A Little Girl Called Silence

A Little Girl Called Silence

In the land where all our dreams come true there was a little girl called Silence. She was pretty as a tiger lily, sweet as honey and placid as the water of a pond at dawn. Yet her life was always missing something. Intrigued by that unknown she had no choice but to go in search of it… Although she did not know what to do or where to go she felt ready. Silence took her jade pendant and some peaches and went on her journey… Not knowing what else to do she decided to walk and began walking east, then west, north and finally south, but could not find her way. Silence went around and around, and was so tired that she sat under the wishful tree and fell asleep… dreaming, dreaming, and dreaming…
She will never know if it was really a dream or not. When she woke up she found herself walking through the desert sands. It was truly difficult; during the day the sands were burning hot and the nights were cold as a glacier. It was almost impossible for Silence to continue on her way. She was confused and lost but continue pursuing her dream. Not knowing or understanding how, the next day she had become a salamander; a salamander digging and crawling under the sand. Her skin was soft, her eyes were closed, and Silence again did not know which way to go. Many days and nights had passed; but still she had no idea where she was going. The breeze and the sound of the sand kept on talking to her while she was trying to find her way… It was that sound that guided her: wiiind, wiiinnnd, winndd…

Tired from her wandering, and wondering what had happened to her she moved toward the humid and tasty sands. Silence did not know the time, the day, or where she was… Silence was lost and tired….

All around her was really humid and salty, but Silence could not see for after having her eyes closed for such a long time, her eyelids were closed tight together. Suddenly she felt herself floating in salty water, carried away. The water helped her to open her eyes, but it was painful, and worse of all she did not know where she was or where she was going. All around her seemed cloudy, different, never seen before. Regardless of what Silence tried to do, the waves carried her as they wished. Sometimes deep into the darkness of the ocean or up to the clarity of the shining sun, yet not by her own will but by the immense ocean’s… The water seemed to have a tiinnnggg like sound… siiinnnggg, siiiinnggg, siiinnggg…

Tired of being thrown without any control she decided not to fight the waves but to let them carry her whichever way they pleased. Confusion, what had happened? She noticed changes in her whole being, she was no longer the small pale salamander; but a golden fish… A golden fish at the mercy of a vast ocean…

It was too late; Silence was no longer in the ocean… Silence the pretty little girl had gone through metamorphoses, changes that she could not understand… She was not sure if she was in the jungle, surrounded by nature and by wilderness. All she knew was that it was different. She felt different, she was different… She could not see beyond the green wall of the forest. Looking up to the sky she heard the wind saying “Pan-Ku”, Pan Ku, Pann Kuuu… Yes it was the architect of the universe… She did not understand… yet inside her an echo said: “Things that happen during a lifetime are out of our control and despite of how much we try the outcome will always be based on Nature’s will…”

Silence learned that even when asleep the world continues its way. Though she was now wise as the salamander, bold as the golden fish, she found herself in a cocoon… day and night… New life, new birth…


The cocoon opened, giving life to a beautiful Monarch Butterfly. . New birth: Re-birth of the girl called Silence… She is now pretty as a tiger lily, sweet as nectar, soft and serene as the waters of a lake at dawn, powerful and majestic as an ocean, and a free spirit like every M Butterfly. Blessed as always by Ch’ing Ming her life is now bright and clear…
Silence came out of her sleep not knowing what had really happened but still remembering what the Wise Man in her dreams said: He had given her a secret; he had sung her a song about how to live, how to love and how to win the golden life. The Wise Man said: All you have to do is to have a wish, to dream your dreams and purse them, that’s all you have to do and the wishes and dreams will all come true…

Silence still carries her yuk-choy like a butterfly and recently buried four pieces of jade along her garden…

Lu-ar Yo
08/09/1999