The Pearl Diver
On the southeastern coast of Honshu, the ancient port city of Tomonoura has faced the Seto Inland Sea since the beginning of time. Its Japanese landlords along with various other Asians occupied the city streets. Sprinkled amongst the natives were a few European men. Murtagh O'Farrell was one of these men. As he walked the streets from his docked ship towards one of the small beach coves north of the city, the locals always stopped and turned his way gazing at his tall, lanky stature topped with a tussle of reddish orange hair.
It was a time of adventure and great culture for it was 1867, and the world seemed open and alive. This was why Murtagh, captain of the Draper, came to Japan to trade exotic treasures, search for adventure, and acquire riches. That would be the tale he would weave as you shared sake while in port. However, every sailor knows a man who pulls into the same port year after year does it for one reason. Love.
As the road neared the north cove, the captain could hear the steady crashing of the sea against the tiny shore. A small gaggle of girls ranging from 11 to 17 years old was playing in the ocean surf. Upon further inspection, one noticed the organization of the children by 2 of the oldest. With buckets in hand, the girls were given directions to various locations out in the cove. They all began wading into the water then swimming towards their destinations. You see these were not just any girls; they were from a long line of Ama, pearl divers. They drove the coves and nearby sea for shells and abalone in order to harvest the mother-of-pearl.
Sitting in solitude on a rocky jetty was a gangly girl of thirteen years with a pale complexion. From a distance, the girl heard a whistle. She immediately dropped her shells and headed for the man standing on the beach. As her feet hit the sand, “Papa,” she shouted while running. Within seconds, they embraced. “My Ashling, I have missed you. Let me gaze upon you.” Her brown eyes were enclosed with a less pronounced Asian fold over her almond shaped eyes. Her skin was more yellow tones than of her father’s pinkish white skin. As Murtagh, looked at his daughter he saw only love. When the other children in the town looked upon Ashling, they saw only an awkward looking girl with flaming curly red hair.
Their time together as a family was always brief due to the captain’s travels. He saw her only twice a year.
“How are your diving skills?”
“Excellent. They said I cannot be an Ama because I am only half Japanese.”
“Hum…Precious, time will call you an Ama, you will see. You will not just be pearl diver; you will be the Pearl.”
Three years past since Captain Murdagh’s last visit, Ashling used this time wisely. She studied all the books her father had left for her. While standing on the edge of the cove as the sea touched her toes, Ashling practiced breathing. It was something taught to her by her maternal grandmother, one of the oldest Amas on the island. The other girls would mock her and call her Sabure meaning sand, but they meant is as an irritating granule or pebble. Her diving skills had become legendary though out the port city. Merchants paid dearly for the mother of pearl and pearls she and her grandmother found deep in the waters outside of the cove.
The northeast winds were heavy for several days. This was good sailing for the captain; he pulled into port a week ahead of schedule. Murdagh tended to his business during the mid-morning and took lunch while in town. This left him the afternoon to wonder up to the north cove. The wind carried a bit of a chill, but it cooled the skin from the hot, humid summer day. As he approached the cove, he prepared himself for this customary arrival whistle; instead, he was greeted by a sound he hadn’t heard in years. The elders of the cove called it the “song of the sea”. At first, the sound resembled a chant, but as he came closer, the chant blossomed into melody.
The captain stood in awe as the two women, one petite and old with years the other tall and slender with the radiance of youth, standing at the edge of the cove with their toes kissed by the last touches of the Seto Inland Sea practiced their breathing. Quietly, he sat in the sand and watched the two women swim out beyond the cove and drive for pearls. Upon their return to the shore, Murdagh whistled. The young woman turned towards the sound. She pulled the cap from her head revealing a mane of long auburn hair. “Papa,” Ashling shouted as she ran across the beach. As she came within steps of her father, he gasped at the site of her. “Look at the pearl, Papa. Look.”
The captain glanced at the black pearl and then into his daughter’s face. “It’s beautiful.”
