The Beauty of the Stars and the Sea
“Land…
Planets…
Stars…
Galaxies…
Universes…
Existence is so vast and filled with so many possibilities …
Yet in these multiple realms of existence, there’s only one …
One person who you would one day meet and make you feel like you’re the only one in the world …
It’s weird in a way, but it’s something I always wished I had from the moment I became aware of love.
Growing up, I was always inspired by my parents. Inspired by the love they had for each other; it was beautiful.
The clan that I was born in had this firm belief about ‘El Elegido’ or ‘La Elegida,’ tu alma gemela, la persona con la que naciste para estar. Valoraban este vínculo en forma de hilo, o hoy en día, una goma para el cabello. (“The Chosen One,” your soulmate, the person you were born to be with. They valued this bond in the form of a thread, or nowadays, a hair tie.)
My clan valued this thread, it was a symbol – a connection between a man and a woman, the thread or hair tie symbolized love in its purest form and tying the two together until death separates them.
A man would design a unique hair tie for the woman that they want to be with – in our clan, this was how a marriage proposal was done and it was considered sacred, and if the woman accepts the hair tie or proposal, she would tie the hair tie around her hair and the two would be officially engaged and soon to marry.
After several years, the woman would then later pass on that hair tie to her first-born daughter who would wear it for the rest of her life and would only remove or replace the hair tie when the man that she loves offers her – her own unique hair tie.
Children are considered a blessing to our clan, a product of love between a father and a mother, that hair tie was considered a symbol of love – that the boy who would one day fancy her should love her and only her.
This was our tradition, a tradition passed down to me, my mother would soon give me the hair tie that my father made for her years ago.
Even when I was just a little girl, I was able to see the love my parents had for one another. The unconditional love my father had for my mother and her great respect for him was awe-inspiring. It was clear that they were soulmates.
The clan had a saying where if two individuals were destined to be together, then it didn’t matter if they were oceans, worlds or even realities apart. They WILL find each other.
Wasn’t that just romantic?
Knowing that someone out there was made just to be with you?
I always had a fascination for the stars, even as a little girl.
I always enjoyed stargazing, and because I was ‘daddy’s little princess,’ when we moved out of the village and got this big house in the city of Buenos Aires, my father allowed me to stay in the room with the biggest window – it was still near my parents’ room of course.
And so, every night – after my parents would tuck me in and leave my room, believing I was asleep. Secretly, I would get up then go to my favourite window and just gaze at the stars.
It was an innocent and childish routine, and nothing much happened, and I would go to bed a few minutes after. But then, one night …
As I was stargazing, something incredible happened.
It was like something out of a fantasy.
That night, I saw a phenomenon, something someone wouldn’t see in their whole lifetime.
At first, I thought it was just a shooting star, making a colourful line in the sky with shades of purple.
That was until that line opened, it was like the whole sky opened up and what did I see?
Nothing much, just a lot of purple, yet as I gazed into the hole, I saw something – someone to be more specific, a boy around my age also seemingly gazing into the hole, just like me.
At the time, I didn’t know who he was, but I didn’t care.
Because all I cared about was the beautiful and warm brown eyes that he had and how cute he looked.
I know that brown eyes are pretty common in the world, but there was just something about his eyes that just drew me to him.
Does that make sense?
Little did I know …that I’d soon lose the memory of this event ever happening and even the memories of that boy the next morning, it’s like my memories got erased.
But I will see him again.
After all, he was – and will always be, my El Elegido!”
Maya, a day before the death of her parents.
***
“Puddles …
Lakes …
Rivers …
Oceans …
Underwater …
…so vast and full of possibilities, scientists are still discovering what lies beneath the ocean.
Just when you think you have it all figured out, another layer is discovered, another mystery of the vast ocean.
It was like a book – just when you think you are done reading, you turn to the next page and realize that there’s another chapter with even more possibilities.
As a little boy, I always believed the ocean was just as big as the universe …
I still don’t know where I got that from, but I didn’t care, it’s what I believed.
Yet despite the vastness of the ocean, compare it to the genuine love of a woman, the ocean is but a droplet.
But that’s a story for another time…
I was born and raised in the South African coastal town of Hermanus.
Because of growing up near the ocean, I always loved playing near and just gazing at the waters, especially during sunsets, with my childhood friend, Nolwazi.
Every now and then, I’d sneak out of the house to just sit or walk on the shores of the beach.
It was like I had a connection with the ocean with the way I loved being next to it.
It was an innocent and childish routine with nothing much happening – until one night…
Something amazing happened.
Like something out of a fairy tale.
It was like the night sky opened up above the ocean with different shades of purple.
It was a beautiful and awe-inspiring sight.
Yet as I gazed into the swirling whirlpool of purple, I saw something, or rather someone.
A girl – around my age.
I was just a boy – barely out of my toddler years, yet I thought to myself that she was the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.
With her olive-coloured skin, her silky black hair complimented by this beautiful violet coloured hair ribbon. I was immediately smitten with her, but I wouldn’t admit it …
Because little did, I know, the next morning, I wouldn’t remember the phenomenon that happened nor the girl I saw, but I will see her again…
Just not in the way I would’ve expected…”
Liyema, the day his passion for art was born.
