The Bear Who Believed

Matana was born the heir to the warrior lineage of the Royal Kingdom in the Yatir Forest.

Since the age of 3, he drew and painted. He would draw and paint on every stone, tree bark, earth surface he could come across.

But he was told to give up the pencil. To take up a sword. He was made to train tough. His elders told him that would help him accomplish big things.

He sparred frequently but disliked fighting. But his inborn agility made him the most outstanding warrior in Yatir.

Matana was sent to quell unrests in the forest fringes. Battles after battles, he fought. Due to his stellar war record, he was conferred Knighthood by the Queen.

And so he became Sir Matana. He was a hero. But he wasn’t happy.

He hated the grimness of wars. He disliked having to make someone a loser just to be a victor. Most of all, he felt something was missing in his life. He set out on a quest to fill his empty heart.

He moved out of his grand, cushy castle and built himself a log cabin by a river in the tallest mountain of Yatir Forest.

But Sir Matana had never lived in the wild. He was a good fighter, but a bad hunter. He had poor survival skills. He felt really lost and wondered if he should return to his old life.

One day he met a bald-head eagle by the river, wistfully gazing at the flowing current, shedding a tear or two.

He didn’t want to see such sadness in this stranger. So he decided to make her laugh. How? He showed off his bad fishing skills. When he pretended to clumsily fall into the river, the eagle fought back a laugh.

That began their friendship. The eagle taught him how to fish trout in the river. They bonded over trout fishing contests.

Lying by the riverbed, the eagle habitually nestled herself against the comfortable chest of Sir Matana.

It was then that she told him she had lost her fiance lately. Her fiance had been attacked by ground predators, fallen into the river and was never to be seen again. Over time, the silhouette of her wide-spread wings were left imprinted on Sir Matana, giving him a peculiar, unmistakable eagle-shaped mark on his grizzly chest.

Perhaps it was her incessant pining. Perhaps it was her fervent prayers. Perhaps it was her indomitable will to hope against hope. Perhaps it was because when there is great love, there are miracles.

The eagle’s fiance made it back to her. He had been swept away by the current, but miraculously saved by an enchanted tree which had far-reaching roots. He grasped onto the roots and struggled back to shore. There, he began his insurmountable trek back to her.

Her faith and his tenacity enabled the eagle duo to be reunited! They promised each other to never be apart again, and implored their dear friend Sir Matana to pronounce them as bird and wife with the most magical and unforgettable wedding.

So Sir Matana picked up his pencil and brush again. He was fearful that he wouldn’t be able to do a good job. But when his friend told him… once he could covert his fear to love for his craft, miracles would happen.

And so it did. His “Enchanted Garden” invitation card was simply extraordinary, nothing the forest kin had seen before. It paid tribute to the tree that had saved his friend’s life.

From that day, Sir Matana devoted his life to creating beauty and meaning with his hands. He called himself the Love Story Illustrator. Everything that came from his love for his craft became a miracle. Sir Matana’s heart was never empty again.

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