Once upon a time a Swan was born, he was the most beautiful Swan ever seen, his feathers were as white as snow, he had the most beautiful long neck ever remembered, his wings were long and strong and his flight the most graceful and balanced. He thought his life was happy, but with time he realized he was not and then he started his quest. He flew from north to south, from east to west trying to find what will fulfill him with not luck. He met the Queen of the Wind, The Spring, The Summer, The Autumn, he Conquered the Blue Sky, he saw the Forest’s Awakening, he started to become Amazed By Beauty and discovered the Wonders of Life. He thought he had looked all over with no luck and when he was about to give up, he saw a small bright coming from the horizon. He directed his flight to that point and when he reached that place he found a Lake, so peaceful, so quiet and beautiful that he thought it was a dream. The Swan stayed admiring The Lake for hours, days, weeks… He swam and swam feeling its water run across his feathers. Suddenly the wind changed its direction and the leaves of the trees started to sing a different melody, it was a sad song with a feeling of loneliness. The Winter arrived with its bitterness and cold. The Lake started to freeze and the Swan knew he needed to leave if he wanted to survive, The Winter said with a deep and sad voice to the Swan.. “ It is time for you to go, this is no place for you right now…“ The Swan didn’t answer to The Winter’s words.. The next day it was even colder and the Lake was almost frozen, The Winter said to the Swan.. „Leave! If you stay, you will die!“ The Swan opened his eyes looked at the gray sky closed his eyes again… That night The Winter created a snow storm and stopped until sunrise. That morning The Winter saw that The Lake was completely frozen, its water became ice as hard as stone, but he also saw the white Swan near him. The Swan was quiet, he could not move any more, he was very weak. The Winter told the Swan.. „Why you didn’t leave? I told you you would die if you stay! Now you are dying and with no reason.“ The Swan said to The Winter „All my life I was in a quest to find something I was missing, something that would make me feel alive and in this place after many years I found it.“ The Winter asked The Swan what did he find in this place and the Swan said „A friend… The Lake is my friend and we had wonderful moments together. This was my last Autumn and I am very thankful that even in The Twilight of my life I was able to know what love is. That is why I decided to stay, to be with my friend until the last moment of my life.“ The Winter felt a deep sadness inside him… a very different sadness from the ones he had experienced before. Suddenly he realized that all his life he never had a friend and the Swan showed him how beautiful love can be. The Swan asked The Winter to come closer and the Winter asked the Swan what did he need. The Swan said „If I Could Make a Wish… it would be that you and The Lake could be friends forever. Can you grant me that wish? Can you take care of him and visit every year? Would you like to do that for me?“ The Winter kept quiet for a moment, even the leaves stopped singing that song filled with loneliness… suddenly all was still. Then a new wind came.. It was still cold but with a different sound. The leaves started to move in a different direction and started to sing, this time with joy. The Winter promised the Swan he would come every year to visit his new friend and begin to create wonderful moments together. The Swan gave The Winter a smile and closed his eyes forever. The Winter kept his promise and he comes back every year to visit his friend The Lake. Each year they remember The Swan and his tale about his quest where he Conquered the Blue Sky, met the Queen of The Wind, discovered the Wonders of Life and found the most valuable treasures of all, he found love.

Ernesto Cortazar