The Legend of the Falls
It’s a tail full of adventure!
It had been a long time since I had been back to the falls, the sensation of the colors that reflected off of the water created a beautiful array of colorful images. All the memories of my adventure in the falls came rushing back and all I wanted to do was jump in the water and stay there forever. “Grandma, Grandma, Grandma!” screamed my grandson as he came running up to me and encasing me in a big hug. “Grandma, mommy said this is the place where your falls story takes place. Is that true?” “It is Jamie.” “Grandma will you tell the story again please, please, please?” he begged with that child-like wonder in his eyes.
“Alright, Jamie. Come sit down. It all started when I was just 17 years old. I had just moved here and I barely knew anyone. It stayed like that for a while because it was summer, so all the kids my age were off of school and hanging out with their friends, so I didn’t really have a way to make friends. My mom had told me about this place with beautiful rolling waterfalls and after we had gotten everything moved in, I came down here to check it out. It was beautiful when I got here, like nothing I had ever seen before. The sun shone off of the water like candles lighting up a room. It still is one of the most beautiful things that I have ever seen. As I was admiring the waterfalls someone came from behind me and pushed me in. My hands pulled and tore through the water as I tried to get my head above the water so that I could breathe, but nothing I tried would let me escape from the crashing water.” I said while remembering every detail as I felt a chill run down my spine from the memory of the water surrounding and taking control of me.
“How’d you get out grandma?” He said as I saw his bright green eyes entranced by every detail of my story. “Well something that I never thought could ever happen; did. I felt a hand grab mine and I looked down towards this stranger to see who was helping me when I saw a boy, but not just any boy; this particular boy had a tail.” “A tail? That’s impossible.” Jaime said as those green eyes looked up at me in disbelief.
“That’s exactly what I thought until I was seeing it for myself and this black-haired boy with a marine blue tail was pulling me down under the rain of the waterfalls into a small cave behind them. It took me a few minutes to catch my breath after being stuck under the water for so long. When I finally had caught my breath I wasn’t really sure what to think about him, he just sat there staring at me; not saying anything, just watching and we stayed like that for a while until I finally started the conversation.”
“Once we started we couldn’t stop we talked for hours until I realized that it was past my curfew, but I promised him I would come back. And I did I came back every day that summer and we sat behind the waterfall and talked or he took me out into the reservoir and showed me all the sea creatures that you wouldn’t normally see.” Re-telling this story to my grandson was bringing up all these old emotions that I thought I had hidden away long ago, but I guess I was wrong because those emotions never really go away, do they?
“What happened when summer was over?” Jamie asked completely entranced by my adventure. “Well, on the last day of summer I went to see him and he took me under the waterfall per usual and then I, as much as I didn’t want to, told him that I wouldn’t be able to see him every day. I could tell this caused him great sadness because no one ever came and spent time with him; I was the only person who knew about his existence. So we spent the rest of the day talking, yet as soon as the sunset, he wrapped me up in his arms in a giant bear hug. Just when I thought he was going to take me back, he took my hand in his and gave me a necklace with a single purple, blue-ish pearl on it and folded my hand over it.
He told me that he hoped I would wear it every day so that I would always remember the time that we spent together and what I meant to him for being the only person who he could genuinely call a friend. I promised him that I would while he put the necklace on for me. Then he took my hand in his and took me back under the waterfall to this very spot. He held onto the railing while we said our last goodbye’s, he took my face in his hands and kissed me on the cheek, and then he was gone.” Confused and disgruntled, Jamie replied, “Wait, but grandma that can’t be the end of the story. Just a summer thing, that’s impossible.”
“I never said I was finished, but unfortunately that was the end of summer. I started school the next day and as I was walking through the halls, I saw that familiar black hair that I had grown to know so well over the past few months. So I followed him at lunch and found him eating alone in a secluded corner of the school. His back was turned to me when I reached him I tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. He turned around and immediately stood up and gave me a hug like we were long lost friends who hadn’t seen each other in decades.”
“But then what happened? I mean he wasn’t shocked at all that you were there and that you knew his secret?” Jamie replied as he grasped for the next detail. “I thought that too, but he wasn’t because I had learned to love him for who he was with a tail, so without it, he was still the same person he just looked a little different and I didn’t mind that. From that moment on he and I were inseparable, we spent all of our time together, we would even go sit behind the waterfall and work on homework together. As our time in high school went on we grew closer and closer until we reached the point where we both liked each other and it was blatantly obvious. We truly were high school sweethearts and we’ve been together ever since and that my beautiful grandson is the Legend of the Falls.” I said as I finished my story with my hands crossed on my legs.
“Been together ever since,” Jamie questioned, “So does that mean that grandpa had a tail?” “That’s exactly what it means,” I said with a wink. “That’s really cool grandma. Thank you for telling me your story again.” He said as his attention started to drift. “Hey, can we go get something to eat?” “Sure, grab your coat and we’ll go.” “You got it.” He said with a big smile on his face. As I slowly started to walk away from the falls that I loved so much I saw my grandson catch a glimpse of a streak of blonde hair and a purple tail. I knew at that moment that these falls really do have magic in them.
“Grandma!” Jamie yelled as he came running to catch up to me. “Did you see what I just saw in the water?” “I didn’t see anything, sorry sweetie,” I said with the slightest hint of a smirk beginning to form. “Oh okay.” He said as he looked back towards the falls confusion and interest strew across his face. As we walked into the sunset towards my car Jamie kept staring back towards the falls. I could just see a gleam of wonder and adventure cross his eyes as he peered back to see if the blonde with the tail was actually real or just an illusion.
And at that moment I felt all the love and joy that I had experienced flow through me. As we looked back at the falls for the last time with their amazing color and beauty, I looked at my grandson with hope. I hoped that he would be able to experience as much wonder and joy as I did because of the magic contained within these waterfalls.
