Fern Flower (the legend)

Long ago, the Earth was inhabited by happy, joyful, and never-dying people. They could easily change the shape of their bodies, turning from humans into animals or plants. If someone wanted to become an eagle, they could grow wings and fly; if someone wanted to change into a rose, they had only to ask Mother Earth for such a gift. And they could grow and blossom, giving joy to themselves and others.

But the Black God, who had sown so many evil seeds in the world, envied these good beings. So he divided each of them into man and woman. At that very moment, hate and vice appeared in nature; predators roared in the forests and plains; clouds of stinging insects rose into the air, craving blood.

And yet people learned how to find their sundered halves to become a whole being again. It happened like this.

When the Black God divided the inhabitants of our world into men and women, each had an open spot on the chest. Through this spot the heart was seen; the heart that did not sleep even at night. When it met its other half, it would blaze with rainbow fire and longed to become a whole being again.

The king of darkness ordered the closure of the open heart-spot from childhood, so that people would not even hear the sound in their chest. Little by little, love went extinct in the world and everyone forgot the time when the never-dying people lived on the Earth...

One day, in a small house high in the mountains, a boy was born. His name was Vir. Vir’s parents lived so deep in the woods that they rarely went down to the plains where other people lived. Vir’s birth went unnoticed, and the servants of the Black God forgot to close the opening on the boy’s chest.

Vir grew up and his heart shone, bright and clear. It longed to find its other half.

And one day, Vir followed its calling. He left the mountains and went looking for someone like him, someone with an open heart. Worried, the servants of the Black God started following him everywhere.

Days went by, stretching into months and years. Vir restlessly traveled from town to town, but all the hearts around him were closed. There was no light left on the whole Earth.

Finally, the young man decided to stop by all the houses where there were newborn babies whose hearts were still open. And this time he got lucky—a baby girl’s heart blazed with rainbow fire calling to his own heart. The girl’s name was Nadiyka. She held her small hand toward Vir and the young man leaned down and took Nadiyka in his arms. And they instantly turned into one whole being, beautiful and powerful. And the people around them froze, marveling at the miracle. And the servants of darkness hissed angrily, for they could no longer affect Vir and Nadiyka’s blazing heart.

Feeling his evil plans threatened, the Black God decided to do an even greater evil. He split the world in two—the world where all the human beings live, and the other world filled with love and wisdom, the world where beautiful blazing hearts live and where there is only happiness and joy. People see this other world in their dreams, and it still lives in their tales and legends.

The Black God put the new being that Vir and Nadiyka had formed into that other world. But they took with them a root of fern without the Black God noticing it.

Ever since, fern grows in both worlds. And once a year, on the night of summer solstice, fern blooms. The blazing heart shines through its beautiful fiery red flower—which is hard to find, for it is closely guarded by the servants of the Black God. However, those who want to experience marvelous and lasting love go to the forest, looking for it. They know that whoever finds the fern flower and touches it to their chest will discover the treasure of wisdom and true love.