceramic plates. After they were finished with them, the maids brought out bowl of chilled milk filled with sliced apples, bananas and pomegranate seeds. This was perfect to have given the lukewarm air of the coast. Laija like this very much.

Hanim put down the cutleries and turned to face Laija. Looking a bit thrilled, he said, 'Do you want to hear the story behind the festival happening tonight?'

Laija put down her empty cup and wiped the cream on her lips with the small cloth served on the a plate. But before she could give her answer, Francis piped in. 'How many guests does this makes now, Uncle?'

'It is a beautiful story any guest of Aurvina must know.' The man said.

'I would like to hear it.' Laija spoke up. She might as well listened since she did not anything to do.

Hanim was pleased. 'See? The miss wants to know. If you don't want to, you may leave, Vita.'

He told his nephew. The latter did not move and kept eating his extra serving of strawberries in cream.

Hanim cleared his throat and turned his attention to his listener. In a clear voice, he began his narration.

'You see, long ago, when Aurvina was just a village, there was a little girl who loves the sea. The girl was born blind to a poor fisherman family. Everyday she would wait out for her father to return from the sea. She would walk on the shores, feel the sands and pick up shells.'

'But one day, she heard a voice spoke to her, asking why she was different from the others. The girl replied that she was not given the gift of sight like others. But, she added, that does not make any great difference because she was loved by her parents, like any other child in the village.' Hanim paused, as if to check she was not bored. Laija nodded, showing that she was invested in his story. Francis also seemed to be listening quietly.

Hanim was motivated, he continued,

'The owner of the voice was surprised by the blind girl's words and in disbelief, asked her if she did not really wish to see like the others.

The blind girl answered that she does but more than that, she wishes she was strong enough to help her father out at sea.

At this, the voice belonging to the mysterious person sounded thoroughly amused. It said to her, 'That is something simple for me. I will help your father on your behalf.'

From that day onwards, her father came home with more fish than before. He caught the best ones and so his fishes began to sell well. Thanks to this, the family did not suffer much.

The blind girl continued to go out to the seashores and meet up frequently with this person who she only knew by their voice. Even though she could not see, she enjoyed their presence. They talk of silly things, serious things and most especially their love of the ocean and everything around it.

In time, the girl grew up to be a sweet young lady. Her parents tried to find a suitable match for her but no man in the village wanted to marry her. She was plain looking and blind, so even the other peasants did not want her as their wife believing she will be useless. But the blind girl was not upset about it.

'I rather live my days idly near the sea like this.' She mentioned one day to the person, who she now considered as her most trusted companion. And the times that they spent together were her favourite moment of her days.

One night, a terrible cyclone suddenly came and wrecked havoc on the coast. No fishermen was able to go to sea for months and due to this, they began to suffer terribly.

But soon the storm subsided, the sea water calmed down and the sky was cleared.

The blind girl rushed out from home to meet her friend. After reuniting with each other, she cried in relief,

'I was worried about you since you said you lived near the sea. Were you alright? I missed you!' She reached out her hands in a desperate manner.

Her friend caught her hands in their own and replied softly, 'I'm fine. We are used to such forces of nature.'

'But what about you? I see not one fishermen out at sea even though the weather is good now.' Her friend added.

'That is because everyone fell sick. Including my father. It is very hard in the village for the poor ones who has nothing to eat.' The blind girl said, dejected.

Seeing the despair on her face, her friend caught her wandering hands and said to her, 'There is no need to worry. I will help you. I will teach you how to harness one of the treasures of the seawaters.'

This promised treasure the blind girl's friend mentioned was salt. With the discovery of this very valuable resource, the village began to flourish at a fast pace and it soon turned into a large town, where trade and commerce kept prospering.

The blind girl's family eventually became rich merchants. She herself became sought after for her wealth but she rejected all her suitors.

She was not fazed by the riches and continued to live her usual simple life. But because of the attention she got, she could not regularly go out to meet her friend. There clandestine meetings became rare and much more precious.

Years went by.

But one day before she turned twenty-seven, the blind girl suffered an illness and was bedridden for months. Knowing that her time had come, she asked her parents to take her to the seashore to see a precious friend. At first, they refused thinking that her illness will worsened and also because she had never mentioned about having a friend there. The blind girl wept and revealed everything, saying that it was all thanks to her friend that they were able to gain such prosperity.

Finally agreeing to fulfil her dying wish, her family and closed ones lay her down on the warm sands near the sea at sunset.

It was then, that they all saw something emerged from the surface of the water. A tall, beautiful being with long white hair and pale skin glowing like luminous like the moon. The being's sea green coloured eyes tenderly met the blind girl's unseeing ones.

'I will bring you with me now, my beloved.'

The blind girl reached out a weak hand to caressed his face and smiled lovingly.

He picked her lithe body and held her whole easily, gently. Carrying her, he turned back and walked towards the sea. They disappeared together underneath the golden ocean, never to be seen again.

Every year on that same day, a pearl washed up on the sand from right where the two had vanished. But these pearls were unlike any others, it shone in all its exuberance until it shattered to dust the next day.

All the witnesses then believed the being was none other than the deity of the sea who had blessed them all these times. He had fallen in love with the simple but ardent blind maiden. And as a reminder of their pure love, the sea gifted the people of Aurvina with abundance of fish, salt and pearls.

Since then, the Aurvina people held the festival of Mivrana which means 'Beloved of the Sea' in celebration of the legendary love story, that continues to beatify the land.'