Tales from the Shore[]
The Prospector and the Toucan Lady[]
"Love is the greatest treasure you shall find."- Metha Metharom
' Somewhere on the open sea, a ship makes its way to an island.
' This ship is led by a prospector and he comes with a map.
' The map supposedly leads to a forgotten gold mine, the ultimate treasure.
' The ship finally drops anchor and a small boat is dropped into the sea. The crew gathered in it and it began to make its way to the shore.
' Leading the way the prospector stood referencing the map while pointing his way to the shore.
The boat finally landed with a whump and the prospector clambered out with the rest of his men.
He looked this way and that trying to make sense of the map. "According to this," he said as he pointed at the map, "it should be very close to here."
No matter how much he and his men looked no gold could be found.
Then a sound came, the loud cawing of a bird, very loud and very clear which totally distracted him and his men.
The prospector, surprised by the sound, quickly made his way to where the noise was coming from.
Into the surprisingly dense forest he walked, he tripped and stumbled on his way to the source of the commotion.
When he got there he finally saw it was a Toucan that was making the infernal sound.
He grabbed a stick from the ground and swung it at the Toucan hoping to scare it away but, instead, the Toucan merely jumped from its perch only to land on his shoulder and continue to scream in his ears.
He lurched and stumbled but the Toucan would not let go but as he did so he found himself stumbling onto the ground face to face with his gold.
There he lay, on his chest, looking straight at a golden nugget. The very thing he was looking for, the only thing he was looking for.
Though still perched on the prospector’s shoulder the Toucan was silent, as if it was a sign from above that this miracle had happened.
No matter how much he tried the Toucan would not go away so he just left it at that and let it stay.
When he walked out of the forest, with the nugget in hand and the Toucan on his shoulder, the people shouted hooray at the find but gave him questioning looks.
' He just shrugged and said, "Yes, the Toucan is my good luck charm, it is the reason I found the gold."
The men merely shrugged but still gave him strange looks.
' Though to him it was clearly a lie, however, in reality, he would not know how true those words were.
The men took to working and tracked down the prospector’s path where they began to mine the gold.
Apparently the mine itself was not far from the spot where the prospector had fallen.
And soon they were almost overburdened by the loot. They would have to make many trips back and forth to the shore.
All this time the prospector was carrying the Toucan on his shoulder.
' Finally it was time for them to make their way home.
' When they were on the open sea, and the men were merry, they sang and danced and most of them drunk.
Then all of a sudden the Toucan began to scream.
The drunken men did not care for such a noise and therefore did not care for him either.
They threatened to throw it off the boat if the bird would not shut up.
From the drunken jeers and threatening stances the prospector ran for his cabin where he finally locked himself and the noisy Toucan in.
' Out of nowhere the sky began to rumble and everything began to change.
' A hurricane was suddenly formed which caused such a downpour and flooded the deck.
The ship wobbled this way and that as if about to tip over, all the while the Toucan continued to cry.
When the storm finally relented the prospector opened his door. Only a few sailors were left for most has been swept away by the heavy wind and rain.
The remaining men, remembering his earlier words, finally believed in the luck of the Toucan and so did he for without the bird his life would not have been saved.
' Days later, on the sea on a night of a full moon, the prospector found himself feeling restless and thus found himself on the deck.
Sometime later would he realize that the bird was no longer on his shoulder and was nowhere to be found.
As he walked the deck he saw a figure leaning on the railing. It was a beautiful dark skinned woman and he found himself falling in love at first sight.
The woman, surprised by his sudden appearance, nearly fell over the railing.
But she did not fall for he appeared suddenly very close to her stopping her fall.
' They were face to face and there was an uncomfortable silence and she found herself to be falling deeply in love with him again.
For she was the Toucan that had perched on his shoulder earlier in the day; by night her curse was lifted and she would become a woman.
' Neither of them made a move and merely stared at each other. Both returning each other’s feelings but by the morning the prospector was found lying on the deck with the Toucan perched on his shoulder.
When he finally woke he tossed the dream away determined to use logic to explain what had happened.
What happened last night were a dream and a figment of my imagination, he thought.
They had finally reached civilization with the Toucan still perched on his shoulder.
With new found riches came fame. With fame came new credibility. With those things he became equal to a Lord and many young women flocked to his side.
Then he saw the girl he had seen in his dream and he fell instantaneously in love with her again but, for some reason, the Toucan was even louder than before.
