emmaline meets her destiny
Emmaline sighed as noticed another missive in the magical box her father made so long ago, the faint glow of blue residing in the grain shining as bright as it did, the day he made it. Opening up the note she read it with barely a mind on it’s letters. Her mind, recalling the story of its origin; the musical mysterious man with the blue shimmer, her siblings came upon when they were young and the magical beans that propelled them into this business and it’s wealth. The name of her cousin from the mountains caught her eye and she found herself reading a second time and then a third, a quest? Lou was coming for a visit in the name of supplies and possible information some jewels the mountain king deemed important? Maybe this was her chance! Maybe she could find her way, her passion and destiny, her assurance this was for her. The rest of her family have long since left the business management to others, falling more and more into their passions. Her parents built this business from their passions after all, farming the crops and creating from it’s sledors; woodworking and finding ways to engineer it was her father’s delight while gardening and feeding were her mother’s. They also enjoyed teaching their craft and letting others explore it’s excitement. Her brother found his place in inventions and progressive creations, her sister found her passion in fashions and design, with a side of gossip and networking, Emmaline thought with a snort.The small family run business grew in a abundance with each customer’s delight in their wares and soon, Emmaline was stepping in from behind the curtain observing the goings on from a an early age at her family’s knee. But is it what do I want to do, he questioned, leaving the office in search of the rest of her family to tell them the news.
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Emmaline rested her head on the wood of the coach she was riding in. It was really happening, she was going to meet the musical man her sibling found before she was born, the one that gave them the means to start on their path of fame and fortune? Excitement rushed through, though so did a shiver of hesitation and fear. How are we going to find this man with a blue shimmer? What will he do? What will he say? Are they worthy?
Lou laid a hand on her arm and patted it gently “if the legend in that book were true, we should be fine. Your sibling showed great kindness and courage after all. This man DID tell them to call on him should they need anything, did he not.
Aleen snorted. “We are luckily our parents bred caution with our curiosity and encouraged multiple ways of doing things or our resident socialite would never have made our connecting network.
Iz slapped his arm “I am not the only impatient one in this family you know!?! But yes, my connections are vast, all walks of life like to be clothed and shon kindness. My merchandise and apparel seem to help fill that gap between the workman’s tools and the homemaker’s food is all.”
Emmaline rolled her eyes at her siblings' talk and turned to Lou “What did the book say exactly?”
Lou thought a minute. “Well, it made mention of three hearts of courage and kindness, the sapphire of the sea and then it told a tale of love and sorrow that forged a stone from its song of tears. As you know, your father came from a family of sea fishermen. Last night your father talked about the family legend of his ancestors. A tale of a young fisherman catching a magical fish that granted him three wishes? And another of a sailor driven mad by following a song?”
Emmaline leaned in and said excitedly “It has been written in some of our family journals that he was the same man! He wanted a love, a home of the heart, a companion that eased his loneliness that sea faring often brings. It said that the fish told him that one day he will hear a song and it will give him what he seeks!”
Her siblings nodded “ It said that in the search of the song, he found himself in a fierce storm and when it was over he found a maiden among a shipwreck he came upon. In traveling with her, he found a companion and a friend for his secrets. As he still yearned for that lasting love the fish alluded to, he kept traveling, looking for a song no one else could hear. He did eventually find love from a healer that took care of his companion after they caught some sort of sickness.” Isadore cooed, thinking of her ancestor’s love story.
Aleen finished the tale, “It said that his companion was heartsick from a heart given away but not returned and the healing stone that was meant to cure the ailments turned from the silvery white of the clam’s healing pearl to a shimmering blue opal. When the fisherman came upon his wish granting fish once again, he told of his life tale thus far. The fish with a shimmer of blue offered to keep his dying companion and her pearl opal safe and congratulated the man on finding love. In the burial of his people, he offered his companion and the stone to the sea and it is then that he heard the song. A haunting ballad of lost love but also of hope anew. In his grief from the loss of his companion who he shared with and held dear, even longer than his love, the journals note that he would sail and follow that song when the lands were hot and the seas were calmer. It seems he became a collector of lost souls as he would bring home a new one every winter and with his love’s healing knowledge, they saved many souls. Some became a companion to him or his love and some found their own ways. Yet, there were still some, they could not save and with then, the shimmering blue fish, my ancestry saved so long ago, would surface and vow to keep their souls safe upon returning to the sea.”
