The Story of Arna and the Narwhal

The Story of Arna and the Narwhal

A time long ago, there were no seas, only land as far as the eye could see. All whales were Narwhals and would float through the air gracefully without weight, and humans were bound to the earth as they are now. A girl named Arna would travel the countryside with her favorite friend, the Narwhal.

Arna would spend her days watching the Narwhal arch upwards and effortlessly soar through the clouds. Diving back down, he would glide so close to the land that the air beneath him would bend the grass blades of the hills before returning back to the sky. Grounded by the land, Arna over time, became jealous of the grace and magic her friend possessed.

One day, as they were resting in the grass, Arna turned to the Narwhal and asked, "How is it that you fly?"

The Narwhal responded, "I wasn't always able to child. It is something that happened as I grew. The longer my horn became, the more buoyant I became, until the day that I realized I could soar."

Hearing this, Arna thought to herself that if she could somehow take the horn from the Narwhal, she too could become powerful and fly. She turned to the Narwhal and told him, "I've heard that your horn is a source of great power, but it comes at a cost. For each ring you grow, you grow closer to death."

Upon hearing this, the Narwhal's eyes opened wide in fright. "But my horn is so long, death must be near!"

Arna responded, "Well, I could help you. Give me your horn, and you will get your life back."

The Narwhal hesitated in thought, and then replied, "You are truly a great friend Arna. I hope we will live together forever."

The greed inside Arna's heart turned her hands cold, as they wrapped around the Narwhal's horn. She tugged viciously until part of it began to tear. Tendons and tissue snapped and with one mighty heft, it broke free.

Arna stood triumphantly with the horn in her hand and looked down at Narwhal proclaiming, "Silly whale, nobody lives forever. And now, I can live the rest of my life with the freedom you've always had."

Breathing heavily, she summoned her thoughts to fly...yet nothing happened. She wasn't sure how to use the horn and asked, "How does this work?!"

There was no answer.

She looked down and saw the light in her friend's eyes grow dim. The whale was unresponsive. The horn, though beautiful, had no magical powers of it's own. She didn't think taking it would harm her friend but apparently, what she wanted most was something that could not be separated.

She stood alone on the hill with nothing but a broken reminder in her hand.

Realizing she had been selfish, she bent over the Narwhal, weeping uncontrollably. She wept and wept, until an ocean of tears formed around them. Waves of sorrow swept up around them until they both began to float away. It was at this point that she heard a voice.

It was the Narwhal's.

"My friend, what has happened! What is this that surrounds us?"

Arna looked up, "It is a sea of my sadness and love."

The Narwhal spoke, "It is this very thing that has brought me back but I must move on. I am now trapped here in the sea, yet I shall still soar through water as I once did the clouds. You can't live here Arna, so we must part ways. Perhaps we can meet again one day where the land joins the water."

Arna returned to the land as the Narwhal dipped below into the ocean's depths, forever separating the land mammals from the marine mammals. She walked many times to the waters edge, but never saw her friend again. Occasionally, she would hear the distant song of the Narwhal, which filled her ears with sadness and love.

The End.