The Legend of Catalina

By: Melissa Zeigler

            Long ago, on an island we now call Catalina, a young man named Jasper and young woman named Kyla fell in love. Their days and nights were filled with happiness; until that happiness was shattered at the birth of their first child, a little girl. The baby was born on a dark, stormy night. She fell terribly ill before she’d even been given a name. Jasper, distraught, immediately set sail on his small boat to make the perilous journey to the mainland for help.

            Kyla, with only her sick little girl as company, could only sit and wait for Jasper’s return. Days passed and the baby grew sicker and sicker. Kyla waited and waited for the sound of Jasper’s boat to signal three times, their lucky number.

One night, as the moon glimmered on the water and the stars twinkled in the sky, Kyla was awakened by the blast of a boat horn. She sat straight up in her bed and waited. Suddenly, there was a second horn blast. Excitement welled up inside of her but she forced herself not to move until—finally she heard the third horn sound.

Kyla raced out of the house. There at the end of the dock was Jasper anchoring their boat, next to him stood a mainland doctor.  Kyla ran into Jasper’s waiting arms and excitedly guided the doctor back to their small house.

After a little medicine and a lot of love they managed to nurse their little girl back to health. And, after much debate, they decided on the perfect name for her, Catalina.

Every year on Catalina’s birthday, Jasper and Kyla would sound their boat’s horn three times as a reminder of how close they had been to losing Catalina and how happy they were that they hadn’t.

Not long after they began this family tradition, more people began to move to the island. Jasper and Kyla’s new neighbors joined in their three horn blast ceremony for Catalina and even began to use the ceremony to commemorate their own special occasions.

From that point on, anytime they heard three horns sound, the islanders would gather together in celebration of family, friends and of being alive.