The Untold Story of Sivia

People may tell this legend differently, but they may not be as aware as I. You see, I was there and I've witnessed it all from the beginning of it to the very end, and I live today to tell it, just as it really happened.

Once upon a time in a small village of Hartzpikia there lived a boy named Jordan and a girl named Sivia. They have always been friends as children and when they became older, their relationship became tightened by the vows of love that they had given each other. They indeed were very happy to have found love and to have found each other and they cherished every day that their eyes fell upon each other and every day that their bodies felt the embrace of one another.

But those times were not very peaceful and many perils threatened their happily ever after story. One of such perils was an old witch named Zia. She was known to live all the way at the end of the village in the mountain tops of Kersekia, living among the wilderness of the lands where no humans lived and even animals were afraid of. She was nearly a few hundreds years old but maintained her youthfulness and beauty by kidnapping the men from the lands, making them fall in love with her and then drinking their blood in the special ritual. Zia had many powers: taking various physical forms, flying, and hypnotizing men.

As you may have guessed, one day when Jordan and Sivia were walking outside, a dark cloud appeared in the sky and flew straight into the couple. Sivia fell over and when the cloud was gone, she realized Jordan wasn't there. She yelled his name, all in vain. Jordan had disappeared. Sivia searched for him in the vicinity but the more she searched, the more convinced she became that he was taken by something or someone. Someone very sinister and evil. Zia.

Sivia came home and told everyone what had happened. Her parents hugged her and went over to speak to Jordan's family. While they all moaned and walloped, Sivia sneaked out of the house unnoticed and left towards the mountains. In her bag she had a rope and a knife.

When Sivia's parents realized she was missing, it was too late. Sivia was already at the Kersekia, climbing up the mountain, her backpack behind her, rope in her hands and determination in her eyes. The mountain was no easy path. Its walls were rocky and slippery and it took her several hours to climb only a few feet. Sivia looked up. A big journey lay upon her, a journey of no easy task. Jordan, she thought, I am coming. Please hang in there.

She began to climb again. Her fingers hurt and her body was growing more and more tired with each passing minute. The sun above her shone pitilessly over her. Sweat mixed with tears and Sivia could no longer see in front of her. Jordan, I am coming. Please hang in. Wait for me. She cried quietly, continuing her ascend upwards.

Several more hours passed but the mountain top was no where in sight. Sivia looked down. She was so high above the ground, villagers' houses looked like tiny boxes. She looked above her but could not see nothing beyond the white cotton ball clouds. Sivia made another step but her foot, tired and weak from climbing, could no longer hold and she began to slip down. In terror, Sivia grabbed onto whatever was near, a dry prickly bush, her rope, the rocky points of the mountain terrain. She finally stopped but felt piercing pain in her hands. There was blood gushing everywhere. Sivia knelt down completely exhausted and began to cry. There was no point going up any more. It was absolutely impossible. But she couldn't even go down either. It would take so much out of her, and she could hardly hold on. She had no more energy to do any of it and she was stuck, unable to attach herself to anything to at least spend the night. She was doomed to die a painful death in the quest of rescuing her lover.

Sivia closed her eyes and began to think about her life. She remembered only the happy moments and she was grateful that she had experienced them. Although she was so young and felt like she hasn't yet lived. I don't want to die today, thought the girl, too exhausted to smear the tears away. I am not ready.

But this wouldn't be a legend if she just died. So what happened next was a true miracle. Sivia heard the flapping of feathers around her and looked up. She saw big birds around her. They were waiting for Sivia to die so that they could pick on her spoils. Sivia looked at them through the sweat and tears, her eyes swollen. "Oh dear birds", she called upon them, desperately holding onto the rocks. "I have lost someone so dear to me and I am trying to get him back. I know you are hungry and wish for me to become your prey. But I am not able to die yet. You see, I gave my vow to my Jordan, to always love and protect him and save him in life and in death. I must see this through. He is at the top of this mountain and that is why I am here, trying to save him. Help me, dear nature's creatures and I promise to repay my debt to you by offering food as soon as I land peacefully with Jordan by my side."

