Let’s move away from the normal dynamics of the site a bit, today I will tell you a story about a place that you can visit in Iceland. Beyond the tour to the Golden Circle, Iceland has so many other natural attractions. This is one of the many waterfalls to see. Today I will share with you the story of Barnafoss, or the “Children's Falls”. No, it is not a place for infants, on the contrary. Join me in the following lines to know this gloomy story.
A stone arch crosses the waterfall. Furious, the infernal waters that move violently between the rocks, hide misfortunes. The snow dressed the ground and the small bushes, which at that time were more like branches, and the glacial mist covered the mountains that are painted in the distance.
Around there, a family lived on their farm, of which they say, they enjoyed a prosperous life, a rarity for those times. A mother and her two children. She, a widowed woman for some years, wanted to attend the Christmas mass, which all the neighbours would be at, leaving the children in the house for a few hours, trusting that they would obey her command. Naivety or carelessness.
A short time had passed. The children, with the mischief of innocence and the same old song of being bored, decided to go on an adventure. Despite their mother's warning, they followed the procession heading to the temple. Wittiness, as for those who are young, they took a path that they considered effective, without thinking about the danger of which they would be prey to. They passed over the arch, which was extremely narrow. Observing the aggressiveness of the rapids, the children hesitated. "It would be better if we returned home," said one, whose brother could hardly hear, due to the fury of the waterfall. "There is very little left, let's go!" said the eldest, taking him by the hand, to strengthen the courage that the feat required.
They took the first steps on the bridge that nature provided, trying to step firmly. When they manage to move forward, defying all rules, the children, now excited, eased up their worries. In the middle of the road, in the middle of the arch, came the stumbling block. They looked at the infernal waters, shaking everything with their thunderous sprint. From terror and amazement, they both staggered. Downhill.
Their fall was not even heard. The waters drowned everything in that instant.
A few hours had passed. The crowd, already back in the warmth of their dwellings, noticed the pair were absent. A roar shook the sky, that of her mother's hopelessness, ordering every neighboring soul to help her in the search for her children. Lost, without any trace. The search in the void. From the crowd, a cut voice, from the witness of misfortunes “They fell into the abyss! I lacked time to save them ”. The mother's fury dismayed the entire town, who took pity on her mourning, granting her forceful order. Shoot down the arch. Without leaving any evidence. As if by doing so, the waterfall could feel the damage it has caused. As if by tearing it apart, she could rebuild herself. As if she could go back, when she should never have gone.
“Reward, to the parish that finds the body of my children. I will give you a part of my land. And, to the one who wishes to bury them, away from the waters that have taken them away, I will comply with them, double what was previously stipulated ”. Today, it is said that the children were found in Reykholt, and that they were buried there. From the waterfall, not only is an arch missing, it has also been renamed to memory, Barnafoss, or the Children's Falls.