INGRID (ENGLISH VERSION)

THE CRYSTAL SPHERE

2006 was the year when I visited my present home for the first time ever, because I travelled to Ireland, in a village in County Donegal, called Gweedore. You have probably heard it already, because this is where the band Clannad comes from, thus our beloved singer, Enya. My family and I stayed in Gweedore for two weeks and I spent the most wonderful vacations of my life. This journey, though, was much more important than you can imagine for a very simple reason.

One evening we paid a visit to a family, that my family had an acquaintance with, and they were living in Rosses, a nearby village. The first thing I saw, while entering that house, was a woman playing jigs on an Irish bouzouki and a man with an acoustic guitar, both of them sitting at the balcony. Of course, what you do not know -and this is what is awesome in the whole thing- is, that this woman was Vivian, who is my long-term friend and I happened to meet for the first time when I was 10 and she was 35. The next thing you do not know is that this man was Doug, who many years later got married to my best friend, Ivanna, which we talked before about. Funnily enough I actually got to know Ivanna's husband properly 9 years later, after they got married.

I wouldn't like to describe my journey in Ireland, as this is not my aim for the time being and moreover I have travelled to so many places, that three whole tomes would be required, so that I could desctibe everything. But what I need to say is that this specific journey had a huge impact on me. To start with, it made me fall in love with Ireland and promise myself that someday it would become my home. Indeed this was my secret wish, which I managed to speak out 10 years later, in a semi-drunk state, some autumn being with my friends and...everybody knows what I'm talking about. I also kept being in contact with Vivian, who was informing me about anything new happening in Ireland. But the last and most important thing was, that it made me develop my own imagination. When I went home, I started writing my two most popular stories: Bjørnebarnet in Norwegian, which was translated in Finnish as Karhunlapsi and much later in English as The Bearchild  and of course the other story was The Tale of the Dead Tiger. The latter is something that all of you know, because it has been a frequent topic in many of our songs and also the story that has made me cry the most, in contrast to other stories, because it has always reminded me of my father.

I would like to cite the tale here, as difficult as it is after all those years. When I was young, my dad had bought to me a tiger plush toy, which I had placed in my bed. I loved this tiger so much, as she were real, that's why every night I would sleep hugging her tight, so that she would protect me. I always wished she were real, so that she could be my own pet, even though I'm talking about a tiger and not just an innocent kitten. Anyway, for me every animal is always innocent, so my affection for tigers is justified. And it's not a secret that I adore tigers, especially because of their fierce looks, and my friends used to mock me for years playing to me Eye of the Tiger. Well, going back from Ireland, I wrote the following tale: 

Once upon a time lived a small girl close to the forest. This girl was almost 9 years old and kept in her bed a tiger plush toy, which she extremely loved. Every night, before she fell asleep, she would wish upon the stars that the tiger would become alive and take her to the forest. One night, that seemed like every other night, the little girl heard a noise in her bedroom. She rose from bed, very scared, and went to see what was happening. Suddenly, she saw her tiger walking in the dark room and the small girl, failing to believe that this was true, started to become afraid. 'Don't be scared', said the tiger. 'I'm your old friend. Your wish came true. Let's get out of the window'. The little girl got out of the window riding the tiger's back and they headed towards the forest. 'Look', said the girl. 'Here are also the rest of the plush toys that I have'. 'Yes', replied the tiger. 'It seems like your wish came true upon them too'. The time went by very quickly, and the sky looked like it started to get pink. While the girl was still on the tiger's back, the animal said: 'I have to take you back. It starts to dawn'. The tiger took her to the window. But then, the girl noticed that the tiger was staying behind. 'Wait! Where are you going? Aren't you coming along?' 'I'm sorry', said the tiger 'I cannot once I'm alive. If I go back alive with you, you will have to remain forever a child. What do you want? To remain a child or let me go?' 'Neither of the two!', said the girl in enthusiasm. 'I know what we can do. We will both get in from the window, but I will close your eyes and I will place you in the bed. If you can't see, nothing will happen to you'. The tiger agreed and the girl shut carefuly the animal's eyes and pushed her inside the window. Suddenly, the little girl sprang up. She rose from bed and saw the tiger standing lifeless in her bed. Then she burst into tears for the loss of her beloved friend. 'I shall call you Dead Tiger from now on', she thought. 'This way I will forever keep you in my heart'