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Long long ago, in a land far, far away, there lived an eccentric inventor and his wife. The inventor and his wife were deeply in love with each other, and their love was apparent for all to see. They had recently moved to a new town, and were starting their lives together. There were a few things odd about this young couple, their neighbors decided. One was that no one knew where they came from, really. Any questions were met with vague statements such as “Oh, we came from...over there,” accompanied with a broad gesture that included half the skyline.
Another peculiarity was that the inventor was just...quite wacky. There was no other way of putting it. Oftentimes the townspeople could hear him exclaiming out loud and then rushing home to put his ideas on paper or into machinery. Or at night, at ungodly hours, the neighbors would hear strange noises coming from their home. But of course that was to be expected, the inventor gave so much thought to his amazing inventions that he might not have enough room in his big brain for social customs. So that was fine, then. But another thing! And possibly the weirdest quirk of all. The wife loved reading! The townspeople had never heard of such a thing.
But despite all these quirks, it was apparent that they loved each other, and they were just so kind to everyone they met that the townspeople were willing to overlook these eccentricities. Plus the inventions were quite neat and worked marvelously. The inventor created something that would milk cows, so the farmers didn’t have to get up quite so early anymore. He made something that sew fabric, so wives and seamstresses didn’t have to work such long hours, and their fingers remained unpricked. There were quite a lot more inventions but there isn’t any more space in this story for them.
They lived quite happily together with new inventions coming out every once in a while, helping the lives of those around them and putting food on their table. The inventor set to work on his magnum opus, an invention he had spent most of his life imagining. Years passed, and they had a little girl, blessed with the same curiosity that sparked her father’s inventions. Even as a baby, her beauty was apparent. Their love for her knew no bounds, and they nurtured her with care, raising her to be selfless and compassionate, always looking out for others.
However, just when the family were at their happiest, disaster struck. A plague swept the town, and though the mother and father were stout and healthy, their daughter’s young body could not fight off the disease, and she grew deathly ill. Each day, the mother and father tirelessly took care of her, but each day, she only got worse. Finally, it had reached the point of no return, and the town doctor said it would be doubtful if she made it through the night. The inventor, frantic, began ransacking his workshop in hopes of creating a cure.
And then, when all hope was lost, a beauteous sorceress appeared to the mother. She offered her a magical gem, one that could grant wishes. But the sorceress warned her that if she used it, there would be a price to pay. Knowing the cost, the mother accepted the stone from the powerful enchantress. There was only one thing she desired and she wished for it with all her heart. Gazing at her daughter, she saw the redness grow back into the girl’s ruddy cheeks, even as her own breath began to falter. The father returned to find his wife lying in bed, and a healthy child, with the jewel tied around her neck.
“Forgive me, my love,” his wife whispered. “I had to.” And the inventor wept for his wife’s great compassion. In his mourning, he could not stay in the home they had built together, for everywhere he looked he saw reminders of her. He took the young girl and left the town, not telling anyone where they were going. Those townspeople never saw them again.
The inventor moved with his daughter to a new town, far away from his memories. No one in this town knew where they came from. They moved into a quiet house down the lane, and the father kept to himself, for the most part. He continued inventing, but his inventions didn’t quite have the same spark. They were all missing something, or failed to work like they were supposed to. The people seemed to be more judgmental than the last town. They concurred that it was somewhat strange to simply pop up out of nowhere, and shunned anyone different from them. Gossip and judgmental glances shrouded the father and daughter in mystery and they found themselves out of place in this new community.
To Be Continued
Author’s Note: This story was really interesting to come up with, since there are no myths associated with the Cintamani (that I know of). Since I didn’t have an Indian myth to draw inspiration from, it was a little difficult at first trying to come up with a story all on my own. But while I was brainstorming, I realised that this story could fit really well into the story of Beauty and the Beast as well. So, I decided to continue with this theme that I began in the first story about the Syamantaka. When I first started this storybook, I only had the idea that I would write in a old folk tale style, but I never considered drawing parallels between a well-known fairy tale and my stories. Now that I’ve written two stories, I really like having a common thread tying all of my stories together, as well as adding an element of recognizability for my readers. I think that the fairy tale got tied in pretty well, but I’m curious to hear my everyone’s thoughts! I definitely think that there are some rough patches that could be worked on, but I am pretty happy with this story overall.
Image Source: The History and Mystery of the Cintamani Stone
Story Sources:
Source: Wikipedia
Author: Culture-Exchange Blog
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