Once upon a time, in a far, faraway kingdom, farther than your mind and mine can travel, together combined, there lived a good king.
He had a queen for a wife and three daughters, one more beautiful than the other.
The oldest was named Sophia, for her wisdom and knowledge were all known in the kingdom.
The second was Malinda, for her gentle spirit and kindness. Her golden hair was rich with curls and her eyes were like the blue morning sky.
The youngest was Carissa, for her love and joy in everything and everyone she touched were overwhelming.
The king loved all of his daughters dearly, but Carissa has always been the apple of his eye.
The kingdom was a happy place, filled with laughter and cheerful songs. The land was rich, the crops plentiful and the people content with their abundant lives.
Until one night... a fierce wind came from nowhere and blew so hard that all the crops were destroyed and the homes damaged. Night after night, the wicked wind blew and blew until it dried up all the land. The people came running to the king, with their arms up in the air, crying and begging him to restore their homes and their land somehow.
"We are all going to die!", they cried.
The king was deeply troubled and didn't know how he could stop the fierce wind. He consulted his royal court, but no one knew what it was to be done either. Until one day... an old man of one hundred or maybe more, came to the palace and asked if he could have a word with the king.
"Your kingdom can be saved, Your Majesty", he said, leaning on his old wooden cane. "But to do so, you'll have to pay a dear price."
"I'll do anything to save my people", the good king spoke with a loud voice.
"There is an old tradition of our land my grandfather told me about when I was a young lad, to offer the gift of sacrifice. Tomorrow take your oldest daughter, Sophia and send her away."
The king cried and cried and asked the old man to maybe remember if there could be another way. The man humbly shook his head and told him there wasn't any.
With deep sorrow in his eyes and a heavy heart, the king sent his first daughter away, not knowing if he would ever see her or find her again.
But, as the night fell, the wind kept blowing and blowing, destroying everything in its path. The people cried again, the king wept in his heart. The old man said he ought to send his second daughter away also, and maybe in doing so, the wind could be stopped.
That too wasn't enough and the king's heart was now broken. He had given up Sophia and Malinda, his beautiful daughters whom he held so dear...
The old man came again and, with a trembling voice, he said "My good king, you know you have one last treasure left. The daughter whom you love the most, Carissa..."
The king could not speak a word. His heart could not accept this, not his most cherished and beloved, his only daughter whom he always thought would stay by his side till the end of his days... But his mind and the weeping and crying outside the palace told him he had no other choice.
He locked himself in the secret chamber of his highest tower and there, all alone, the good king with a heart of gold, wept for days and nights until he felt his heart was no more.
After seven days and seven nights, he sent his most beautiful daughter away.
And as the night began to fall over the kingdom, just then the wind suddenly stopped. With it, bright new mornings came, the people were singing and rejoicing, and soon the land started bursting with life and abundance again.
The king was pleased to see he has served his dear people well, and smiled for their happiness and joy. But his heart had become like a hard piece of stone that couldn't feel much of anything anymore.
Years have passed and the king' sorrow never left him. Lonely and tired, he knew it was his time to make the same journey as his precious daughters, whom he could have never found again.
On a crisp early morning, as he packed a few things, the king left a a short note behind "The price was paid, but all this time the fierce wind has moved inside my heart."
Not very long after, that very summer, the people said in the warm nights, a new constellation could be seen, of four beautiful stars shining together so bright, like the jewels of a crown in a far faraway kingdom.
The old man of one hundred or maybe more, named it the Dove, since through its sacrifice, the earthly kingdom and its inhabitants were all restored to life and peace again, which they enjoyed for many, many more years to come.
The Dove still shines in the nightly sky, and tonight, if you happen to be in a very quiet place, listening very closely to the stars, you might hear laughter and singing, for the king has finally found his heart.
Copyright
© 2012 Cristina Miller
Your words will hold you dear.
