Maiden of Eternal Sorrows ~An Original Story~

"Eternal pain
A well gone dry
And all you can see is deep sorrow in her eye
No pain was forgotten
It was always held inside
Warriors searched for a way to make it disappear
Only the gods knew how
A single soul
Pure of heart
Step forward she who would sacrifice
Happiness will never again come
To come to terms with a pain
She will take it without complaint
Eternal sadness
To the end of the world
Only she will feel the eternal pain"
There is an ancient legend that has been passed down from generation to generation in my family for longer than anyone can count. Every year of the ram, under the constellation of Pisces, my whole family would gather for a 7-day celebration. The oldest woman in our family will tell the legend to the young ones and anyone else who will hear it on the first day of our celebration. Anyone who is not listening is acting along with the legend, making it more and more real. And I... I was the main role for two years of the ram.
"Long ago, when the Earth was still young, no one could forget or overcome any kind of emotional pain that was set upon them. The people of the land were dying, the sorrows where beyond tolerable for the human soul." My great, great grandmother would begin the story, making sure to make the legend appear very mythical. "Not a tear could be shed, there was no way to release the pain our ancestors felt inside. The strongest of the people, the ones who could handle the sorrow better or were too young to feel the full effect of it, they searched for a way to make all the pain go away. They wanted to save their people.
"One boy, a young boy, had heard that the gods could help, that they knew how the people could relieve their never-ending pain. And so he searched. He searched for a way to get into the court of the gods, to ask them for their help. Every night, every morning, before and after every meal, the boy would ask for their help. Even if they only allowed him a trial in their great court would show that he was close to helping his people survive."
As she spoke those words, my younger cousin would appear from the shadows and act them all out. He'd search through the small clump of trees to the left of my great, great grandmother that had been specially grown for the celebration; he would kneel down to pray when the story called upon the action. I had simply watched, every year, from my hiding place in the shadows of a second clump of trees placed to the right of my grandmother. Until it was time for me to go out and act out my scene in the story, that is.
"Many constellations had passed through the sky when the boy was allowed an audience with the gods." She would continue. "He kneeled, in the center of the room, bowing his head down to honor the gods, to keep them from becoming angry with him.
"Great and mighty gods." The boy began his speech that he hoped would save his fellow being from the terrible sorrows. "I am honored that you have allowed me into your court. Please allow me to voice my request."
"The gods looked down at him from their high seats and commanded him to speak. "Boy, what is it that you have prayed so much and so hard, that you would search with all your strength to find our court?"
"My people, great gods, they are plagued with a terrible sickness. It is called the Eternal Sorrows, and most who are born into the world catch it before they become a grown man or woman. I beg of you, please, give me the cure that I may go back and heal my people." The boy had begged, his voice desperate."
My grandmother would change her voice so that it would sound like the boy or the gods when they would speak in the legend.
"The gods looked at each other with serious faces before turning their attention back at him. "We cannot help you with this disease. There is no cure to it." The highest god replied in his deep voice.
"Wait." A woman's voice called out. "There is one way to cure the sickness of Eternal Sorrows." Upon glancing up at the owner of the voice, the boy found that he was looking at a goddess. He quickly put his head back down the ground, to keep himself from falling in love with her beauty.
"Anything, goddess, I will do anything!" He cried out when she paused.
"It is not you who must do it." Her voice rang in his ears like bells from a far off distance. "A maiden, a maiden who is so pure in heart that the sorrows have not yet found her. She must give up her happiness; she alone can take on all of the sorrows the human beings may feel. If she takes on this eternal burden, of her own free will, mind you, your people will still feel sorrows, but they will be forgotten and never return after an amount of time. That amount of time will depend on how soon they are willing to let go, so only those who refuse to let go of their sorrows will be burdened. All sorrows that are forgotten, they will be sent to the maiden. And she will feel all of the sorrows of the world." The goddess finished and then sat back down, allowing the boy's mind to think over what she had said.
