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The Three Sisters
When I was in the city of Ubud, the Balinese capital for artists, I met and became friends with Bapak Nyowman, a master traditional painter. During one of our simple conversations about painting he showed me one he created about sister goddesses who would frequent a bathing pool in a forest temple. Before bathing the sisters would remove their magic scarves that would allow them to move between the world of spirit and the world of humans. During one of their visits a villager stole one sister's scarf while she was bathing. When she requested the scarf back he agreed if first she would bear him a child. She agreed, gladly, according to my friend, and once the baby was conceived the farmer returned her scarf and she returned home with her sisters. The child remained with the happy man.
I was struck with the similarity of a story I had heard in America. A group of three sister goddesses descended to the playgrounds of Earth frequently. One day the oldest sister fell head over heals in love with a mortal man. As the evening approached and it was time for the sisters to return this one sister found that every time she attempted to walk away from him her heart became heavy and she could not leave. Filled with indecisiveness she remained caught between two worlds...at the gates of goddesses and men...her sisters now watch with a mixture of loving concern and smiles at her predicament.