Jignasa and the Creature in the Cave

a fairy tale by Genevieve Silver

Sadly, a lonely creature once lived in a cave at the base of a mountain as high as the sky. When the sunlight filtered in, the mirror above the chest of drawers in front of her bed told her that she was older and angrier than any other being alive for miles around. With long flowing gray hair, bloodshot ice blue eyes and crow's feet, ghostly skin, a slightly hunched back, skinny arms and legs, and a filthy cloth dress, the creature would roar every now and then, shaking and waking the volcano near the dwelling she called home.

As the years went by, the villagers outside the forest that surrounded the creature in the cave had similar reactions to the volcano that erupted but only every now and then. Upon hearing an eruption, most villagers would remain inside their homes or flee to the nearest shelter. The flow of hot orange lava would then freeze the villagers with fear, even though the lava stopped abruptly at the base of the mountain. Feeling protected by God, the villagers would later be overwhelmed with sadness when some of their flock went missing. Ever faithful, the villagers collectively decided that their only recourse was to accept that God works in mysterious ways, and on with their lives they went.

Until one day a village girl on the brink of womanhood gave into her curiosity. Her name was Jignasa, the only child of a normally quiet builder and his normally quieter wife. After a lifetime of loss and wonder but also gratitude because she had never said goodbye to a best friend, Jignasa acknowledged that she longed for one. She also realized that she didn’t understand why anyone would simply accept that God might have a reason for causing some of her fellow villagers to disappear, so she decided to investigate the cause of the disappearances the next chance she got.

That chance came nearly two weeks later when the volcano erupted one fine spring morning during her secret bedroom celebration of the vernal equinox, an annual ritual taught to her by her maternal grandmother who died some years before. Jignasa’s own mother believed in God and warned her against such rituals due to the terrible consequences that would follow in the afterlife, which her mother believed was a place all villagers could happen upon at any moment, given the circumstances. As Jignasa quietly and frequently noted, her grandmother never warned of terrible consequences, so she proceeded in secret with her own personal rituals throughout the year, another of which was walking around the village dressed as a boy because it made her feel more confident. (She had "borrowed" her cousin's clothes during a family gathering and promised herself she would return them soon.) Thus, Jignasa loved being independent, which relates to the situation at hand.

At the shrieks of her mother followed by the presumed embrace her father provided, Jignasa put down her tarot card spread, knowing that her parents would be frozen with fear for hours, as was typical of their experience, based on all the years she had been their daughter in the home her father built.

“Now’s my chance to find out the truth!” Jignasa resolved as she looked at herself in the mirror above her own chest of drawers. Then she tucked in her shirt, buckled her belt, put on her boots, and tied her dark blonde hair into a ponytail before climbing out of her window and staring down the path near her family's thatched-roof house with her determined russet brown eyes. And off she walked, tripping only once on a root that went unnoticed as she pondered the deadly possibilities.

Should I have brought a knife or some other weapon with me? Jignasa worried to herself but then stopped because an inkling from deeper within told her that something else would help her solve the problem and that she had to rely on whatever it was.

Now a wayfarer, she had to keep going, so that’s what she did. Jignasa headed to the imposing mountain far off into the distance. Spewing hot orange lava and rising up and out, the mountain had a height and a breadth that made it seem closer than it actually was. As the heat from the lava grew more intense, Jignasa berated herself for not considering the possibility, but, with an exhale, she decided to stop for a drink at a nearby stream instead of heading back home. The flow of the refreshing water not only helped quench her thirst, it also helped clear her mind. That is, until she heard a roar.

Is that a bear? she thought to herself and immediately lay down on her stomach, spreading her legs wide and protecting her head with her hands. Then she belted out a song to scare the bear away, just as her father had taught her.

“John Jacob Jingle-Heimer Schmidt, his name is my name too! Whenever we go out, the people always shout, ‘John, Jacob Jingle-Heimer Schmidt!’"

“Why are you singing that irritating song?” the voice growled.

It’s not a bear, Jignasa realized and popped up off the ground to take a look around. She saw nothing and looked in another direction. Still nothing appeared.

