A long, long time ago, when the sea and islands still hadn't been mapped by men and the world was still coming to shape, an undine found herself helpless, stuck by the hot shores of a great volcano.
Not far from there, a little salamander heard her soft plea and sobs of desperation. He ran to her aid and found the weakened undine, nearly fading, stuck among the obsidians.
Losing all hope in her rescue, the undine was about to give up and wait for her death, when she spotted the little salamander running around trying to find a way to help. "Help me... Please, push me back to the water", she whispered with the little strength she had left.
"I can't touch your skin, what if my flames hurt you?", replied the salamander head down, unable to save her. "I am already dying... This is my only hope.", she said, but the salamander was still hesitant. "See this stone I'm on? Try and push it with me... Even if I fall and get hurt, in the water I will heal...".
Filled with courage, the salamander tried to push the stone into the water, but he couldn't move it. "This is obsidian, it's too heavy for me to push!". "I... I don't know... I'm sorry...", she muttered. Sad and powerless, the salamander started walking in circles, thinking of what he could do to help. He couldn't simply forget about it as it never happened. Then, he decided...
"This will hurt... But I have to try.", he thought. Determined to save the undine, the little salamander caught her in his arms and headed to the sea. "NO! LET ME GO! You will turn to stone! LET ME GO!", she screamed in protest! As his arms were getting colder and hardening, hardly able to walk, the salamander finally reached the water and let the undine go.
"Why? Why did you help me? You could have died! Look at you... How can you live now? Half of you turned to stone... Because of me...", said the undine whimpering. "Because... I spent my whole life on this volcano. I've always wanted to experience the sea. By helping you I could have at least a small glimpse that, despite so much water, the sea can be as warm as a volcano. Thanks.", he replied, thoughtful.
Moved by his words, the undine replied: "I'm sorry... I don't know how to thank you... Is there anything I can do for you? Anything. You saved my life, and now I owe it to you.". The salamander thought for a moment, coming to an answer: "Well... There is something you can do but I'm not sure you'll want to.", he sounded very sad. But the undine was eager to repay him: "What is it?! Anything! You can ask me whatever you want... You were so kind, I couldn't deny you anything.". "I still want to feel the sea... But since I can't, can you give me a hug? Even if I die, what's the point of living stuck in this volcano? I can't stay here anymore."
Thinking of how free her life was, able to swim in the oceans, she felt sorry for her savior and didn't think twice before holding him. A few moments later, the salamander realized the undine wasn't letting go of him and began to despair: "Hey... You can let go. Hey! Let go! You're fading!". "I'm not letting go! I won't leave you alone - you didn't leave me! If you are going to die, then we both are! I'm not worth more than you!", replied the undine, drowning in tears. Realizing she really wasn't letting go, he held her tighter until both began to fade.
Watching the steam rise, the salamander wondered: "What is going to happen to us now?". "We are going to become one...", she replied. The undine's body was disappearing more and more, and the salamander felt its body hardening and crumbling as the mist rose around them. A few minutes later, a few rocks rolled down, and a great cloud could be seen in the sky.
The salamander would finally feel the sea by the time the next rain came...
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