Blinded by love, he would not listen to his Toucan and the young woman soon moved in with him.
The Toucan was pried away and put in a cage but, for some reason, this would not stop its cry.
So he put it away in a room on the other side of the mansion so its cry could never be heard but the Toucan could not stop crying
' For the woman was a demoness who had stolen her form and was doing everything in her power to steal the riches from the prospector.
One day, the Toucan cried itself hoarse to the point that blood came from its beak.
Finally it lay still on the floor of its cage almost dead but still crying.
Later that night the prospector had a dream that his beloved lay dead at his feet; stuck in a cage and was crying herself to death.
Stumbling about he found his way to the other side of the mansion and there inside the cage the Toucan lay very still.
No! This is my fault, he thought and then the lie shattered and then and there the spell that was earlier cast upon him was finally broken and he held the dying Toucan to his chest.
A tear formed and fell on the dying bird, one drop was all it took and the bird transformed back into the woman.
From the other side of the mansion the demoness screeched, the fiery thing ran to where they were for when the spell was lifted she was turning back to the vicious thing she was.
But there was nothing the demoness could do to them for the love they had was too strong and she was banished.
However, his love came too late and the woman in his arms slipped away.
' He cried and cried until an angel appeared.
' The angel said, "There is a chance that she can be saved but for this to happen you must toss everything away even this life you live." He then added, "Do you accept?"
The prospector knows not what he speaks but “Yes,” he replied, and the deal was done.
' The darkness swept over him and all of a sudden he found himself on a boat holding onto a map.
He was given a second chance and this time around he would find his treasure, his true love and not the riches.
He made his way into the forest where the Toucan was perched crying out its heart. He merely offered her his shoulder and made his way back to the boat totally disregarding the nugget in his path.
He lived out his entire life again only this time with his Toucan by his side, though she never did turn back into a woman he kept at her side, never rich and never poor he made his lot in life.
Then he felt it, someone had shaken his shoulder. He was lying down facing up looking straight at her face, she was crying in deep joy for he had indeed thrown his life away.
' He looked up and there was the Angel. "You see none of the reliving of your life had happened, it was a test of worth and you did well."
' He looked around and said, "I want not these treasures the only thing I ever needed was here,” and now he held the crying woman to his chest.
In the end he gave it all away so he was no longer rich in terms of gold but he was indeed rich in terms of love.
The Island and the Sea[]
"Some love can take you across the ocean." - Metha Metharom
' There is a small island far from any coast. It is surrounded in all directions by a vast open sea.
As far as it remembers it has always been. To keep it company are only a few living things, some rocks and some sand.
Its only true companion was the sea which surrounded it completely.
By everything that the rocks, sand, trees and a few monkeys knew they could tell that the island was menial and boredom would continuously set in.
The sea on the other hand would tell it of the various places it visits, the sea monsters and adventures by brave heroes who traverse across it. This was the best thing that the open sea had to offer.
But the island wishes for more instead of hearing about it and wanted to experience it.
' So one night upon a falling star its wish was granted and the island in its next life was born as a boy, a boy on a ship’s dock.
' The boy was handsome, full of vigour and curiosity, which would win him many friends.
' However, on the dock, there would be one girl, who would always sit there and watch over him, she did not have many friends and she was sickly but because she always watched over him, he would always watch over her.
' So in making his decision he approached her and said, "I will make you a deal, when I grow up and become stronger I will become an adventurer of great renown and each time I come back I will tell you a great story so you must stay well for me so that I may return."
' So when he grew older, he did indeed became strong and a mighty adventurer of the sea.
The girl, his closest friend, remained at the dock always waiting to hear of his stories upon his return.
The man would venture forth to deal with pirates, sea monsters and forces of nature and each time he would return to that small dock only to tell her of his adventure on the open sea.
' The girl, now a young woman and even though she was still sickly, would always wait for his stories for it was their promise together that she would stay well so that he would return.
Though this arrangement worked well…the woman's health still failed her because her true feelings were that she was in love with the man and not the stories he would bring.
The man did not know this and his adventures would take him further and further across the ocean, farther and farther away from the young woman.
This was so that he may bring back even more daring tales from across the sea.
But the thing was though the stories were much more adventurous each time the journey would take longer, and thus each time he would take longer to get back to the dock and to her.
The young woman would stay at home and pine for the young man getting sicker and sicker for she was not being true to her heart.
On his longest journey yet and the most daring, he looks forward to seeing her face and tell her his story once more.
