It has been said, for a very long time, that whenever a rainbow appears there is a treasure hidden at its end. Is it myth or reality? Well, someone had to find out what truly lies behind these words.
Here is a story that tells of a young woman named Luna, who lived in a small town surrounded by green and grey hills. She had long dark hair, big curious eyes, and the habit of always gazing towards the horizon, as if something were waiting for her far away.
One day, after a torrential rain that left the roofs dripping and the roads full of puddles, a vibrant rainbow appeared in the sky. It was so big and so clear that it looked like a painted bridge from one hill to another. According to the town’s legend, at the end of the rainbow lay a treasure that granted wishes to whoever found it.
Luna, driven by curiosity and by the hope of changing her destiny, decided to set out on a long journey to fulfil her wish to find the treasure. She packed a little bread, a woollen shawl and a small box of matches in her bag, said goodbye to her home and began to walk.
As she went along, she met colourful characters who stood for each colour of the rainbow, each with their own story and a lesson to teach.
And so she walked for days and days, trying to find what she longed for so much. But she always discovered that she still had a long way to go to reach where she wanted.
The first to appear was a very talkative boy in a red cap, who pointed her with great confidence towards a path over the hill. Luna followed it until the trail disappeared among the bushes and she had to retrace her steps. He was not the only one: more than once she met people who gave her the wrong directions. That was how she learned the lesson of red: listen to others, but never stop looking for yourself at where the rainbow is shining.
She was amazed by the colours of the rainbow, and deep inside she thought: “I will be very lucky when I reach the end.”
What she did not know was that she would have to walk miles and more miles, and cross rivers and mountains.
Along the way she also met kind people who helped her. A woman in an orange apron, taking pumpkins to the market in her cart, invited her to climb aboard and carried her a good stretch of the way, singing all along. “Nobody gets far entirely alone, my dear,” she said when they parted. That was the lesson of orange: knowing how to accept help offered with a good heart.
Further on, a farmer in a yellow poncho lent her his little horse. But when Luna saw how long the road was, she got off the horse so it could rest and not tire itself out, and preferred to go on foot beside it. The farmer, who had followed her to fetch his animal back, smiled when he saw her and said: “Whoever looks after those who help them never walks alone.” That was the lesson of yellow.
When night came, Luna would curl up under a little tree and, if it was cold, she would light a campfire to keep warm. She would watch the sparks rising towards the stars and think about the treasure.
The next day she would get up, go to the river to wash her face in the cold water, eat what she had brought, and set off again in search of the end of the rainbow. And so she walked, full of dreams and hopes. She always ran into some obstacle, but she never gave up.
One day, as she walked, she met an old woman in a green shawl sitting at the door of her little house, beside a garden full of herbs.
“Don’t worry,” the old woman told her, “you will soon find what you are looking for. If you persevere, you will get there.”
The old woman invited her into her house to share a small breakfast of homemade bread with jam and warm milk.
“You can’t go on like this, without eating properly,” she said. “You must eat things that give you vitamins and strength for the road.”
“All right, don’t worry, I will,” Luna answered.
Before saying goodbye, the grandmother filled a bottle with fresh water for her and gave her some apples. That was the lesson of green: to go far, you must also take care of yourself.
She still had a long way to go, even though it seemed close. Luna saw the rainbow shining brighter and brighter, and so her longing to get there as soon as possible was enormous. But she knew it would still take quite a while.
She had no strength left. One morning she could not get up early, and in the afternoon she lay down under a tree until she fell asleep.
She slept in good company: some little birds with blue wings perched on the branches above her and watched over her very lovingly, and some little guard dogs lay down at her feet. Luna, who loved animals very much, petted them when she woke, and in gratitude they kept her company for a good stretch of the way. That was the lesson of blue: resting is also part of the journey.
When she woke, after sleeping for about two hours, she drank a little of the water the grandmother had given her and ate one of the apples. Then she got up to continue her journey, a little more rested. She still had a hill to cross, though not a very high one, and eager to arrive, she kept walking, but a little more slowly so as not to wear herself out.
Besides, she remembered that the grandmother had told her she would have to find somewhere to shelter for the night, because it was a little dangerous for her to travel alone.
Luna wanted to follow her advice. Near the hill there was a small hotel, and there she looked for lodging for the night. The manager, a kind woman in an indigo dress, handed her the keys to the room.
Luna asked if she could bring her up a cup of coffee, and the woman also offered her a delicious cake she had for sale. “How lovely,” Luna said. Before going to bed she took a shower, had the coffee with the cake and then settled down to sleep, listening to the wind moving the branches outside the window.
When morning came, Luna woke up, showered again and dressed in comfortable clothes. The woman in charge brought breakfast to her room, and Luna, very grateful for the kindness, thanked her. “A safe roof and a kind hand are worth more than any shortcut,” said the woman in the indigo dress. That was the lesson of indigo.
When she had finished her breakfast, Luna paid for her stay and left very happy, because she had been able to rest well all night long.
She continued her walk more eagerly than ever.
She kept walking, when suddenly she realised she did not have far to go, that at last she was reaching her goal. She could see the rainbow coming down to the very end of the road she was on, with its colours bright and splendid.
When she was almost at the finish, Luna made a great discovery. Driven by curiosity and the hope of changing her destiny, she had set out on the journey to find what she believed was a great treasure.
But at the foot of the rainbow there was no chest, no coins, no jewels. There was only a puddle of rainwater, still as a mirror, lit by a violet light. Luna leaned over it and saw her own face, tired but happy, with the colours of the rainbow shining all around it.
Then she remembered everyone she had met along the way: the boy in the red cap, the woman with the orange cart, the farmer in the yellow poncho, the grandmother in the green shawl, the little blue birds and the woman in the indigo dress. Each of them, standing for one colour of the rainbow, had left her their own story and their lesson. And violet, the last colour, was herself.
What a surprise it was! At the end of the rainbow there was no treasure like the one she had imagined. Luna discovered that the true treasure is not gold or riches, but the ability to see the beauty and magic in the world around us.
From that day on, the rainbow became for her a symbol of hope and possibility, reminding her that dreams and wishes can come true if you believe in them.