Lou sated carefully, “I believe after hearing the legends of your ancestor, and listening again to the story of your music man, he may be one in the same as that magical fish, and the jewel stone we seek is the pearl opal that the fisherman’s first companion had created, the one from my book.”
The siblings sat back in silence, thinking about all that was said.
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As they walked to the edge where the land and the sea meet, far enough from of the docks their family used for shipping their wares around the kingdoms, but close enough that they could see the sails of the cargo ship docked, Emmaline navigated the edge until she came to a crop of rocks and a shallow pool that they hid. She remembered coming here with her family to practice her fishing skills and exploring and observing the sea life that would find themselves in its pools. She looked at her siblings. “Did the man say how to contact him”
Aleen shrugged and said “just to come to the water’s edge.”
Izadore had walked into the sea to her ankles and said leaning over to dip her hands into the water, “ Remember that old fisherman’s plea, we found in one the storybooks from the booksellers shop?”
Aleen gave a second shrug. “I suppose it is worth a shot,” Emmaline and Lou watch as brother and sister walked farther into the sea with. The chant started low and as it grew louder, the symbols their hands patterned grew as well; slowly picking up speed, the louder they became. Soon the water around them came to play and a winds that Emmaline barely noticed, did too, both swirling around and around.The elements came together in a crash of a storm. SHe and Lou found themselves backing away as the storm that seemed only to conjugate around her siblings but not actually touch them flashed. She was so focused on the storm and her siblings she almost missed Lou’s finger as she pointed beyond them to a dark shadow shape that seemed to be coming closer in their direction swaying back and forth. As her siblings brought both their hands and their voices back down to their starting point and the winds and water making up the storm died down, the shape under the water, she thought looked more like the size of a major shipping boat, rippled, and the shape gew smaller still, swaying side to side. The longer she watched the longer she thought she noted a shimmer with every sway. From one sway to another-and with a splash in the direction of her now silent siblings, the...fish turned to a man that shimmered blue with every graceful sway he made, adjusting himself on a rock face.
“I see it is time, and my present has helped a great deal. It is pleasant to see the courage and kindness has come so far and traveled anew. Are you ready to travel the seas, three hearts of courage and kindness?”
The siblings looked startled at his words. Lou stepped back farther and exclaimed “I may be on a quest for the jewels but the water is not my friend and I will not befriend it today.”
The man of shimmering blue bowed his head and proclaimed, “this is not your leg of the quest, warrior of the mountain keep. Your father may think the stones better with one man. However, that has been done and failed. It is now time to share the burden the stone carries and work together. You are merely encouragement here. A mentor, while they are the legacy we seek.”
Lou heaved a sigh of relief and thanked him greatly. Emmaline hesitantly stepped forward to stand with her sibling who was walking to the waters edge while the conversation was happening. “I understand my sister and brother did a great service for you. How do I find myself part of it? How could I be a heart of courage and kindness.”
Aleen and Iz startled again at the title and stood closer to their little sister. “We were unaware it was us this quest was for. We just thought you could help our cousin like you did the fisherman.” Aleen spoke up.
The mystic man laughed out right and answered. “So you figured out who I am, though never thought it was your family, even after my test? You call me the mystic man and noted my magic in your crops but never thought of the courage and kindness it took to keep it. What happens to the crops if not watered and cared for? To the people without the crops they grow? They wither, do they not? You keep the journals of the stone and its people and are surprised it is the three of you that shall claim the stone when a quest for the jewels are called. Pleasant indeed!”
