2010年02月07日

The Abbey at Ennis

The Abbey at Ennis Ussay Nakajima  
Staged in March & July 2009 by Balllylee Theatre Society.
 
The Abbey at Ennis

 Once upon a time, not long since the Christianity was first brought to Ireland, there was a little abbey at Ennis, Co. Clare, which was just a little village at that time.

 One day they had a newcomer arrived, named Amannan. But somehow he looked too beautiful a youngster, almost like ancient David, to be a monk. The abbot felt something uneasy and omneous.

 He asked Amannan why he chose this way of life. He said that, when he was born, a gipsy woman foretold that one day a woman would bring him mischief and that so his parents sent him to here. He also said that he loved God and had no regret to be a monk. The abbot still felt worried, but decided to wait and see.

 So gentle, dedicated, good-hearted was he that everyone at the abbey came to love him. But being insomnia, he used to walk around at night at riverside of R. Fergus, singing hymns.

 There lived a family of waterfairy there. Elda, the innocent, young waterfairy, was fascinated to his tone of singing, and as listened to every night, came to remember the songs singing together with him, knowing just nothing about Christianity.

 Amannan was so surprised to hear some other voice sing with him, and first believed that it was an angel sent from Lord. Although when the two met, he felt responsibility to teach her about Christianity.

 Since then he visited Elda every night talking about God. She had no evil intension, but the cultural gap between them was too deep and distant to fill up, she couldn’t understand what he meant.

 Anyway, as the days go by, they fell in love with each other. Amannan suffered so from inner conflict, and once he said good-bye to her.

 Yet, after all, the guard at the abbey found Amannan drowned dead at R. Fergus. Everyone at the abbey thought it was an accident. The abbot alone felt something else, still he did not refuse a funeral mass for him.

 As the funeral went to backyard, they saw a woman in wet white cloth following them, crying heavily in deep sorrow. They wondered who she was. The abbot perhaps knew, still he said nothing with the sympathy to her, leaving the judgement in God’s hands.

 A thousand years and more passed since. All the good fellows at the abbey gone away in the memory of Lord, and Ennis became busier and busier as the capital of the county.

 Still Elda the immortal waterfairy stays at Ennis, at the riverside of Fergus, singing songs at night, which used to be Amannan’s favourites. She understands nothing about God and Christianity as ever, she just loved them for the memory of her love.

 They now say there lives an angel at R. Fergus… They hear sweet, gentle voice singing old, old hymns when they pass by the riverside late at night…


Posted by 中島迂生 at 16:58│Comments(0)The Abbey at Ennis
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