“I love you, Grandpa!” his granddaughter told him.
On the west coast of Cotentin, a light breeze had risen with the high tide. Lined with steep, jagged cliffs, the Cap de la Hague was a paradise to young Beatrice, as it was here that she came to spend time with her grandfather. Today was Sunday, and her grandfather, Rodolphe, had decided to take their boat around the coast to a small pebbled cove. Rodolphe was now retired, having spent fifty years working as an oysterman. Yet he had not had his fill of the sea, and still enjoyed the briny indulgence of an oyster two or three times a week, but there was nothing he loved more than talking to his granddaughter and showing her around the Cap de la Hague.
“Grandpa, why are you smiling?” she asked him.
“I was thinking about a story in a book I just finished...”
“Was it The Three Musketeers?” Beatrice asked with great curiosity. “Our teacher is making us read The Three Musketeers!”
“Have you ever heard of the jewel-smith of the sea?”
“No, but that sounds like a wonderful story too.”
“The jewel-smith of the sea is the oyster,” Rodolphe went on.
“Will you tell me the story?” Beatrice cut in. “What’s the book about?”
“It’s about a poor pearl fisherman named Kino, who lived on a peninsula on the coast of Mexico. He had a wife named Juana and a little baby named Coyotito. Kino was very poor, and yet he was happy. Just look at Grandpa – sometimes you don’t need much to be happy. The breeze that blows over Cotentin can make you happy, its steep cliffs can put you in a good mood, and its pebbled coves, the sound of the waves, the wash of the ocean – all those things can fill you with joy.”
“Are you happy, Grandpa?” Béatrice asked.
“I’m always happy when I get to spend the day with you.”
“So what happens in the story?” Béatrice went on.
“So Kino, Juana and Coyotito were happy. But one day, a great misfortune befell them. Poor Coyotito was stung by a scorpion, and of course, a scorpion’s venom can be fatal! Kino and Juana were beside themselves. The only doctor Kino could find refused to cure their child. So Kino decided to ask the sea for a miracle. He spent long hours praying that the sea would save his little Coyotito. Like all pearl fishermen, he knew how to speak to the sea, and he prayed in song:
Under the light of the stars
I can almost see her
slightly opening her long veils
to the tepid evening breeze.
O bewitching night,exquisite rapture,
O delightful memory,mad elation, sweet dream!
“What happened after he sang his songs?” asked Béatrice.
“While Kino was out on his boat, he saw a glimmering light shining from the depths. Do you how the sea makes pearls? They are made by oysters, through the power of nature. And there it was, a magnificent pearl – the pearl that would save Coyotito, the pearl that would heal his scorpion sting; the pearl of fate. He took a deep breath and dove into the water. He took the pearl in his hands…the jewel upon which baby Coyotito’s life depended.”
“So baby Coyotito was cured?” Béatrice worried.
“Yes, but rumour quickly spread around the fishing village that Kino had found this spectacular pearl, and that it was huge and bright and it had magical powers. The people coveted the pearl. The traders fought over it, and Kino’s peaceful village became a dangerous place. Kino had thought he would be able to sell his pearl and live with his family in a fine house, and one day even send Coyotito to school. But nobody wanted to buy it at a reasonable price, and people resented him for having found the pearl. One night, evildoers even tried to murder Kino in his sleep in order to take the pearl from him!”
“Did Kino die?”
“No, Kino managed to survive. But after suffering so much mistreatment he decided to get rid of the pearl, and threw it back into the sea. He preferred to live as his father and his ancestors had done, modest but happy.”
“Your story is very sad,” Béatrice smiled. “I'm not sure I understand the moral.”
Alan Alfredo Geday