It was a cold, windy
night, and the children snuggled in their bed to keep warm.
“When will Spring
come?” they asked their mother.
“We want to go out and play tomorrow.”
Mother was also
getting tired of the cold and blustery days. “I know,” she said, looking wistfully out of the children’s
window. “I can’t wait for the
flowers to bloom again. Let’s do a
special ceremony and call in the Goddess of Spring.”
“Who’s that?” the
children wanted to know.
“Her name is
Maya. It means ‘maker,’ and
every Spring she makes the lush green grass and fragrant flowers grow again,”
answered mother.
While the cold
wind whistled through the trees, mother got up to light candles and placed them
throughout the room. She then prepared an altar, with a white lace cloth, on
the bedside table. The children watched, wide-eyed, and clapped their hands.
“Spring. Spring. We want Spring to come now,” shouted the children, jumping
up and down in their big bed.
“Shhh, my little
ones. If you want the Goddess Maya
to come, you must be very quiet,” she said almost in a whisper.
The children
settled down on their bed and watched as mother lit incense, letting the sweet-smelling
smoke, like cinammon, fill the air.
She placed the picture of a beautiful woman with long flowing golden hair
on the bedside altar.
“Now,” said
mother, “the ceremony can begin.”
Meanwhile, the
wind which had been rattling against the windowpane, began to quiet down and a
hush fell over the room. “Close
your eyes,” said mother from her chair nearby. Her voice filled the room like music.
“Goddess Maya,”
hear our prayer…for winter to end and Spring to begin. Let the flowers bloom
again. Set the bright yellow sun high
up in the sky, spreading warmth and light over the earth. A time of rebirth for
all living things,” sang mother in a voice that rang soft and clear on the
moonlit night.
From the corner of
the room came a giggle, rising like a tinkling bell. Startled, the children cried out when a swirling ball of
light floated toward them.
The blazing light
slowly began to take shape and move closer. The children fell back upon their
pillows as a human form emerged.
There, in the
center of the candle-lit room, hovered the golden-haired woman in the picture,
wearing a long sparkling gown.
“It’s Maya,”
declared mother.
The childrens’
mouths opened in amazement as they looked back and forth from the picture to
the beautiful woman. The children
stopped being afraid when the Goddess smiled at them. And, then she began to speak in a soft, clear voice.
“I Am Maya
Goddess of Spring
I’m here to bring
The sunshine in.”
Maya danced around
the foot of the bed, going faster and faster, twirling like a top. In a flash, she lifted up off the
ground, golden curls flying in the air.
The children squealed in excitement and disbelief.
“Are you ready to
feel the magic?” asked Maya.
The children
nodded, their hearts beating in anticipation. Again, she spoke in a sing-song rhyme.
“Sit very still,
dear ones
And you will feel
A lightness in
your body,
A happiness so
real.
Can you FEEL?”
No sooner had she
sung the final words when the children rose off the bed, holding hands. Outside, the gusty winds had ceased
and, within seconds, the tiny buds sprouted new leaves on the cherry tree under
their window.
Maya entered the
circle, taking the children’s hands they flew about the room together. All through the night they floated,
dipped and spun, as the landscape changed dramatically outside their window.
With a final dip, the children crash landed on the bed. It was morning.
A big yellow sun
beamed its first rays through the window, and daffodils pushed through the
ground. They could hear birds
singing sweetly in the tree tops and the happy sounds of voices skipping along
the sunlit sidewalk.
The children
rubbed their eyes, sensing a
change in the very air they breathed. Mother sat in her rocking chair, knitting.
“Did you children
have a good sleep?” asked mother.
She got up and went to the bed, feeling their foreheads. “You had high fevers last night and
slept very fitfully. But now you seem just fine,” she said with a smile.
The children
dressed quickly and dashed outside.
A warm breeze greeted them as they went into the yard, now filled with
budding flowers. It felt, for all
the world, like Spring.
They raced to the
swing set in the front yard where it has sat, unused, all winter. The children
began to swing higher and higher, happy in the brilliant sunshine. Their laughter and chatter filled the
sweet morning air.
Mother opened the
children’s window to watch them play. She jumped back when a white swirling
ball of light flew past her. She thought she heard a giggle as the shimmering
light disappeared into the bright blue sky.
Photograph by Roberto Rizzato
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