Though he did not know it he too was in love with the young woman at the dock.
' But when he was on his journey back the sky grew dark, and it was the biggest storm that ever hit.
On the open sea he and his crew fought the wrath of nature and he would eventually win but at the cost of more time.
Time which the young woman does not have for she was becoming so sick she could no longer stand.
As he fights through the storm the young woman fights through her sickness in hopes of seeing him once again.
' As he got through the storm, he encountered a savage sea monster and he fought hard though now battle worn, he continued on his way only so that he may see her once again.
' The young woman became sicker and sicker but she fought hard and managed to stay conscious.
' Just as he was about to reach home, pirates appeared, blocking his path and he was “at his rope's end”.
' The young woman did her best but she could fight no more and lost consciousness.
' He was tired and ragged from the many fights and could barely stand up when he heard the news that she was deep in sleep.
He had fought these things long and hard only to come back to find out she was nearly dead.
There was no longer any point to his adventures if she was not there to hear them.
With a realization that he was in love with her and not the adventures was too late and he sunk into deep despair.
He loved her so dearly that he let out a cry into the sky hoping that the heavens would listen.
' And the heavens did listen, as it always had, for his love was pure.
It granted him his wish though the young woman did not waken her condition got better.
' That was all he needed and he stayed day and night by her side to make sure she would get better.
One day she finally wakes to find him there and she was half expecting him to tell her his stories but instead he took her in his arms and held her.
She began to speak but he silenced her and said, "Though I have travelled many oceans and many seas, I would rather be with you as your island in the sea, never will I travel more for the biggest adventure is being beside you always."
' The girl smiled and accepted his words for she in fact was the sea that used to tell him the equally amazing stories when he was an island and she was the sea.
The Crab and the Gull[]
"Love can come in the most unexpected form." - Metha Metharom
On a small island there sits a rock and under the shade of a rock is a small sand crab.
Whenever it needs food it comes out from the shade of the rock.
However, the shade does not only provide shelter, it also provides protection.
As it comes out to hunt so too does the seagull.
The crab is considered a food source for the gull.
As they scuttle about searching for food, the gulls peck at the crab and it would scuttle back underneath the shade of the rock.
This would happen on a daily basis.
' Because it happens so much the crab is not bothered by it.
' One gull, however, would chase, peck and prod at it with more fervour than the others.
This, of course, is the sole worry of the little crab.
' One day the crab grew tired of this and asked, “Why do you peck at me so, when many a time you could have eaten me?”
And the gull said, “Because of the mere fact that I want to do this.”
' Confused by the answer the little crab grows frustrated.
' Day by day it would continue on.
' The crab would scuttle out and then quickly scuttle back in as the one gull, out of the many, would peck and prod at it with more energy than the others.
Then there came a day that a ship wrecks on the shore of the lonely island.
' As the ship is being fixed the humans, for some reason, took away the rock.
' The little crab is now bereft of its home and protection.
' The only other place that the little crab considers as safe is too far away underneath the cliff face but she can burrow into the sand below
The gulls seeing that the little crab now has nowhere to go come at it with more energy than ever before.
It scuttles about every which way but it knows it cannot escape for long.
It nearly gives up when it was suddenly lifted into the air, it knew this to be its last day.
' But this was not the last day for within a few seconds later it was dropped near a hole in front of the cliff face.
It was the lone gull that would peck and prod at the little crab with more fervour than the others.
The crab scuttled into the hole and looks up to thank the gull.
' But the other gulls have seen the obvious betrayal and turn their attack toward the lone gull.
' In the end there was a lot of blood and feathers on the sand, but the rest of the gulls were gone.
The crab, seeing that the fight was over, scuttles back out onto the beach only to find the lone gull dying on the sand.
“Why did you help me?” the crab asked.
“Do you not know?” asked the dying gull.
' It was a rhetorical question for the crab did know, the gull had poked and prodded at it with more fervour than the others for the same reason it had protected the crab.
' It was love…pure and simple love.
' But it was too late for the gull lay dead at the crab's feet.
' The crab turns upward and wishes with all it's might that one day it can meet the gull again.
A century later, on the very same shore, a woman with crab pattern on her dress paddles in her boat waiting for a fish to bite.
As she can feel the tug on her line, a small plane swoops past her causing her to lose her line.
' On the plane was painted a picture of a seagull.
' So it came to pass that the little crab's wish was granted.