Across Borders and Through Time

The medieval instrument had carvings of vines covering it’s pillar, which were almost identical to the climbing plants that ensnared the cottage’s exterior. The harper was perched on the edge of her seat tenderly plucking the harp’s strings. A slow beat, created by a fiddler, ornamented her melody. He stood parallel from her, near the lit fireplace. Both musicians wore blue jeans and zipped up sweaters. Six couples in similar attire began dancing in the center of the crowded room.

I watched the performance from a row of handcrafted wood benches arranged on the stone floor. In one hand I gripped Irish soda bread we made by open fire; in the other rested seaweed we picked from the local bog. I was supposed to have already eaten both, but I was distracted by an abrupt transformation in the scene.

Before I could decipher the change I saw, there was a pause in the music. The steps of the folk dance would soon guide my own feet. I shoved the bread and seaweed into my mouth before hurdling out of my seat.

As I stood facing the crowd, which now consisted of the completed dancers, I was able to thoroughly see the modest home. Distressed maps, paintings of the surrounding wilderness, and lanterns fueled by kerosene stitched the four beige walls together. I saw only green through the rock framed windows. The once familiar glow of technology made no presence.

I glanced down to ensure my skips were cadenced, and there it was again. The flicker of a change. For a second, my dark black jeans were replaced by a brown linen dress that grazed the floor. The harper now sported a similar gown with a wool cloak, and the fiddler’s casual outfit also transformed into an elaborate ensemble. I recognized the archaic clothing as my prior distraction, which fluttered through my vision.

I finished the final twirl of the memorized routine, when a new sound completed the shift in time. The harper began to sing words I could not comprehend. They belonged to a language preserved by the absence of progression. Progression found outside the 200-acre village and abundantly throughout the place I had journeyed from.

Before my visit to the idyllic village, I thought venturing across the ocean would simply take me to a different location. I realized, as the Irish harper handed me a scrap of parchment with handwritten Gaelic lyrics, I had been transported beyond physical boundaries.

My voice joined the song and I smiled, appreciating her for escorting me through the medieval era.