The Peri Wife

Hello One and All!

The Peri is an entity from Persian mythology, one that underwent a transition. At first they were understood to be beautiful evil demons, but later they underwent a change during the late Antiquity and early early Medieval age. Described as having an ethereal beauty, they would be attracted by the scent of perfume and would feed on it. The Peri would also interact with the mortal world, as we will see in our story.

"Prince Ahmed and Peri-Banu" by Edmund Dulac

The Peri Wife

Once there was a son of a merchant, called Fayiz, who was driven away from his family home on account of his disrespectful conduct towards his father. He wandered the earth, in search for a purpose. His progress was swift until he met the start of a steep road, which forced him to seek some succor from the shade of a nearby tree. Just as the day's exhaustion worked its magic and his eyes started to droop, four doves alighted on the ground near a pond and these birds changed form in front of him; in no time four women took their place. 

"Seated Peri with a Pomegranate" Ottoman Istanbul, circa 1600.

The women drank from the pond, although the youngest of the group noticed the man behind the tree, and splintered off. When she closed the distance, she was able to get a better look. Sparks flew between their eyes. Their affection for each other only grew as they started to talk, to such an extent that when her sisters were about to leave, he begged her to stay with him. Torn between her love for her sisters and this new affection for Fayiz, she burst into tears and sank onto the dark earth. The three elder sisters shared a look.

"Sister, the new love you have discovered is fleeting and should be grasped with both hands."

The lovelorn being listened, taking the advice to heart and became determined. Still, she bid a tearful farewell to her sisters before they flew up into the sky. 

The Peri (for this is what the younger sister was) spent the next couple of months with Fayiz and her fondness only increased for him - she was even able to make a reconciliation possible with his family - although her mind still remained with her home and her sisters. One early morning all of those worries were obscured by one act - he proposed to the Peri. The way his handsome face entreated her broke her heart and she agreed to marry him, despite all of her aching for her own family. Half-Peri children soon scampered underfoot. 

Ottoman drawing of a 'Peri', 16th Century.

A decade passed and the young merchant was forced to go on a long voyage. An old matron was taken into the service of the house, so as to look after the family, although these days without Fayiz were particularly hard for the Peri wife. One day, while the matron was combing the wife's amber-scented tresses, she expressed admiration at the Peri's gleaming hair.

The Peri said, "Oh, if you only saw me when I wasn't tethered to this mortal realm."

Sadness was etched on the wife's face, which the older woman noted. 

"I would like to see that," said the matron, hoping to cheer her up.

Those words spurred the Peri and she spread her wings, for the first time in more than a decade, and the relief spread throughout her essence, filling all of her thoughts until she could only think of flying back home. Like a bird escaping a cage, the Peri flew through the window, never to be seen again.

Thank you for reading!