In Tír Fo Thuinn, Áine lived freely. She explored the mountains and played among the brightly colored trees. She made friends with creatures that she had never heard of. But best of all, every day, often for many hours at a time, she would put on her new cap and go out into the ocean. She would swim and explore and make friends with all manner of fishes. This was truly everything that she has dreamed of.
Every morning would be spent with Bradán Feasa, a giant salmon who ruled this land and knew everything there was to know about the world. She learned much from the salmon, though mostly she was concerned with the secrets of Tír Fo Thuinn, the history of its people and the wonders of the ocean depths.
It was several months before the thought of her parents re-entered her mind. She wondered how they were and what they were doing. She kept her growing desire to see them again held down, both in hopes that she might move on from it and, foolishly, so Bradán Feasa would not know. But the salmon knew the moment the thoughts entered her head. He allowed her to stew over her feelings for a time for he also knew that, soon enough, she would ask.
Finally, when the pain of not knowing was too much, she broke and went to see if he knew how they had faired after her departure.
"Your parents are well. They live happy lives. Their only pain is that they were never able to have a child."
"But they had a child," she refuted. "I am their child." Her voice betrayed her desperation.
"Your parents have forgotten about you. From the moment you jumped from that cliff, their memories of you disappeared."
For the first time since she had arrived, Áine wept.
Understanding her pain from the thought that she would never seen her parents again, the salmon offered comfort.
"You will see your parents two more times," he told her. She removed her hands from her face and looked at him. "They will not remember you, but they will welcome you."
She stood, intending to rush immediately up to see them.
"You will know the way when the time comes. But remember, you will only see them twice more and never again."
YOU ARE READING
The Waves of Éire
Short StoryTired of being trapped on the shores of Éire, Áine wishes nothing more than to be a Merrow, swimming freely through the ocean and exploring the mystical world of Tír Fo Thuinn.
