Caitriona Campbel lived with her parents and brother on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, on the West Coast of the Island of South Uist. They were poor farmers, and depended on the sea for many things. Caitriona’s father and brother were fishermen, and would leave the house early to fish all day on the rocks along the shore. When the weather was fine they took out the little green boat and often didn’t return until after dark. Caitriona’s mother tended the farm. She milked the cow, fed the chickens, and made sure the potato plants had plenty of nutrients. That was really Caitriona’s job. She would go down to the beach every day and gather big baskets full of smelly seaweed to put in the potato beds and on the garden to enrich the soil which was nothing but peat bogs. She carried the baskets home using straps across her chest. It was difficult work, and often Caitriona dreamed of a life of ease. Often when the full moon shown through a veil of mist she would be seized by a sudden longing for something she could not name; some comfort far beyond the day to day poverty of the Campbel family. But mostly she enjoyed her work because she could hear the sound of the seagull’s lonely calls, and the brown plover’s desperate cries along with the constant strumming of the waves against the shore.

Even though Caitriona was very busy she always managed few moments each day to relax in the pale sun with the wind gently lifting the brim of her bonnet. Sometimes she would doze a little before the arduous task of carrying her heavy load home. One such fine day in mid-summer as she listened to the sound of the waves rhythmically washing the sand she heard the sound of harp music. When she looked up a lovely lady dressed in white was stepping out from the foaming waves with a harp in her hand. The harp was carved from coral, decorated with shells, and had golden string which glittered in the sunlight. She was singing a wondrous melody which blended strangely with the seagull’s constant voices.

“My way is the way of the sea,” she sang, “Leave your burden and follow me.”

“Who are you?” Caitiona asked in a trembling voice. She did her best not to sound afraid.

“I am the lady of the tide, and I honor the kelpie queen. You can call me Lunisa. If you follow me into the ocean I will teach you to play the harp.”

Caitriona had never heard a harp before. She only knew such things exist through stories that her grandmother told. But when Lunisa strummed her fingers lightly across the shining strings Caitriona knew she would have to follow the white lady wherever she went.

“I want to, but I could never do that,” said Caitriona. “My mother is expecting me home for dinner.”

“Ah,” replied the lady. “If you come with me you will eat as much as you like, and you will not have to carry heavy baskets all day. Then when you have learned to play the harp you will be free to return home.”

“But My parents will miss me. They will send out people to come and look for me, thinking I may have been swept away by a wave and drowned.”

“Oh, little girl” replied Lunisa, “How little you understand of the laws of the kelpie queen. Time has no meaning in my country. Live with me for seven years, and your family will think it is only an hour. Come with me now, as the tide is receding.”

And with a sweep of her beautiful arm Caitiona was caught up and carried by the lady into the churning waves. Lunisa’s voice grew calm and reassuring.

“Do not fear the suffocating cold or the stinging thirst. You have been chosen, and are being transformed into one of us.” As they continued to swim down into the depths Caitriona felt the weight of water on her skin and it was not cold, but rather comforting, like putting on a heavy blanket on a chilly winter evening. When she opened her eyes and looked around she noticed that she was breathing normally, and the water soothed her throat. She drank a long time and noticed that her thirst was satisfied.

Deeper they swam until they arrived at a wondrous kingdom. Seaweed swayed like trees above their heads. People just like Lunisa swam around chattering and singing. Harp music was everywhere. Lunisa lead Caitriona into a bright cave to the very source of that music. A lady even more lovely than Lunisa sat on a throne strumming a harp just like Lunisa’s. She knew at once this must be the kelpie queen. The music was more beautiful than she could ever imagine. It swelled like the sharp wind through the heather on the ridge in the spring. It whispered like the sand blowing across her bare feet in the summer. It cried like the wild birds circling overhead when the sky is full of autumn rain. It murmured with the sweet voice of her mother’s lullaby on a long winter’s night. A pang of homesickness swelled in her heart, but her curiosity and love of the music overcame any misgivings. She stepped forward. Abruptly the music stopped.

“Ah, you must be our new pupil,” the queen said in a melodious voice.

“Yes my Lady,” answered Lunisa. “She has been longing to play for many years now.” Caitriona didn’t remember wanting to play the harp because she had never even seen one until that afternoon. But she knew she had at last found the answer to her longings. If she could make such music as the queen she would die happy.

“The training is long and rigorous.” the queen continued. “As long as you are in my kingdom under Lunisa’s tutelage you are not permitted to swim home to see your old family. They will still be there when you are finished your training. But if you disobey this one rule you will loose all your skill and the spell will be broken. Are you prepared to make the sacrifice?”

“Oh yes,” replied Caitriona, with no hesitation.

“Very well, let’s begin.”

Caitriona was given a harp and her lessons with Lunisa began immediately. At first she struggled with the boring exercises and tedious hand positions, but after three weeks she was able to play one song without stopping. After three months she could play twenty songs. After three years she was allowed to join the harp orchestra. Things went smoothly until the day she floated close to the surface in a hide and seek game with her friends. As she drifted upwards towards the light she could see a dark shadow on the face of the waves. As she grew closer she recognized her father’s green fishing boat…