Week 3 Story: The Captivating Pearl
This story is now part of my portfolio project website. If you would like to access it, I have left a link for your convenience: Lillian's Indian Epics Portfolio  |
| An Illustrious oyster. Web Source: Wikimedia
One very hot and sunny day, Jack and Molly were out on their boat gliding through the vivid blue lagoon off the coast of Fiji. Fiji was their favorite Island to vacation on.
However this trip was different than most.
Jack and Molly planned an excursion that would allow them to get a greater glimpse on life below.
Molly exclaimed, "Jack, I am so thrilled to experience this one of a kind trip with my true love"!
Jack and Molly had a rough past couple of months.
Jack's brother Sam, had passed away suddenly with an incurable illness.
While Molly's father had suffered a heart attack.
Both tragedies pushed Jack and Molly to live their absolute best lives, with no regrets, just love and laughter.
Jack said, "Me too honey, we both really needed this".
Molly smiled softly as she brushed her chocolate brown hair, with her delicate fingers.
"I agree, and I am so thankful we get to enjoy this life together". "As long as we are living, we will never be apart", said Molly.
The couple ventured further into the lagoon, where school of colored fish and lively water plants rested below.
Molly said, "Jack, I've heard there are special pieces within the lagoon that lucky tourists sometimes find and keep.
"Oh sweet darling, lets just appreciate our ride and the company we provide one another".
Molly chuckled, "Yes, absolutely"! "But, if I see anything, I want to capture it".
Jack rolled his eyes but casually agreed to Molly's demands.
As they peered east of the lagoon, the sun caught a reflection that was shimmery than most.
"Jack, whats that"?? "Can we please get a closer look", Molly said.
"The waters always sparkle when the sun is out to play, dear", insisted Jack.
"But, lets just take a closer glimpse, sweetie pleeeease", Molly kindly urged.
Molly and Jack drew their boat closer and closer.
Jack grabbed his fishing net and scooped the gleaming water.
When they retrieved the net, an oyster so beautiful and smooth arose with it.
"Oh my Jack"! "I told you I saw something", said Molly.
"Yes you did dear", responded Jack.
Inside the oyster, lay the most simple but intriguing refined pearl.
It was truly captivating, but there was a twist.
This amazing pearl, contained a curse that would affect Jack, Molly, and their future lineage.
Although its beauty astounding, its purpose sought to ruin the lives of those who recovered it, from its home.
Now, the rest is to be continued.....
Author's Note: The story I utilized to create my own, came from the golden deer in the Ramayana. In the golden deer, Sita see's a dear that is superb and magnificent. She longs for it, so she sends Rama to retrieve it for her. Lakshmana is hesitant about Rama hunting the deer, because he suspects the deer is a disguised rakshasa. However, Sita gets her way and Rama goes after the deer, while the truth unfolds. The deer is a rakshasa and the story ends with Lakshmana looking for Rama, and Sita getting captured by Ravana. I completely changed the setting of the story, because I like the idea of discovering something in the waters of a beautiful place as opposed to a jungle. Jack and Molly are like my Rama and Sita. Lakshmana is Jack's brother Sam, but he dies of illness early on in the story. I chose a pearl to represent the golden deer because it is enticing and marvelous in its own way. I wanted to portray what I feel like the story showed as a lesson. My focus was on representing the things we want or desire in life, as not always turning out to be what they seem. In my story, Molly's desire to go further in the waters, led her to find something that ultimately signified her and Jack's ruin.
Ramayana Online: Public Domain Edition
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Hi Lillian!
ReplyDeleteI thought you took an interesting approach to this story and theme. I only figured out what part of the Ramayana you were using about halfway through, and it was a nice mystery until then. It was also cool how you incorporated Rama's brother as I didn't realise this part until the Author's note. I would have liked to read the ending to the story and now I'm curious to as what their curse will be! One suggestion I have is to just check on the punctuation and wording as it might help better with the flow (like in some parts I wasn't sure who was speaking).
Hi Lillian great story first off. You were very creative in the way you changed the story. I like how you changed the characters and even the object they were looking for and made it your own. One thing I would suggest is to change the theme of your blog as the white letters are a little difficult to read on the pink background. Overall great story.
ReplyDeleteHello, Lillian! Great location for finding something that is beautiful and unique in a place that would make it easy to see. I have never been to Fiji. But what I know of it, there are clear waters with abundant beauty below. I found that you gave a plausible motive for Jack and Molly to be out in the lagoon. Given all that they had been through, it is easy to assume that the two are empathetic to each other and ultimately that is why Jack wishes to appease Molly. As I read your story, I was left wondering who or what had put a curse on the pearl. In my mind, Davy Jones in all his “Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean” glory was moving below, and this was his precious pearl. Should there have been some sort of warning not to try to pull the oyster out of the water? In the story of the golden deer, the improbability of a golden deer existing alive in a forest was enough to know that Sita shouldn’t follow it. What if a warning or foreshadowing was included in your story to further describe why the curse existed? Perhaps this could bring greater depth (sorry, lagoon pun intended) to the story and the consequences Molly and Jack face.
ReplyDeleteHi Lillian! I really enjoyed reading your version of story. I liked how you changed the setting of the story from the jungle to a place with beautiful waters, like Fiji. I've never been there before, but I do imagine that it is a beautiful place. I also liked how you ended the story with a curse that's placed on the couple after retrieving the pearl in the oyster. However, I do have a question about where this curse comes from. Another question that I came up with after I finished reading your story was how would the curse affect their life? In the beginning of the story, you wrote about how they've both suffered great losses in their family. Would an immediate result after uncovering the pearl be something along the lines like her father passing? I thought that could be something that you could include to make the story even more intense.
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