Everyone in the town park was smiling. They had waited a whole year for this. Finally, the Autumn Festival was here. People wore their brightest colors, their most extravagant clothes, and the park was overflowing with life. The celebration had been going on for seven days and nights. Now, on the day of the Aspen, there was only one event left. It was the most anticipated spectacle of the whole year, the Goddess Sarah's gift to the world.

Sarah, Mother of the World, was renowned for her amazing and magical gifts. It was she who had blessed the earth with life in the beginning. Giving form and substance to the love in her heart she covered the world with all manner of plants and animals.  Every year,  as an ongoing reflection of her creativity and joy,  she continued to create new blessings. Last year she had made a new type of fruit. Sarah called it a star fruit after it's shape, but it's color was that of the sun and of Sarah's own bright yellow hair. Thirteen years ago she made snow for the first time. Now every year after the Festival beautiful crystal flakes of ice would fall and bless the land.

The hot, late summer sun was slowly sinking towards the mountains when the clouds started rolling in. They were dark, fast moving storm clouds full of flashes of lightning and claps of thunder. The crowd quieted as they watched Sarah push the clouds in over the park. As the clouds reached the mountains the sun faded away behind them and the sky darkened. Then Sarah squeezed the clouds and the rain started falling. Everyone sighed as the drops rolled down and cooled them off. The water started falling harder, the thunder and lightning came more and more quickly. Everything built to a violent climax then suddenly stopped. The rain slowed to a light sprinkling and the last echoes of thunder could be heard rolling away.

With great precision Sarah reached down and cut a small line in the clouds. She slid her hands into the crack she made and pushed the clouds apart. As the hole grew wider the sun's light came pouring back into the park. The same instant the light hit the last of the rain, the crowd let out an amazed gasp. There, stretched from one end of the land to the other, was the most amazing arc of multi-colored light. Every color imaginable was layered one upon another: rose red, sunset orange, star fruit yellow, leaf green, sky blue, ocean indigo, and hyacinth violet. Sarah's gift hovered over the park for several minutes. Then as the last of the rain hit the ground, the rainbow slowly faded out of the sky. But forever after rainbows lived in the hearts of the people and in the sky above. 

Copyright © 2001 Michael Palmer   

This story was inspired by the wonderful book The Storyteller's Goddess by Carolyn McVickar Edwards. Why not write your own myth? A creation story or a tale of joy or sorrow? Remember, every myth no matter how famous had very humble beginnings.

in issue four
Scintillations
Purple Bikini
Saraswati
Change In Air
Sarah's Gift
Fairy Chimes
Real Dreams
Xena
Writer?
Younger Self
Fledgling Artiste
Goddess Poetry
No McD's In Cuba
AF Photographers
Goddess On Phone
Moody Girl
Met The Goddess
To My Mother
Life Changing Books
Girl Crushes
Universe Spoke
Visualize This!
Contributors

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