Four oclock in the afternoon. The sea is blue.
Luis Armando rests in a hammock. A palm-leaf roof protects him from the sun.
He loves the sea. Contemplating its vastness, he is happy.
He is peacful.
He visits the sea every day, the marvelous
The boy belives it to be his confident. The sea is silent. It caresses his toes...it returns his love. Luis Armando rises and runs barefoot through the warm sand. Reaching the shore, he speaks:
A wave breaks over his feet, almost knocking him down.
Hey there, my friend! Dont overdo it!
Luis Armando hears a tiny voice:
Little boy, over here, comes over here!
He looks around but sees nobody.
Here I am. Here in the sea.
And there, riding the crest of a wave was a seahorse. No common, ordinary seahorse, mind you. No, this one was almost the size of Luis Armando himself! The child kept staring.
Come. Come here.
Are you speaking to me?
The child is astounded. The seahorse asks:
Would you like to take a ride with me?
A ride? To where?
To the Enchanted City.
City? In the sea?
Of course in the sea! This is a special invitation.
Luis Armando side -steps a wave:
Thank you, little horse. Please tell
The Sea Horse came closer and whispered:
Take this blue shell. Observe that it is quite different from any other shell you have ever seen. Pit it under your tongue. You will feel like a fish.
The child wading deeper into the sea, took the shell. He placed it under his tongue and made a face at the saltiness.
Will we return early?
Whenever you wish!
Then, lets go!
Luis Armando mounted the sea horse with great confidence. They sumerged. What a beatiful world! Color, movement, more color.The child moves along admiring enourmous plants, fish, mollusks, sea stars, animals that look like tiny trees.
He is so happy. He can breathe without any trouble. The blue shell is truly a marvel.
They pass the remains of a sunken ship. Even though it has a mysterious air about it, the fish are unafraid and dash in and out. Maybe it was a pirate ship! Now its sole tenant is a giant octupus.
They swiftly speed by a forest of tiny orange, red, white and black trees. Coral! They continue racing through the sea. Luis Armando has a strong hold on the sea horses neck. In the distance he sees a golden castle.
The boy rubs his eyes. He must be dreaming! Through the filtered sea light the castle seems to be made of pure gold. They have reached the entrance. Two fliying fish stand guard. The sea horse announces:
This is the
The child nods to the two fish. They wave their tails in greeting. Inside he sees a huge room with very high ceilings. Three circular lamps, lit by fluorecent fish, blink their lights on and off. At the end of a long hall, an incredible sight:
Seated on pearl-studded thrones sit seven mermaids. Each one has a different colored tail with hair to match. Shining tails, rose -colored skin: a vision to behold!
The mermaid on the end? She is silver; the next one golden, the third is copper-colored. In the middle, rocking on a swing of moss, a Metallic -blue mermaid. The others are green, red and on the very end a beautiful mermaid of pale mauve.
The blue mermaid speaks:
Come closer child. Dont be afraid.
Luis Armando walks closer but deep down inside he is filled with a mixture of surprise, curiosity and a wee bit of terror.
Who are you?
We are Sea Fairies.
Sea Fairies. You look like mermaids. Have you always lived here?
For centuries and centuries. Even before the
Why do we know nothing of you?
Some sailors have seen us but when they reach shore they deny our existence.
The child was interested:
Lovely mermaids, what do you do here?
We guard the treasures of the sea, write the laws of harmony for the fish and we keep the Magic Book of the Sea in order.
The Magic Book of the Sea?
Yes, it contains all the stories and tales of planet earth.
The golden mermaid signaled and a Swordfish played a giant flute. Its sound was echoed in circles of vibrations which grew larger and wider by the second.
Four red fish entered carrying an enormous book bound in gold. The mauve colored mermaid opened the book in half. Two transparent, crisytal pages appeared.
I cannot see a story. In fact I cannot see anything!
With only a wish the story you desire will appear.
Stories and tales of things past?
Yes, but you may also see the future and the present.
Luis Armando pressed his finger to his temple to think clearly.
Wich story shall I choose? He remembered the old pirate ship he saw on his ride on the sea horse.
May I see a story about pirates?
The crystal pages lit up. A ship with furling sails moved on a calm sea.The flag assures him it is a Spanish galleon, probably bringing silver from the
The sailor on watch, sporting an eye patch scans the horizon.
Above him, a black flag with a skeleton is visible. A pirat ship!
The ship with the skeleton flag comes dangerously close. Rope stairs are flung across the side of the Spanish galleon and a voice bellows:
Aboard my privateers!
The English pirates board the ship. A bloody battle with swords and sables takes place. The last scene shows a ship, loaded with silver and other treasures headed in the direction of
Then the child pleaded:
May I see something that is taking place now?
The Magic Book blinked off and on again: It was dark. As if it were nightime. Suddenly, on the screen, space ships whizz by in space.
And this?
Who rides in these ships?
Some come from Asia, others from
Now, I should like to see the future.
The Magic Book turned off and lit up anew. A radiant sun appeared.
It illuminated everything. Contemplating the light was a man, a woman and a child.
Who are they?
You are the man, because you are the future. The woman is the companion you will choose. The boy is born of your love. After conquering the earth, the sea and space, the man of the future will finally conquer himself and live in peace and love among his fellow -men.
The book became dark once more. Luis Armando was pensative.
The mermaids stepped down from their thrones and escorted the boy to the castle entrance.
Waving their hands they wished him farewell.
The sea horse was waiting.
He mounted anew and at full speed they headed toward the shore.
It was dusk. The sun was sinking.
Thanks to
Goodbye, little boy...Goodbye!
Luis Armando carefully put the blue shell in his pants pocket. He lanned to save it with the hope he could put it to use again some day.
Will they invite him back to the
Time has gone by. On the coast of
