PROSE Miracles. What are they really? Is everything a miracle? Or is nothing a miracle? Was it a miracle that he got a job? That she finally had a breakthrough? Maybe it was a miracle, or maybe it wasn’t, but for how often the word “miracle” pops up in people’s minds, nobody seems to question where the term comes from. Can they even imagine the pain of the spirit tethered to the Earth for thousands of years, waiting for them? Just trying to be seen, to be heard? Please, just anything, to let people know she’s there. She’s just trying to help them, but nobody notices her, not anymore. On this cold night where the mist settles low on rooftops, where she sits atop the house looking down at the ocean, her memories come to torment her once again.
It was an ancient civilization, a place only known by the term Aladonia. The people there lived in their own world, with stories of a history never recorded in any book. They worshiped the gods, especially the Sea God, as they were an island nation. However, they started hurting the sea. They took advantage of it and the Sea God, and they paid for it. The Sea God cursed their country, and misfortune fell upon all of them. With people dying at every turn, sickness plaguing every house, and the economy in ruins, not a single day went by without misery. Every day, the people lived through fear, doubts, and darkness. Until finally, one day, a girl changed everything. She was a child, born to a mother cursed with the misfortune of dying when she gave birth, and a
father that had an unfortunate passing a few months before. Being a part of this civilization, the curse attacked her as well. However, she always tried to help the people around her, but they didn’t want it. They lived so long through pain, they didn’t know how to accept anything else. However, no matter what happened every day, no matter how many people told her to hate the Sea God, she couldn’t. Through each misfortune, each moment, the sea was the only place she found comfort. The waves gently lapped against the shore, burying her ankles in the water and sand. In the day, the crystal emerald hue of the water filled her with joy and wonder. At night, it seemed like she was swimming among the stars. The loud unhappiness of the country didn’t affect her here. The Sea God was initially angry that the girl had come to seek their domain for comfort, when they were the one that had been hurt by the same people she was part of. But curiosity overtook them. The girl never asked for anything, she seemed simply content being near the water, being in the water. She was kind to the ocean and the animals living in it, but the Sea God wasn’t convinced. This had happened before, and the people had just taken advantage of them. So one day, they appeared to the girl. Made of water, they let their human shape take form, their skin the dark blue full of stars. The girl’s eyes looked up in wonder, and smiled. The Sea God raised an
A FORGOTTEN STORY 17|The penchant||MAY 2021
