My OperaA Dragonfly
Saturday, December 19, 2009 4:09:57 PM
In a city of peace and quiet, there was this couple who every sunrise would be shoulder by shoulder admiring the sun coming up and hand in hand strolling along the sandy beach every sunset. Such was their passionate love that any eye glaring at them was filled with great envy.
***
Yet came, in the midst of growing affections, this accident, a severe car crash, which took away the girl’s consciousness for a time long enough to tear her lover’s heart to a million pieces.
Each morning, by the side of her bed calmly sat her man, whispering her name in hope of her sudden recovery. Night time saw him firm on his knees in a nearby church desperately praying for the mercy of the Lord.
One month went by. The girl remained silent, motionless. The man remained faithful, giving prayers to God every single day and night. Such persistence came into its own when one day, God came to him in his dream saying: “Will you forsake your life for the sake of your love?”
“Yes”, firmly and cheerful replied the man. “What do I have to do?”
“You will become”, said God “a dragonfly for three years’ time. Will you?”
“I will, as long as she is back to life, I will”, answered the man, choking his words in tears.
And in the next morning, the man, now the dragonfly, hurried to the hospital. His love was there, smiling and chatting with her doctor.
***
The dragonfly could not hear them, but it could tell from the look on her face, that her heart was aching after her man who had disappeared altogether like a droplet vanished into a dark lake.
The dragonfly was always with her, watching her every move, feeling her every breath. But it could do nothing else. It could not talk.
Now as summer had ended and autumn had drawn near, the dragonfly, like all other dragonflies, had to leave that place, not to return until the very next spring. What it left for her before farewell was a fallen wing so light that her shoulder could not feel.
Soon came the long-awaited spring. The dragonfly hastily made its way back to where it belonged.
But the figure it had longed to see, was blissfully resting against the very doctor, strengthful and handsome, who was by her side every minute ever since she was back on her feet, who cheered her up whenever she was in despair, who offered a prompt shoulder for her to cry on in just the sudden times of trouble, and who, by his sincerity and advantage of intimacy, found his way right to her heart.
And there they were, right before the eyes of the dragonfly, every sunrise shoulder by shoulder admiring the sun coming up and hand in hand strolling along the sandy beach every sunset. The small insect remained powerless.
A year afterward, the dragonfly did not bother to visit its love any more, for across her shoulders were his arms, and upon her lips, were his. She could not afford even a second, to take heed of a fallen wing which was too light.
***
Then the day came, happy and gloomy, when this couple arm in arm strode their every step into the sacred church expressly decorated to witness the event of a life time: their wedding day. Music was filling the air. Attendants were humming along. And there it went, for the ring to come forth.
Into her finger he slid his gold ring. To the eyes of beholders they engaged in a heartfelt kiss. The three years’ period came to an end.
The dragonfly withdrew, flying away in silence and distress, to search for God.
And He asked it: “Do you regret?” to which it made this sorrowful reply: “I don’t, Lord”
“Then, from now on, you can be back to your human self”.
“No, Lord” the small creature drooped its tired wings, and hung on the petal of a dying rose “let me be a dragonfly, to the end of my life…”
***
Yet came, in the midst of growing affections, this accident, a severe car crash, which took away the girl’s consciousness for a time long enough to tear her lover’s heart to a million pieces.
Each morning, by the side of her bed calmly sat her man, whispering her name in hope of her sudden recovery. Night time saw him firm on his knees in a nearby church desperately praying for the mercy of the Lord.
One month went by. The girl remained silent, motionless. The man remained faithful, giving prayers to God every single day and night. Such persistence came into its own when one day, God came to him in his dream saying: “Will you forsake your life for the sake of your love?”
“Yes”, firmly and cheerful replied the man. “What do I have to do?”
“You will become”, said God “a dragonfly for three years’ time. Will you?”
“I will, as long as she is back to life, I will”, answered the man, choking his words in tears.
And in the next morning, the man, now the dragonfly, hurried to the hospital. His love was there, smiling and chatting with her doctor.
***
The dragonfly could not hear them, but it could tell from the look on her face, that her heart was aching after her man who had disappeared altogether like a droplet vanished into a dark lake.
The dragonfly was always with her, watching her every move, feeling her every breath. But it could do nothing else. It could not talk.
Now as summer had ended and autumn had drawn near, the dragonfly, like all other dragonflies, had to leave that place, not to return until the very next spring. What it left for her before farewell was a fallen wing so light that her shoulder could not feel.
Soon came the long-awaited spring. The dragonfly hastily made its way back to where it belonged.
But the figure it had longed to see, was blissfully resting against the very doctor, strengthful and handsome, who was by her side every minute ever since she was back on her feet, who cheered her up whenever she was in despair, who offered a prompt shoulder for her to cry on in just the sudden times of trouble, and who, by his sincerity and advantage of intimacy, found his way right to her heart.
And there they were, right before the eyes of the dragonfly, every sunrise shoulder by shoulder admiring the sun coming up and hand in hand strolling along the sandy beach every sunset. The small insect remained powerless.
A year afterward, the dragonfly did not bother to visit its love any more, for across her shoulders were his arms, and upon her lips, were his. She could not afford even a second, to take heed of a fallen wing which was too light.
***
Then the day came, happy and gloomy, when this couple arm in arm strode their every step into the sacred church expressly decorated to witness the event of a life time: their wedding day. Music was filling the air. Attendants were humming along. And there it went, for the ring to come forth.
Into her finger he slid his gold ring. To the eyes of beholders they engaged in a heartfelt kiss. The three years’ period came to an end.
The dragonfly withdrew, flying away in silence and distress, to search for God.
And He asked it: “Do you regret?” to which it made this sorrowful reply: “I don’t, Lord”
“Then, from now on, you can be back to your human self”.
“No, Lord” the small creature drooped its tired wings, and hung on the petal of a dying rose “let me be a dragonfly, to the end of my life…”
