Extrait du livre Tupaï and the secret of the pearl
Tupaï and the secret of the pearl Pascale Vignali Illustrated by Justine Cunha Le Regard Sonore Editions
Once upon a time ... the colour was blue. In the heart of the Pacific Ocean, thousands of kilometres from any continent, blue is king. Sometimes a volcano awakens underwater, raising up a mountain in the midst of the ocean. Thousands of years later, the mountain sinks back down under the water, coral reefs and pearly beaches grow around it, crowning the engulfed giant. Thus were born the Polynesian atolls, these small islands bordered on one side by the deep blue ocean, and on the other by the turquoise waters of a lagoon ...
Like all Polynesians, Tupaï lived a peaceful existence at the heart of the atoll. As soon as she could, she plunged into the clear waters of the lagoon with her friend Honu, the turtle. She felt at home there and would snuggle up to the damsel fish, the clown fish and the manta rays. She would spend hours exploring her underwater world while Honu, never far from her side, feasted on the sponges that grew amongst the coral.
One day a shell caught Tupaï's attention and drew her to it : a little oyster its shell hemmed like a iridescent wave, half opening onto the most beautiful pearl that Tupaï had ever seen. Fascinated, she took the pearl in the palm of her hand ... She felt a strange warmth all over her body. The tattoo on her shoulder began to glow. Tupai felt dizzy and closed her eyes ...
A vision appeared. Human silhouettes, standing on the sand at the bottom of the lagoon... Their eyes were closed, and their faces were peaceful, as if they were sleeping ... In fact, they were stone statues, carved so delicately that they seemed alive, and asleep. One of them stood a little apart. It was a woman, she was tall and majestic, and she was reaching out for something... reaching out for… The vision disappeared as quickly as it had come. Tupai opened her eyes. Honu was worried and helped her back to the surface.
Once on the beach, Tupai told Honu what she had seen: Tupaï :The statues looked so real, Honu, they have to exist somewhere ! And what about this magical pearl? Honu It reminds me of a old legend passed down among turtles... Tupaï :Passed down? How is that possible? Turtle mothers lay their eggs in the sand and then leave straight after ! Honu :That is true. We come into life on our own and reach the sea alone. Yet we know instinctively what we must do to survive! We share the memory of turtles down the ages...
Tupaï : And what is that legend? Honu : According to the memories of my great great great and even three times great-grandmother, there was once an inhabited mountain-island in the middle of the lagoon. One day, the centre of the earth rumbled under water... the island trembled and sank. It is said that at the last moment, an enchantress who lived on this island changed the people into stone statues in order to save them. Since then they have been sleeping on the seabed, waiting for someone to awaken them. They are called "the dreamers of the sunken isle" ...
