The Flock – Part II

It was later in the day and The Meeting Place was now filled with geese, the members of the Wist.  The Wist, the five geese of Daniel’s choosing and, purely by coincidence, snow white.  He remembered that when he informed Deke of the ones he had chosen. He was asked about it and he laughed when he told Deke he did not notice.  He had chosen them because he thought they would be good advisors for the Flock.

  Miriam was the oldest of the Wist and she was responsible for the location requirements for the Flock, where they stayed, when they travelled and it was she who discovered their home base, this pond they were paddling in now in The Meeting Place.

  Sam was a large goose and had a great fondness for eating and it was his responsibility to advise, particularly to Miriam, on their food sources.  On the Great Jorney to their southern home, he has found numerous locations that had reeds, roots, and berries to feed everyone.

  Zelda and Ack are responsible for the choosing of the Sentries of which there are two groups of ten that surround the pond and infiltrate the Flock watching for skirmishes, disagreements and, of course, enemies.  Ack is the youngest and newest member to the team and it in Daniel’s eye, the one with the best potential to replace him as the leader of the Wist.

  The last member of the Wist is Petra and he is Daniel’s second in command.  While it is Daniel’s responsibility to make the final decisions for this Leadership Team and bring them to Deke for his approval, it is Petra’s responsibility to assist Daniel in making it.  The reason for that role is simple; if something should happen to Daniel, the Wist still had a leader and the members of the Wist knew that Petra was that replacement.

  Daniel swam outside the opening to the cave before going inside to address the Wist.  He was thinking of the day after he had lost his challenge to become the Leader of the Flock.  Deke met him, alone, in the midst of tall reeds and grasses at the farthest end of the pond away from the rest of the group.

“How do you feel, Daniel?”  Deke had asked him.  Daniel simply shrugged and bowed his head in shame.

“Are you afraid of me?”

  “No.  Maybe,” Daniel muttered.  “A little.”

  “Don’t be,”  Deke swam up close to him.  “I have an idea.  I want change and I want you to help me do it.  What do you say?”

  Daniel raised his head and looked at the smaller goose with the funny grin.  “What do you mean?”

  “The Leader has too much responsibility and too much stress.  I want to spread that out.”  Deke spoke in excitement.  “But to make that happen I need a strong goose to help me.  I want you.”

  “What do you mean?”  Daniel asked again as he started swimming in a slow circle around Deke.

  “I want to add an advisory team, a leadership team to help make decisions as to where to eat, sleep, swim and play.  I want them to help teach us how to protect ourselves and when to fly.  I want you to lead it and I want you to report to me and weigh in on my final decisions.  I need a leader of my Wist!”

  “Wist?  What does that even mean?” Daniel asked.

  “I just told you!”  Deke laughed at him.  “Are you in?  Will you lead the Wist?”

  Daniel thought a while before agreeing to it by saying, “I get to pick the team.”

  Daniel left that memory and paddled himself inside the opening into The Meeting Place.  The members of the Wist treaded water in a half circle facing the opening of the cave.  Daniel swam through the opening toward them.  He paused in front them and nodded at each before he began to speak.

  “Deke is losing his eyesight,” Daniel decided to come straight out and say it. 

  He got the response he was expecting, a ruffling of feathers, a gasp, a short swim around the room.  He waited while they reassembled in their half-circle before him.  It was Ack who spoke first.

  “What’s the plan?’” he asked.

  Daniel smiled before he responded with a question.  “What makes you think there is a plan?”

  Ack smiled back but it was Petra who answered, “Deke always has a plan.”

  Daniel turned his gaze from Ack to Petra, sighed and said, “Petra, you are so right. Are you guys ready to make some new and different decisions?”

  “Different decisions?” Miriam drifted closer to Daniel.

  “Yes,” Daniel started to swim side to side, from one end of the semi-circle to the other. “Before I inform you of the direction Deke is offering for The Flock to go forward, let me ask you another question and I don’t want you to answer quickly.  I want you to take a moment before you do so and want each of you to answer it.  Understand?”

  He intentionally looked at each and waited for each of them to affirm that they understood.  As one nodded, he turned to the next until all had done so.

  “Do you like how you are living today and tell me why?  Take a swim and as I call your name, come back with your answer.”

  As they have always done, the birds turned and swam away to a location in the quiet dark directly behind from which they had started.  Daniel treaded, staying where he spoke to them and waited.  He pondered the question himself. Do I like the way we are living now?  The Flock has definitely grown since Deke became Leader.  It has grown not only from within the group itself but from the mix of geese that have joined them.  The Flock has many sizes, large and small and colors of brown, white and gray.  That was not always true because in the past, the Leader required the flock to grow only from within.  Flock control is at is minimal and it seems most of the geese were happy feeling safe and well-fed.  But the question really is, can this continue without Deke in charge.  Daniel sighed.

  Sam was first and he said, “Yes, I like being safe.”

  Miriam was next, “Yes, I like being part of the decision-making process.”

  Zelda said, “Yes, I like knowing we have a safe place to sleep!”

  Petra followed by agreeing, “Yes, I enjoy knowing what I will be doing every day and not stressing out about, well, everything.”

  Ack was last and Daniel waited for his response.  “I don’t know how to answer that question.  I am the youngest one here and I have only known this way of life.  I have not known fear.  I have never been afraid of not having a place to sleep or something to eat.  Living this way is the only way I know.”

  Daniel nodded and looked at the team as they swam back into their semi-circle and spoke to all of them.  “I agree with all of you and I certainly understand Ack’s point of view.  There are many like him and many like us who know of the way it was before within our Flock.  Now that we know how we each feel about it, here is Deke’s plan and what we have to do to make it happen.”

To be continued…