The Emerald

On a day when the Sun rose and seemed to burn a little brighter than usual, the most beautiful baby girl was born into the world. She was truly a gift. Everyone could see that. It was as if she had been expected. It seemed like she had been born many times before. But this time was special. Just looking into her hazel eyes everyone felt like they were seeing the true reflection of their souls. No one could look away. And as she grew her presence grew as quickly as her shadow. It followed her everywhere. And nothing seemed to bother this little girl at all. She was delighted with everything in the world. Her life was as vivid as her dreams. And nighttime was her favorite time of all because she loved to lie back in her bed and look out the window at the Moon. It let her ponder the world and this made her feel special. She often wondered what everyone else saw when they looked at her. The Moon was her secret friend, sitting outside her window telling tales from all over the world. But she wanted to see for herself. She would fall asleep dreaming of castles and princes and the boundless wealth of love and compassion. She was always smiling - even as she slept.

But one night something was different. The Moon seemed sad. His face was always soulful, but tonight the sky seemed darker than usual and his sadness poured a ghostly light upon all the trees. The shadows of tiny animals could be seen scurrying about in the grass below her window. Something was about. But what could it be? Her feelings of sadness started filling her eyes with tears and it scared her so much that she reached up and closed the curtains. She lay her head down and tried to sleep. Maybe it would go away by morning. She thought about how sunny the day had been and all the fun she had playing with her friends. Soon she fell asleep. But this time - there was no smile on her face.

The next night came quickly. All day long she thought about the Moon. She wondered whether his sleep during the day had helped. Reaching up she pulled back the curtains and there he was – even sadder than the night before. What could she do? She felt the Moon was so distraught because of her. Was it something she had done? She thought and thought. She even tried laughing and waving at the Moon but nothing seemed to help. Finally she lay back and looked at the sad Moon and began to cry. The tears rolled down her cheeks and onto her chest. The tears began to form a small puddle that reflected the moonlight. As the puddle grew it stopped reflecting and became a magnifying glass - burning into her chest. She fell asleep crying. The Moon kept calling to her, but she could no longer hear him. His sadness eventually burned a hole into her heart.

The morning came and she lay in bed sleeping until the Sun finally woke her up. Her father came into her room surprised that she was still under the covers. He helped her out of bed, but she struggled slowly to her feet. She felt like she was still dreaming. In fact – the entire day seemed to pass like a dream. What happened with the Moon? Was he trying to tell her something? How silly of her to think such things. No one can talk to the Moon. How childish she had been. Our little girl felt much older that day. Looking outside she saw her friends playing and jumped up and went outside. She did not want to be alone again. And she definitely did not want to look at the Moon anymore. It had all been a strange nightmare.

The whole day passed and she could hardly remember a thought in her head. It went by so quickly. She had so much fun with all her friends. They even played dress up. They painted each others faces and pretended they were all grown up - ready to be married to some handsome prince. Someday she would find him. And he would save her from the nightmares she had about the Moon. Only his love could save her. Someday he would come. Then she walked over and stood in front of the mirror. And she gasped. She didn't notice the make-up on her face. She didn't notice her beautiful white dress. All she could see was a hideous hole right in the middle of her chest. Horrified – she ran screaming to her father who held her tightly and listened to her cries. She told him what she saw and he looked and saw nothing. All he could see was his beautiful young girl all dressed up as a bride. He smiled and hugged her tightly until her crying stopped.

The next day her sadness seemed to be even worse. She could not even raise herself out of bed. And she had placed a blanket over the mirror so she would not see the hole anymore. Her father and mother became very worried. They could not see what she saw, but decided to pretend and tried to think of a way to help her. They took her to an old gypsy woman in town who had a reputation for curing such ills. Most people felt she was a charlatan, but if it helped his daughter – her father was willing to give it a try. So they picked her up out of bed and carried her to the woman. When they arrived they told her about their daughter and asked for her help. She said she had something magical - but said that the girl would need to keep it with her and guard it at all times. She disappeared into a back room and came out carrying a small wooden box. She opened it and inside was the most stunning green emerald any of them had ever seen. They all stood there – amazed by its power.

The old gypsy woman instructed the girl to place the emerald over the hole in her heart and everything would be fine again. So the young girl took the stone and placed it over the hole. She stood up and walked over to a mirror in the room and indeed - the hole was gone. Everything was beautiful again. Her eyes lit up, a huge smile swept across her face and alas – our dear girl was happy once more. She ran over and hugged her parents – thanking them for their love and support. The gypsy woman interrupted their joy with a warning. She said the girl must always keep the emerald with her and that she could never tell anyone about the emerald at all. If she did – it would be lost forever. The girl didn't understand because of course everyone could see it. But in fact – as her parents assured her – no one could see the emerald but her. All the world could see was their beautiful, smiling girl again. The sadness had surely passed. And her loneliness had been forgotten.

