Extrait du livre Aada, the snowchild
Aada the snowchild by Pascale Vignali and Justine Cunha Le Regard Sonore Editions
There was once a very cold country, with sumptuous white landscapes, dotted with thousands of icy blue lakes, and endless pine forests sprinkled with snow all year long… In the Northern part of this winter land lived the Sami, who were reindeer herders.
These shepherds of huge herds followed the movement of their animals, which every summer traveled to Lapland, the Kingdom of the Midnight Sun. There, the sun would shine all day and all night, never sinking below the horizon, and painting pearly rays on the snowy meadows...
The Sami people had always known that they shared this extraordinary land with magical creatures, some kind, others frightening... That is why they asked their children to never play alone alongside the Great Lakes. They were frightened of what lurked beneath the cold dark waters...
Little Aada, a snow child, was aware of all this, but she was also turbulent and fearless.. She would constantly disobey her father Kosti and follow the trail of a snowshoe hare or go fishing alone, like a grown-up…
One day while the fog slowly lifted over the sparkling lake, the little girl noticed a strange movement near its edge: AADA : What kind of big fish is hiding under there... a pike perhaps ? Dad would be so proud of me if I caught it for dinner!
She bent low over the water... and found herself face to face with a charming smiling woman. She was a siren of the frozen lakes. Her long blonde hair floated around her like soft seaweed, and her large marine blue eyes sparkled like two gemstones in the sun. THE ICE SIREN : Hello… Would you like to come play with me at the bottom of the lake ? AADA : I can not... Father Daddy says it's too cold. But have you not seen a big pike pass by ?
THE ICE SIREN : No… Umm yes, maybe ! Would you like to catch it ? AADA : Yes, as a surprise for my father. Could you help me ? THE ICE SIREN : Of course ! Dive with me, we will catch it together. If you give me your hand, you can breathe underwater, just like me, you will not get cold. Come !