The leader of the bird flock shrieked to the rest and the birds did an amazing thing. They all turned around and gathered around Sivia. The girl sat on their backs and the birds flew up. In the matter of seconds the birds reached the top and let Sivia off their backs. Happy beyond belief, Sivia thanked them earnestly and ran to find her beloved. And as she suspected, she saw a hut that looked like it belonged to an evil witch for all around it there were posts with human heads. Tied to one of the posts she saw Jordan. Sivia ran up to him and stopped cold. Jordan looked like he was tortured. "My love," said Sivia, "what did she do to you?" Jordan stared at her in mixed feelings of joy from seeing his beloved and confusion of how she made it there and said: "Why did you come here? This is Zia! She will kill you. You have to leave. Now."

Sivia hugged Jordan and began to free him with her knife. "She tortured me when all of her tricks to make me fall in love with her failed." Jordan said.

Suddenly a dark cloud grew behind her. "Leaving so soon?" said Zia smiling. "I was just getting to enjoy myself with Jordan. Although I must say, none of my torture tools made him want to voluntarily forget you and accept me as his new love. But I haven't used all of my stunts. I can always just hypnotize the fool. The question is what do I do with you? I have no use for women. Especially a rival. I could make a delicious roast out of you. Perhaps I could take your skin and make myself a beautiful bed rug. Haha... And just to think you were ready to die so many deaths to save a man, who in less than a minute won't even remember you."

Sivia turned to face the witch. "I had climbed this mountain and bled on it. I sacrificed a lot and risked my everything to get here because love is stronger than any evil. Surely you have dignity to understand this. Surely you may find it too easy to kill someone who comes to you unafraid to die."

The witch turned her eyes away. "I have no dignity." she said. "I don't care about love or you two."

"But I will do a little game for my own personal entertainment so that it is not too easy like you said and it gives me a little kick of spice before I take you both."

Zia left into the hut and came out of it with six men. She put them in a row and came over to Sivia. "I am about to blindfold you my dear. And with no eyes you must find the one who is truly the one. If you make the wrong choice, you shall instantly become blind and that will give me that much more fun playing hide and seek with you when I begin to deal with how I finish your insignificant life. And of course, your man will be mine."

"What happens if I choose Jordan?" asked Sivia.

"If for some miracle you choose your lover, you two of course may go." replied Zia and began to laugh. "But that would never happen so let's not even entertain the idea."

Zia blindfolded Sivia and put her in front of the men.

Sivia passed by the row of men the first time but she was too nervous and could not decide. Then she went back again. She came to each man but she could not touch them so she felt less and less certain. Then she went the third time and came close to each man standing next to them for a long time. She came to the third one and listened and then suddenly she heard a loud heart beat like the drums of a mad drummer. She felt some cosmic vibration overcome her, the proximity of this human being, his scent, the familiarity of the silence around him and that heart beat.

"Hurry up, I am getting hungry." shouted Zia. "Move on to the next person and choose already!"

Sivia smiled. She must have been right. Zia is getting nervous that she is about to solve this puzzle. "Him." she said and pointed in front of her.

And suddenly, there was lightening and thunder but no rain. It was Zia getting angry. Sivia removed her blindfold. She had chosen correctly. She took Jordan out of the line and left with him. Zia remained behind angry and quiet. Jordan hugged Sivia and thanked her. "But how will we ever go down this mountain?" he asked.

Sivia brought him to the place where the birds released her. She shouted to them and they drew near. As they were approaching, Sivia and Jordan felt like the ground under their feet began to shake. They looked behind them and saw angry Zia approaching them in the hurricane of dust and lightening. She charged at them but right at that moment the birds picked up the couple and soared into the sky, while Zia plunged down and fell onto the mountain cave. The birds came around and circled the cave.

"I promised you lunch and here it is." said Sivia, pointing at Zia, who was laying at the entrance to the cave and not moving. "Take her so she never takes another human being ever again. And the rest of you, please take the other men from the top and please take us all down."

Birds did as the girl asked them and as soon as Jordan and Sivia were on the ground, they ran to their families and were married that same day. Zia never bothered them ever again and the couple lived happily ever after.