Many years went by and the girl grew into a young woman who everyone adored and cherished. But in spite of all this - her emptiness remained. And she had grown tired of carrying the emerald. She knew people could see fine green glow - but no one could see her at all. Many handsome men courted her and asked her for her love. She thought she loved some of them, but they never stayed with her for long. They could sense her sadness and disenchantment with herself and it frightened them away. She started spending more and more time alone. She would sit for hours staring into her mirror passing in and out of dreams. In fact – she gradually lost the ability to distinguish her life from her dreams. She decided it would be best to stay away from her mirror for a while. So she started disappearing into the woods at night sitting by her favorite, secret pond. Here she could be completely alone.

She had heard tales about the dangers of this magic pond. People would say that late at night, especially during a full Moon, an old wolf could be seen roaming the edges of the pond in search of peoples' souls. But she was not afraid. What could be more frightening than a hole in her heart? So – every night she would venture out into the dark woods and she would sit alone by the pond trying to see just a faint reflection of herself. One night she thought she heard someone singing a sweet melody just off in the darkness. It seemed to grow louder and fainter with the wind. It frightened her because she had always assumed she was by herself. It was a lonely song - but it pleased her somehow. She started coming back to the same spot every night hoping to hear it again. Sometimes it was soft and distant and other times the voice seemed to be right behind her. This gave her chills. But she felt comforted by the songs.

On a night like any other night – except that the Moon seemed much fuller than usual – the young woman disappeared into the woods. She sat by the magic pond and stared at her image in the water. The Moon was so bright the surface was like glass. In fact - it shone like an exquisite mirror. She was so captivated by her image that she decided to play with her emerald as she stared into the water. She pulled it away from the hole in her heart and then replaced it. When she pulled it away dark clouds soon passed in front of the Moon and everything became very dark. When she replaced it – at once the Moon returned to its brightest bright. She became so amused by her antics she had not noticed the face which had appeared next to hers in the water. She immediately fell back upon herself and screamed trying to scramble to her feet. It was the old wolf. The wolf laughed and asked her if she had not heard his songs. There was no need to be frightened. He had been watching her for some time.

The wolf and the woman soon became close friends. He had seen her playing with the emerald and she wondered how he could see it at all. He replied that since he was not human he could see many things people could not see. And this was his curse. Because he could see such things, people were afraid of him and forced him to live alone in the dark woods. They even spread tall tales about his viciousness so that no one would wander out and become his friend. He had been alone by the magic pond for many years. His greatest love was sharing the beauty he saw in the world - but people had become too terrified to look. His shadow was enough to send a rush of panic through the streets. So he had decided to stay alone in the woods hoping that someone would eventually come. When he saw the woman returning every night, he could not help but sing his songs for her. And this made him very happy.

Sometimes their conversations would span the entire night. She would come out at dusk and they would sit together by the pond and speak of castles and princes and the boundless wealth of love and compassion. Suddenly she was a little girl again staring out her window at the Moon. It felt so comfortable and forgiving. But after many months, their talks often grew bitter and harsh. The wolf wanted her to stay with him - but she kept insisting on leaving. She could not fall in love with a wolf. They started blaming each other for their sadness. And on many nights, the woman would flee in anger feeling that the wolf had deceived her into becoming a friend. She started retreating to the woods less and less and this made the wolf angry and unhappy. He missed her so much. And his songs became dark and lonely. Without her - he often sensed he had reached his end. The wolf loved her very much.

One night the woman lay alone in her bed staring out at the Moon. She thought about her time spent with the wolf and she wondered how he was doing. Her loneliness reminded her of him. Holding onto her emerald for strength, she gathered her coat and decided to go and try to find him again. The woods seemed unusually dark that night even though there was a beautiful full Moon. She could hear the wolf singing softly in the distance. But as she thought she was getting closer, the farther away the singing became. She became confused and tired and called out to him. His singing continued yet it grew fainter and fainter. At last she came upon the magic pond that seemed more alive than ever. She had never seen such a clear reflection of herself. She smiled and leaned forward – holding the emerald out over the pond. The moonlight hit the stone and lit up the entire pond with a brilliant green. She suddenly noticed that the Moon was still full and she had forgotten herself all together. Indeed - she was a child again.

Then suddenly before she could think another thought – the wolf jumped at her from behind and grasped the emerald and disappeared into the pond. Splash! Water flew everywhere completely soaking her dress and hair. She stood up shaking to her feet. Confused and surprised she soon realized the emerald and the wolf were gone. And she knew they were gone forever. She looked up at the Moon and he didn't seem so sad anymore. She looked at her heart and the hole was gone. She smiled knowingly and started back along the path towards her home. As the years passed, she often thought about the wolf and what he had taken and given to her at the same time. She would find herself born here again and occasionally she would wander back to the pond. And sometimes if she listened closely, she could still hear the wolf singing for her. And on some evenings when the Moon was especially full – everything seemed to be blessed with a hint of green.

for Jenny

with much love

copyright © 2007

Patrick Flanigan

All rights reserved