Linana and the carousel

Once, in a time before flowers adorned the earth, there lived a girl of extraordinary beauty named Linana, known by all as Swansplendor. Her heart shone with kindness, and she shared an unbreakable bond with her father, a merchant who cherished her above all. But joy turned to sorrow when her father fell ill and passed away. Her mother remarried, and the cruelty of her stepfather shadowed Linana’s days, until the radiant girl became bitter and feared, earning the name Swanplague.

Into this shadowed life came a mysterious merchant, traveling with a magical carousel unlike anything the town had ever seen. Among the painted creatures, Linana discovered a spark of delight she had long thought lost. The merchant, seeing past her bitterness, recognized the true light within her and revealed a secret: at the stroke of midnight, the carousel’s swan could carry her on flights across the sky. He urged her to come, to reclaim her freedom and joy.

Night after night, Linana rode the swan, soaring above her town, sharing her grief and dreams with the merchant. She traveled further with each journey, discovering distant lands and, on one fateful night, a lake where real swans swam. She realized they too longed for freedom, and with the merchant’s guidance, she began bringing them into the carousel. Slowly, the carousel transformed, filling with living swans whose wings beat in harmony with hers, until the entire ride became a wheel of life and wonder.

But magic is fragile. The merchant fell ill, and Linana watched helplessly as he passed away. The three secret flames that had guided the carousel—symbolizing death, birth, and joy—flickered and died. The swans stiffened, the music fell silent, and the townspeople, unaware of the carousel’s power, cast it into a deep pit. Linana’s grief was boundless; the world felt hollow without her companion, her swans, and the carousel’s song.

Yet hope remained. One night, a swan from distant lands appeared and carried Linana to a hidden lake where she found a small, humble house. Here, she learned of an ancient woman who possessed the magic to grant the swans eternal life. Linana chose to live by the lake, tending the swans and waiting patiently for the day when the old woman’s power could restore the carousel.

That day came at last. Beneath the earth, the old woman raised the carousel anew, filled it with countless swans and infinite flickering flames representing the cycles of life. Linana embraced her role as guardian, traveling freely through sky, water, and underworld. She became a living legend, a bridge between sorrow and joy, loss and transformation.

And so it is said: if one ever glimpses a carousel flying through the night sky, its wings beating against the stars, it is Linana and her swans, soaring forever, carrying the magic of life, love, and the enduring power of transformation.