Love's True Sight

Love’s True Sight
Posted on January 24, 2018 by Peggy Rockey
Prompt: The Bridge Word Count: 1200 Words Genre: Fable

Once upon a time, in a village surrounded by the deep forest of olden Bulgaria, there lived a man who was in love with a fair maiden. Mikhail Stoyanov had loved Katerina Ivanov for as many years as he had known her. Indeed, he had loved her since he first laid eyes upon her fair beauty, while he was still a young boy in knickers, and she a fair maid in pigtails.

Alas, Katerina did not appear to know that Mikhail even existed.

Eventually, the time came when Mikhail knew he wanted this fair maiden for his wife, and he arranged events so that he could meet his heart’s desire at the most romantic place in all the realm, which was an enchanting bridge that spanned the Danube River. There, with glowing words of praise and poetry, he pledged his love to the fair maiden and asked for Katerina’s hand in marriage.

But the fair maiden, being young and self-centered, fancied herself in love with another, a man ever so much more handsome and wealthy than this one; and without nary a thought to Mikhail’s feelings, she rejected him with harsh words and cruel laughter.

The hurt and the anger at this rejection burned so hotly within Mikhail’s heart, and it angered him so much that his response was perhaps more forceful than he intended. “This man does not love you the way I love you, Katerina Ivanov! May your eyes be opened to love’s true sight so you may see the truth of his heart, and see for yourself the blackness that exist within him. May love never touch your heart again, until you see with Love’s True Sight, and you come again to stand upon this bridge with love’s true sight within your heart!”

The words were said with such force and resolution that they became a binding curse upon the fair maiden. For this was a place of magic.

When, a few days later, the other man came to call upon the fair maiden, she now saw him with love’s true sight, as the curse demanded. And with the blinders of supposed love removed, Katerina now saw the true nature of Boris Gruev’s inner person. She saw that beneath his handsome good looks, his wealth, and position within the realm, Boris was, in reality, a selfish and controlling brute. Katerina saw now that what she had mistaken for charming, tongue-tied shyness, was really just contempt for women in general; and Katerina could see that Boris only pretended to love her. She knew this was true, for her father was a goldsmith, and Boris had thought that by possessing the fair maiden, he would possess her father’s gold as well.

Katerina was appalled at the situation. She wondered how she could ever have loved this man in the first place, and she called off their engagement immediately. Boris was outraged, and his displeasure at the rejection was great. He threatened to tell damaging lies to the villagers if she did not marry him, and said other hurtful words that gave truth to his nature. Despite the threats, the fair maiden remained steadfast in her refusal to marry Boris, and as a result Katerina suffered much abuse from her father and the villagers, who all believed the foul lies that Boris told about her.

Many years passed, and the fair maiden became a lonely spinster; for though Katerina had had new suitors, she was never able to see past their individual flaws without love’s forgiving sight to blind her to their nature. Her heart hardened with each suiter that she rejected, until, eventually, no one could penetrate the hardness that now encased her heart.

Over the course of time, Katerina grew more and more lonely. She attempted to make friends with the villagers, but the curse that Mikhail had unwittingly laid upon her heart did not allow even for the love of simple friendship. For with the curse she was forced to always focus on the falsehood and the insincerity that existed within the human heart. Eventually, she had shunned so many people that the opportunities for friendship had dwindled, and then disappeared altogether. Even her father barely tolerated her in his home, for she constantly berated him for his character flaws; and what man likes to be nagged in his own home, day after day after day?

Then one day, as Katerina went to market, she came across the man who had once loved her and who had put the curse upon her, all those years ago. It seemed odd that they had not encountered each other throughout the years, but perhaps not, as Mikhail would have made an effort to avoid her. Katerina thought she should have been angry with him, but to her amazement, she found no anger in her heart for Mikhail at all. For Katerina knew, in her heart of hearts, that he had, however inadvertently, prevented her from marrying a man that would have made her life even more unhappy than the lonely one she’d lived in the home of her aging father.

For Mikhail’s part, he found he still held a stirring of love for this woman, who had once been his heart’s desire. She still consumed his thoughts and hopes and dreams. He was therefore wonderfully surprised when she approached him, for he had thought never to speak with Katerina again, after the rough words he had spoken to her upon that enchanted bridge.

She lingered in his company, there in the market, and when he asked about her well-being, she told him of her unhappiness and how lonely her life had become. She never thought to give this man the time of day again, but he treated her kindly and sympathized with her loneliness.

Katerina had learned to see people for who they really were, and now knew the curse was actually a blessing. For it had given her an ability to see beyond the outward appearance, the façade with which people chose to portray themselves. And though Mikhail was far from handsome, he was neither wealthy, nor did he hold a high position, yet he was a kind man and she found herself drawn to his company, and found that she enjoyed being with him, and the way he made her feel.

There followed a time of courtship and, eventually, he brought her back to the bridge. There he pledged his undying love and asked her again to marry him. This time, his words sent a thrill of love throughout her being, for she saw him with Love’s True Sight; and when that happened, she felt the hardness of her heart fall away like scales, and the curse that had once been laid upon her lifted. And though she could see all his flaws, she knew without doubt that she would love this man, and she agreed to be his wife.

They rushed away to tell his friends and brought her father and the preacher back to the romantic, enchanting bridge. There they were married, and she left her father’s house to make a new home with her husband. And after that, they lived happily ever after.

The End.


Published as my first of twelve short story prompts for 2018 at 12shortstories.com