A/N: This was my first story ever! I wrote in school for a final that included was to write an original folktale. I had to re-edit it since I wrote it when I was a junior in High School. Now this story does deal with death and rape but in a more simple way but yeah you've been warned. But please enjoy.
Disclaimer: God was the only reason this story was able to be written in an hour. So it definitely belongs to Him.
A long time ago there was a village that did not know of or had seen snow. The days were either bright and beautiful, or dark and ugly. In this village there lived a lovely girl with light gray eyes that when the light shined on them her eyes became a glistening white. Her name was Kara-Neva. When Kara-Neva was little the village she lived in went through a famine. She prayed to God to save her village and in return she promised to give him the one thing she could offer: her innocence and heart. Of course, God held his end of the promise and the village was saved. Immediately, Kara-Neva applied herself to her end of the promise. She loved God with all of her heart and helped others do the same. She wasn't perfect but knowing that made her try even harder to keep her promise. At the age of thirteen, girls were preparing themselves to catch an ideal husband. While most girls wanted a rich, handsome, strong man Kara-Neva only wanted God.
"Stupid Kara-Neva that can never happen. The Church is God's bride, how can a girl like you be God's bride?" the other girls would laugh.
"God will provide me with a man that will love me like He loves me, or He'll sweep me off my feet to be with Him. I know God will provide," Kara-Neva would reply with dreamy eyes and a wistful smile. The girls would laugh at her even more. When Kara-Neva turned sixteen, the age of marriage, she was as beautiful as the sunset with the moon for eyes. Every man wanted her but Kara-Neva would refuse any proposal that came.
"Kara-Nevita, why do you refuse every proposal?" her mother would cry.
"I'm God's bride mama. One day he'll come and sweep me up to be with him," Kara-Neva would reply.
"But that is a child's dream. He won't come till a long time mija." her mother said.
"Then I'll have a heart of a child and the patience of the elders." Kara-Neva would reply laughing. Everyone then could see that she was serious about her promise and stopped proposing to her.
One day, a foreign warrior came to the village. He was rich, handsome, strong, and went to their church, the perfect man. Except for his pitch black heart that was filled with selfishness and greed. Although, no one saw that, except for Kara-Neva. When she first saw him courting her friends she went up to them and politely took her friends from him.
"Kara-Neva what's wrong? He is the perfect man for us, why would you take us away from him?" her friends asked.
"He is a wolf not a man," Kara-Neva said gravely. Her friends would write her off as a child who didn't see logic, but they still stayed with Kara-Neva. All the while the warrior observed Kara-Neva. Her beauty astounded him, especially her eyes. He became determined to win her over and make her be his wife. He searched for her house and asked to stay there for his visit. Kara-Neva's parents accepted his stay but Kara-Neva warned her parents about the warrior. Although, they also wrote her off.
"No matter how much you tame the wild if it wants to be wild it will be wild." Kara-Neva said forebodingly. The warrior believed winning Kara-Neva would be as easy as winning any other girl. Yet as the days went by she was indifferent to his attempts. He asked her parents for the reason of her indifference. They told him of Kara-Neva's dream and promise.
"Ha! That is a child's dream. God wouldn't care about a silly promise He knows that can be broken so easily. For God says that the man is a woman's head, therefore she needs me." The warrior laughed with a charming smirk. Kara-Neva heard his attitude about her promise and knew that he was not the man for her. A few days later the warrior asked Kara-Neva's hand in marriage. Everyone thought she would accept his proposal but she didn't.
"Until you let God into your heart I cannot let you be my head, for only God is my head." Kara-Neva refused with a gentle but stern voice. The warrior grew red with rage.
"You would refuse me!" the warrior yelled in anger. Everyone was taken aback. "Is it because of that senseless promise? God would want you to marry me. He said be fruitful and multiply." he said gaining his composure.
"God would want me to trust him. He would want me to be faithful. And I know for a fact that He would not let me marry you," Kara-Neva said with determination in her voice and eyes. The warrior saw that he couldn't convince Kara-Neva and was surprised to see that he couldn't convince the other villagers too. They saw the real him thanks to Kara-Neva's refusal.
"Fine I can see that I didn't win but I will be back. I always get what I want," the warrior threatened. He left town that same day. The villagers saw their mistake and apologized to Kara-Neva. She gladly forgave everyone but she felt something worse was coming.
A year later Kara-Neva was shopping for her parents in the village. Then she heard an ear-splitting battle cry. On the hill that marked the border of the village, the warrior and his comrades stood ready to destroy the village. When they began to charge the villagers panicked. Everyone ran into their houses to try and protect their young ones. Others got down to their knees and cried for God. Kara-Neva prayed as ran to her house. Unfortunately, the warrior beat her there She saw him kill her parents, laughing at their horror-stricken faces. She tried to run to warn or help others but the warrior saw her. He chased and grabbed Kara-Neva. She fought with all her strength still praying to God.
"I'll show you what your promise really means to God." the warrior spat at her.
"No matter what you do God will win!" Kara-Neva yelled triumphantly. The warrior hit her then forced himself on her. He enjoyed the white crystal tears that fell from Kara-Neva's white eyes. Kara-Neva prayed and fought till she couldn't any more. She fell to the ground as soon as she stopped praying. She felt death coming over her but before that happened Kara-Neva saw a white sparrow.
"Please tell God that I'm sorry that I couldn't keep my promise" Kara-Neva whispered to the sparrow as one more white crystal tear fell. Then death came over her. The warrior watched with satisfaction as Kara-Neva died. He and his comrades left the village when they finished destroying it, leaving no survivors behind. As they started their way home white frozen tears fell from the sky.
"Look what your promise has done Kara-Neva!" the warrior yelled triumphantly. The tears that fell from the sky reminded him of Kara-Neva's tears. This put a wicked smile on his face. They continued on but the tears began to pile up. The wind howled as if it was in pain and the tears whipped harshly against the warrior and his soldiers. This blinded them and the warrior fell in a hole. His comrades tried to take him out but they couldn't. They left the warrior in the hole because the tears from the sky began to fall faster and the wind howled louder. The warrior began to become consumed by the cold of the wind and the darkness of the hole. Then he saw a white sparrow coming towards him.
"You have stolen something from God. Now you must pay the price," the sparrow chirped. When the sparrow left the warrior cursed Kara-Neva and God. The wind howled and the warrior screamed angrily into it. After the scream he took his last breath. The comrades heard their leaders yell on top of the hill. When they turned around they were surprised to see the village that they had just destroyed looked like a pure white unblemished paradise. They named the white tears El Nieve (snow in Spanish), and went home.
No knows if those tears were God's or Kara-Neva's but there are two things that are certain from this legend. The warrior's scream can still be heard in the wind of a snowstorm but kids still go out to play even if the wind screams because even in the strongest storm the snow will dance in beautiful fun swirls. And if you look hard enough you can see Kara –Neva dancing with God in those swirls.