Storytelling for Week 5: A New Start

Fayiz was unhappy. He had been noticing it along the way but today it really hit him harder than ever before. Things weren't the same and he knew they would never be the same from here on out.

"Fayiz, why won't you speak to me?" his wife inquired.

This had been going on for a while. The back and forth quarrels continued to increase as the days went on. He would usually take a small pause and then continue to argue with his wife. But now, he had grown tired of arguing, so he just said nothing instead. He kept quiet, hoping this would speak louder than any words he could've managed to utter. His wife stared at him a while, grunted and walked away.

At this point, Fayiz decided that enough was enough and went to his wife the very next day to end it. He simply explained that he was not happy with the situation and that they had been fighting for too long. Every fight their two boys would listen and watch and he didn't want that either. He felt that this was the best decision so he packed his things and left.

He wasn't sure where he was going but he knew he would figure it out as he went. For a while he went from town to town. He often stayed in small houses people would rent out for cheap and would take up quick jobs in order to get enough money to eat and survive. He didn't have much, but it was enough.

One day Fayiz was on his way traveling to yet another new town when he came upon a vast mountain area. He was very tired so he decided to stay the night there, under the protection of a big tree close by. When he awoke the next day he saw a beautiful girl standing above him, watching him. Startled, he jumped up.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"My name is Peri," she responded. "Are you lost?"

"No, I am not lost. I was just heading to a new town. I am sort of a drifter, you could say."

"Hmm. I see. But, strange man, why drift when you can comfortably stay in one place? Come with me. I live not far away. I can help you get settled and lead a normal, happy life."

Fayiz was not too sure about it, but he knew that he liked this mysterious girl. He somewhat hesitantly agreed upon her offer. There was something about her that he could not put his finger on but he knew he wanted to learn more about her and spend more time with her. Over time, they eventually fell in love and got married. It had been years since Fayiz saw his old family. He felt like a new person. He was happy again with his new life and new wife.

However, on one particular day, he witnessed something he had never seen before. As he was lying in bed, his wife got up and walked to the window across the room. He presumed that she thought he was still asleep, but he very much wasn't.

In the blink of an eye, wings grew from her back, she shrunk to the size of a faerie, and swiftly flew out.

Fayiz opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

Fayiz
Source: Mythology and Folklore UnTextbook

Author's Note:  For this story I decided to retell the story of Fayiz and the Peri Wife. In the original story, Fayiz was a married man who left his previous family, went to the mountains. fell in love with and married, a beautiful woman who was not human. She was a Peri-which is another word for fairie in Persian folklore. Eventually, Fayiz becomes unhappy once again and wants to go back home to see his other wife and two sons. His new wife, the Peri, agrees but tells him if he tells anyone her secret, he will never see her again and will only come into trouble. Well, Fayiz ends up breaking his promise of not telling and tells his old wife because he thought this would be best. Since he did, he never saw his Peri wife again and yearned for her. In my retelling I decided to give more of a backstory with Fayiz and his old wife and change the story up a bit but having him have an unhappy marriage and becoming happy again in his new life with the Peri. Then, at the end he randomly finds out that his wife is not human. I liked ending the story with a surprise because throughout the story one would never guess that his wife is not human although there is an inclination of something off from Fayiz's thoughts of her.

Bibliography: "Fayiz and the Peri Wife" translated by D.L.R Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer and illustrated by Hilda Roberts from Persian Tales (1919).
Web Source: Mythology and Folklore UnTextbook