“You haven’t answered my question!” the voice admonished.

“Who are you?!” cried Jignasa.

“I’m nobody. Who are you?” the voice antagonized.

“I’m Jignasa. Show your face!”

“Why should I?” said the voice flippantly.

“Because you’re not supposed to talk to someone without looking at her,” scorned Jignasa.

“You have to give me a better reason than that, you dull girl,” insulted the voice.

“How rude!”

“That’s nothing. Normally, I hurl the most revolting insults I can muster and then make it quick by going for the jugular. ...Every meal has been delicious so far and worth the effort.”

Jignasa froze and thought of her parents. To snap out of it, she jumped up and landed back on her feet, ready for battle, much to her surprise.

“Oh, yeah? I wouldn't let it get that far because I would tell you to wash your mouth out with soap and put a muzzle on it!" screamed Jignasa. "Wait a minute. Why didn’t you go after me?!”

There was a pause.

“Because nobody has ever walked toward the volcano while it was spewing hot orange lava. ...You've made me curious.”

“I’m a curious person, too,” replied Jignasa.

And out from behind a giant pine tree came the filthy creature from the cave with all her angry energy, but this time it was balanced by a long forgotten curiosity within.

“How do you d--.” The creature cut herself off.

“Why did you stop asking me that question?” inquired Jignasa.

“Because I didn’t know I still knew how to ask it,” admitted the creature.

“Well, you do,” affirmed Jignasa. “What’s your name?”

“You want to know my name?” The creature was clearly puzzled. “Why aren’t you running away?”

“I don’t run away. I run to,” said Jignasa, surprised because she had never asserted herself in such a way before.

“I’m supposed to kill you. That’s what I do. ...How come I don’t want to kill you?”

“I don’t know. You tell me.”

The creature could not say a word or do a thing.

“Well?” Jignasa asked with a calm smile.

The smile warmed the heart of the creature, who, to her own surprise, transformed into a girl with dark flowing mahogany hair and a clean and colorful flower-petal dress. She was around the same age as Jignasa, who was looking more closely.

“Your eyes are a hazel color now. ...What’s your name?” repeated Jignasa.

“My name? ...Uh...oh! Perdita,” she recalled with emerging glee.

“My name's Jignasa. ...Why are you here?”

“I don’t remember,” said Perdita, but she did know that she was happy to be in the presence of a warm-hearted person.

“Something tells me we’re supposed to be...friends,” suggested Jignasa.

And their smiles drew them toward one another and, eventually, into a friendly embrace, one that they had never experienced before.

As Jignasa and Perdita hugged, all the people from the village outside the forest who had disappeared suddenly came back to life in the exact location that allowed each to be welcomed by their family members and true friends.

“Where do you live, Perdita?” wondered Jignasa.

Perdita thought of the cave and the mirror that told her she was the oldest and angriest creature in all the land.

“On my own in a little home not too far from here,” she said.

“So, nobody will miss you if you live with me and my family?” asked Jignasa without judgment.

“Yes, that’s true. Nobody will miss me,” confirmed Perdita.

“How fortunate you are!” exclaimed Jignasa after hearing the truth.

Fully realizing that her misfortune had turned into an auspicious circumstance, Perdita smiled once again, but now even more broadly and full of glee.

“Let’s go home, Perdita!” directed Jignasa, full of hope.

Perdita's expression changed abruptly.

"Don't worry about me! ...I can take care of myself," Perdita said, overwhelmed by hidden feelings.

Jignasa was taken aback.

"You shouldn't have to," replied Jignasa firmly and with kindness. "My parents will take care of you too!"

Perdita calmed down a little.

"Come on, let's go," redirected Jignasa more softly.

Perdita calmed down a bit more, her now turquoise eyes meeting the warm brown gaze of Jignasa.

“Alright...let’s go,” permitted Perdita.

And onward they ambled toward the village that would eventually become a bustling city known to all, near and far, as the home of Jignasa and Perdita. These best friends lived, not always happily, as the mirror of each sometimes revealed, but ever after among their dear family members and warm-hearted companions who never spoke of the volcano again.