The Northern Wind

The Northern Wind

And then, one day the wind fell in love with the fisherman's daughter. From the first day he saw her playing on the beach, the wind couldn't resist her charm, so he swore to always protect her, spoil her, be there in good and bad times, in health and ill, till the end of times.

The wind saw the girl becoming a woman, and every day his worshiping grew with every smile, every look, every word, even with every tear... the wind was always there to comfort her with a warm breeze when she was sad, a gale when she defiantly wanted to play, he pushed the waves to bring fish to the shore when she was hungry, he joined her calmly standing in moments of reflective peace, and sometimes wishpered her his love during her last glimpse to the ocean before the sunset. The wind was happy, and she seemed to rejoice her moments spent with him as well. Those were happy times for both of them...

But then, one day, a storm came, and the wind was hit with rage, uncapable of stopping the strom's thirst for destruction. The wind was crushed, but with his last breath, sent the warning to the beach, so the fisherman's family knew that chaos was coming.

The girl, sitting on the porch, sensed the warning, ran to tell his father, the rumor was spread, and promotly everyone in the village packed and left. Safely on the road, the girl's family saw their house being savagely destroyed by the storm, every inch of the wooden house was torn apart, and with tears on their eyes, they decided it was time to move on, to find a new place to settle, and never look back.

After several days, the storm got bored and left; the wind finally stood up and reached the place where the fisherman's house used to be: only debris and ashes he found, no trace of people at all, only the remains of a life he was hoping to get back some day...

So, the wind waited. People returned and built again, because that's what people do: endure, keep fighting, trying again. But her beloved girl never came back.

The wind kept providing, helping the other fishermen to get established and continue their regular chores. But the wind was hurt. Snowflakes started growing from its core. The once warm and gentle breeze became an icy zephyr, which eventually froze the shore, leaving barely enough conditions for the fishermen to live. The village survived, but the wind didn't.

After some time, the girl came back to the village, a quick visit on holidays to tell her children the stories of her childhood, about the fishermen, the sea, the happy memories she had playing in the ocean, and how majestic the wind once was, before they had to runaway and change their lives because of the storm.

The wind saw again her beloved one, but it was too late, as he knew he meant nothing but a memory to her, and she would leave sooner than she arrived.

They played, the kids laugh, the girl seemed to enjoy every part of the day. But then, the sunset came, and everyone of the family jumped to the car for the long ride home... And the wind, with a last glimpse of hope, stayed and waited... waited for a goodbye, with a magnificent icy sunset at his back... but this time, the girl didn't look back.

"I'm tired of memories", the wind said. "I only wished, for once, that someone decided to stay"... And so, he left the village, flew to the north, and it's icy breeze was never felt again...