"Then I shall find her. And I shall tell her what you have told me." The boy answered.
In a flash of bright light, he found himself in the edge of a forest. It was dark and it reeked of the deep, deep sorrow that he had fought to avoid. The boy quickly ran the other way, he did not wish to be taken by the Eternal Sorrows until after he had found the maiden who would save his people."
During the court scene, my cousin would kneel down in front of my grandmother, but when he was transported to the sorrowful forest, he would move to be in front of the small clump that I would hide.
"Time was running out." My grandmother would continue on. "He could feel the sorrows in his heart and soul building up, one on top of the other. The boy would struggle to wake up every day; he would fight to allow his body to eat the food it needed to continue his quest. But everywhere he went, he would find nothing. Every time he would hear something that could possibly lead on to him finding this maiden he would always end up back at that sorrowful forest. If he didn't find himself standing in front of it physically, it would haunt the back of his mind like a plague. It added on to his list of eternal sorrows.
"Finally, as a final, desperate attempt in finding the maiden whose heart was so pure that she could take on all the sorrows of the world, the boy entered the forest. He could feel the sorrow radiating of the trees and plants; no animals were seen. As he walked further in to the forest, he found it harder and harder to move, harder and harder to force himself to keep on living. It had only been a mere ten minutes when he finally black out."
At that point, my cousin would fall to the ground, and I would rush out of my little cove.

"Upon waking up, the boy found himself staring into the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. They had seemed so pure, so full of life and the will to live on happily.
"So you're finally up?" The owner of the eyes spoke to him as she stood up and walked over to a small fire to grab a bowl. She handed the bowl to him and sat down on a log in front of the fire. "My name is Eien, Eien Shiawase." The maiden said happily. "What's yours?"
"The boy did not answer; his mind was telling him that this Shiawase was the maiden he had been searching for, but his heart told him that if she was the maiden and if she took on the eternal burden of the world's sorrows that she would be in deep pain. He couldn't help but to think about her eyes, even though he only saw them once, he saw how innocent and pure they were. Pushing his thought aside, he knew what he had to do. There would be no point in searching so long and so hard to find her and then turn back on his people. Besides, he needed to be relieved of his own building sorrows.
"Eien-san... Please, listen to this and tell me your decision." And so, the boy told her everything about the Eternal Sorrows and how to help save his people.
"I do not understand this pain that you feel. Please, forgive me for my ignorance." The maiden said once he had finished his tail. "But if it means that others are dying, and I can cure it, then should I not make the rest of the world as happy as I am now?" She said, her voice still held its cheerful tone, and never once while she was talking did the boy get the feeling that could feel the sorrow he had described to her. He then knew for sure that she was the maiden.
"And so, when the maiden had decided that she would save the boy's people, a sudden flash of light surrounded them and they found themselves standing before the court of the gods. Pure joy could be seen on the maidens face when she realized where she was.
"You have found her, noble knight." The goddess said, rising from her seat. "And we have heard her voice agree to take on the task of saving your people." She turned to face the innocent maiden and a small circlet with a single teardrop jewel appeared in front of the maiden. "The moment you put this on, the Circlet of Sorrows, your eternal task will begin. One day, you will find your job to painful to live on, so before that day, you must find another pure maiden to take your place. And you will be rewarded for the sorrows you will take upon yourself when your body is nothing but ash."
"Taking the circlet in her delicate hands, the maiden crowned herself. A blinding blue light shone out from the teardrop jewel, the boy protected his eyes and could not see what was happening to her. When the light died down, when the boy looked into the maiden's eyes for the last time, he saw that where there was eternal happiness, there was eternal sorrow. He felt a pain in his heart, but he knew that however much it was hurting this one woman, millions of his people around the world were being relieved of their burdens and would live longer lives. Much, much longer lives."
And so would end my great, great grandmother's legend about how that one maiden saved all of us from the Eternal Sorrows. With her last words, I would always fade back into the small clump of trees.
