Selkie - Scottish

My story begins with the crash of waves against the dark, rocky shores of Scotland, where the seafoam tastes of salt and ancient secrets. You might have seen me, a sleek grey seal with eyes as deep and dark as the ocean, playing in the surf. My name is Isla, and I am not just a seal. I am one of the Selkie folk, and this is the story of how my heart became tied to both the land and the sea. For us, the ocean is our home, a vast, swirling world of freedom where we can chase silver fish through forests of kelp and speak in the clicks and calls of our kind. On certain nights, when the moon is a perfect, shining pearl in the sky, we have the magic to come ashore. We can slip out of our glistening sealskins as if they were coats and walk on two legs, with human hearts beating in our chests. It is a wondrous thing, but it is also a great danger, for if our skin is lost or stolen, we can never return to the waves again. Can you imagine having a secret so magical, but also so perilous?

One beautiful midsummer's eve, the air was warm and smelled of heather and salt. I swam to a hidden cove, my heart fizzing with excitement. With my sisters, I slipped out of my soft, grey skin and we danced on the sand under a blanket of twinkling stars. We were so lost in the joy of the music and the feel of the earth under our feet that we didn't notice a young fisherman named Ewan watching from the cliffs above. He was captivated, and while we danced, he crept down and stole my sealskin, hiding it away in a locked chest. When the sun began to rise, my sisters returned to the sea, but I could not. I was trapped. Ewan was kind, and his eyes were as gentle as a calm harbor. Though my soul ached for the waves, I learned to live on the land. Ewan and I married on the 10th of May, and we had two wonderful children, a boy named Finn and a girl named Rona. I loved them more than the tides love the moon. But every single day, I would walk to the shore and stare out at the water, my true home calling to me on the wind. I would sing sad, haunting songs of the deep, and the seals would gather in the surf to listen, for they were my family. My children were special, too. Finn had little webs between his fingers, perfect for swimming, and Rona’s eyes held the deep green-blue color of the sea on a stormy day. They knew a part of me was always missing.

Years passed, and my life on land was full, but the sea’s song never left my heart. One rainy afternoon on October 22nd, little Rona was searching for a warm blanket in an old wooden chest in the attic. Tucked away beneath a pile of quilts, her small hands found a strange, soft bundle. It was silvery and smooth, and it smelled of salt and the ocean. It was my sealskin. She brought it to me, her sea-colored eyes full of questions. The moment I touched the familiar, slick fur, a wave of longing so powerful it took my breath away washed over me. I saw my ocean home, I felt the cold water, I heard the calls of my sisters. I had to make an impossible choice. I hugged my precious children, Finn and Rona, as tightly as I could, telling them that I would always love them and would watch over them from the sea. With tears blurring my vision, I ran to the shore, slipped into my skin, and dove into the cold, welcoming water. I was a seal again. I was home. Sometimes, when my children played on the beach, they would see a large grey seal watching them from the waves with loving eyes, and they knew their mother was near. The story of the Selkie is a tale of love, loss, and belonging to two worlds at once. It reminds us that our homes and families are precious, and that the wild, mysterious sea holds stories that inspire us to feel connected to the magic of nature and the enduring power of a mother's love.