Smeraldo stands for ‘emerald’ in Italian. Some say smeraldo is a fictional flower which only appears in legend and fiction. First of all, Smeraldo is not existing in the present as it is said to have failed to make ends meet. It could also be a reference to ‘the emerald city of oz’, a sequel to the wizard of oz by American Author L.Frank Baum. However, we do not know for sure.
It’s said smeraldo(flower)stands for the ‘sincerity that could not be delivered’.
According to sources, the flower is known to have bloomed in “La Citta Di Smeraldo”. A flourishing city which, supposedly, was located in Northern Italy, during medieval times, but was abandoned after the black death.
According to a map which has surfaced in recent times, “La Citta Di Smeraldo” is estimated to have been located in northern Italy which is now a rural village.
The smeraldo flower is quite symbolical.
It represents an entangled love story surrounding the smeraldo which is estimated to have taken place around the 15th-16th centuries in the city of “La Citta di smeraldo”.
According to various sources, the story supposedly has a tragic ending filled with yearning, sadness and sincerity that could not be delivered.
According to the story, there once lived a man. He lived in a secluded castle in La Citta di smeraldo.
There is not much information about the man except that he was the ‘love child’ of the duke of Florence who fell in love with a poor gardener’s daughter. She passed away at childbirth due to excessive bleeding leaving the man alone in the world.
Being a child born out of wedlock, he was the source of misery to the wife and children of the duke, who tried to kill the poor boy. As a result, the duke sent him to a place further away.
There were many rumors, but none was revealed.
It is said the man alone hid in solitude at the old castle and wore a mask because he was very ‘ugly’. Probably because of all the hatred and jealousy he received as he lived, he didn’t open his heart to anyone. When anyone tried to approach him, he would hide away in anger and distrust.
He shut himself from the world. Both his body and his heart.
His only joy was to grow flowers in his garden.
It made him happy and peaceful.
But things took a beautiful turn. A turn which would be a moment of beauty within the memories at the corner of his head.
A turn that would leave a sorrowful scar his heart forever and bring in tears to his eyes.
Fate was playing on him.
One day, a girl appeared in front of him near the vicinity of his castle. She was in ragged clothes. As he watched, the girl picked up the heels of the garden fence, climbed over it, and stole some flowers.
The man was mad as a hornet at first. He was mad at her for stealing his precious flowers. He spent his whole night guarding the flowers. But in his brief moment of sleep, the girl picked up some flowers and ran away. Several nights continued to pass like that until the man pretended to be asleep and watched the girl go. He was curious.
Who was she? Why does she steal my blooming pretty flowers every night?
Without realizing it, the man waited for the girl and followed her one night. He disguised himself with a cloak and followed her.
After following her to a village, he realized why she stole flowers in his garden every night.
He found out that the girl sells these flowers because she is very poor and has no other way to provide a living for herself.
He felt very bad for her. Guilt filled him up.
The man wanted to help the girl. He wanted to teach her every method of growing flowers he knew. He wanted to teach her how to grow beautiful flowers.
He was slowly falling in love with her.
The man started growing many flowers for her and made sure they were of the best quality.
He wanted to show up in front of her. Tell her of his feelings towards her. But, he knew he could not show up in front of her.
She would be scared of him.
He must hide. Because he was ugly. She would not love his ugly appearance.
So he never got the courage to confront her
At the end, the only thing he could do was to grow and take care of the flowers so that she would keep coming to his garden.
With time, he decided to himself that he would grow the most expensive flower(the Smeraldo)for her to sell. That was the only way he would unveil his sincerity to her.
He locked himself in the castle.
After many attempts, he succeeded in making the flower. The flower was very beautiful. It was something that never existed in the world. Afterward, he filled his garden with the flower and waited till nightfall for the girl to return.
He waited and waited for the girl to come back to the garden to steal the flower. But the girl did not return. She was nowhere to be seen.No matter how much he waited, the girl wouldn’t return to his garden.
It made him anxious. He later visited the village he followed her to.
Unfortunately, he found out that the girl had died.
He was afraid. Afraid that she will leave him in the end. So he decided to wear a mask and go to see her.
If the man had the courage, would he have shown his face and expressed his sincerity? of course, the woman might have been scared and run away, even gotten mad. But to have bravery is easier said than done.
Thus the flower language of the Smeraldo is as such: ‘non-potevo dire la verità’ or ‘the truth that could not be told’.
The story teaches us much more than just heartbreak. It teaches so much about being scared to show your true self.
Recently international KPOP sensation BTS produced a new slow ballad — The Truth Untold (전하지 못한 진심) (feat. Steve Aoki)- of the old Italian story from the viewpoint of the guy in the story. The song is featured as track three on the band’s album Love Yourself: Tear.
The song proven to be a ballad featuring the group’s vocalists, touches various emotional components revealing the untold sincerity of the man. It taps into the sorrow in a vulnerable approach. “The Truth Untold” is the second collaboration between Aoki and the Korean boy band. It follows his remix of BTS’ “Mic Drop.”
Click below to experience the story in the heart-wrenching perspective of the man.