One year, before I became the lead role, I had asked, "What happened to the maiden? Where did she go after put the Circlet of Sorrows on?"
"It is said that the maiden went back to the forest. The forest where sorrow was so thick that anyone would faint from it all. The very forest that all of you are forbidden to enter." Came the reply of my grandmother as she looked into the dark forest that we would always hold the ceremony.
Not too long ago, I decided that I wanted to meet the Maiden of Eternal Sorrows. I had wanted to look into her sorrowful eyes and ask her why she would sacrifice herself for people she didn't even know. So I disobeyed my family's law. Leaving a scroll on my bedroll, I left my house and entered the forest.
It wasn't nearly as horrible as my great, great grandmother would describe. It had felt like any other forest that I had been in, except the fact that it was darker and hard to see anything in.
Hours seemed to pass before I found myself in what felt like was the center of the dark forest. A waterfall roared as it threw water into a small river. Next to the waterfall was a cave. And in front of that cave was a large rock. My eyes had widened so much at what I saw that you would have thought that I didnt have eyelids at all. Laying delicately on top of the rock, eyes shut tight as if to block out the pain, was a beautiful woman. Yes, after all these years, the Maiden of Eternal Sorrows hadn't aged a bit. And there she was, right before my very own eyes.
"You are here. I have been waiting for you, young maiden." Her voice rang out. "Will you take my place and save your people before it is too late?"
A tear rolled down my cheek as I realized what she was saying. I may not have been as innocent to sorrow as she had been before, but she could feel something in me.
"I can feel your pain. You wish to forget it, and I can feel it, right here." The maiden had sat up and had held her hand over her hand as she looked at me with her sorrowful eyes.
"I-I-I..." I had stuttered, not being able to say anything else.
"Only your heart can choose for you. I will not force you to take on the eternal sorrows that I have all these years. But you must know that I can not last much longer, and your people will be put in danger." She had stood up and began to walk into cave.
And so here I stand. Staring after her as she disappears into the darkness of the cave. I know that what she says is true; all these years I have played her part in the ceremony, it is only natural that I do become the new, real, Maiden of Eternal Sorrows. But could I really handle the pain and sorrows that she has been feeling all this time? I must. For her, for my family, for my people.
"Wait!" I shout. "I will do it. I want to become the Maiden of Eternal Sorrows. May I be honored with this task?"
She turns around, but I see no reassuring smile as I thought I would see. "Is this your final decision?"
"Yes." I close my eyes and bow my head sadly, knowing full well that I was doing this to save my people, to keep them from falling into that eternal sorrow once again.
I hear shuffling before a weight is placed on my head. "As the goddess told me, "The moment you put this on, the Circlet of Sorrows, your eternal task will begin. One day, you will find your job to painful to live on, so before that day, you must find another pure maiden to take your place. And you will be rewarded for the sorrows you will take upon yourself when your body is nothing but ash." And so it shall be." Her voice sings out in happiness after all these years.
As told in the legend, the teardrop begins to shine. I hold back my tears as my back arches painfully. But my physical pain fades quickly as a rush of other people's sorrows floods into my mind.
"Please, tell them." I cry out. "Tell them that I have taken on this task."
"I shall. Before I am sent to my new home, I shall." She replies before she runs off into the woods.
And so I, Eikyū ni Kannashimi, am now the Maiden of Eternal Sorrows. I feel the pain of every human being in the world. I feel my Mother's. I feel my Father's. I feel my brothers' and my sisters'. I feel my friends'. And I feel yours.
Read Results for Name Meanings.
Eien Shiawase is written with the last name first, as is custom to Japanese culture, as I'm sure most of you know. Eien means Eternal, Shiawase means Happiness, so translated into English, the name would be Happiness Eternal.
Eikyū ni Yorokobi is also written with the last name first. Eikyū ni means forever, while Yorokobi means joy. Translated into English, the name would be Joyful Forever.
Isn't it wonderful to see the irony of the names of these two 'Maidens of Eternal Sorrow'?