The Flock – Chapter VI

Mattias was floating on the open end of the pond fast asleep.  The air was hot, the Bright Light was bright causing flashes of light to reflect off each ripple of water.  Those flashes forced him to squint his eyes to tiny slits that eventually closed, and he fell asleep. 

  He dreamed.  He was flying and leading one of the Flock’s twelve V-Formation teams. He was making long, slow flaps of his long brown wings.  He turned his head slightly to the right and then to the left to make sure his team was keeping with him.  The advice he was given turned out to be true.  As the leader of a V-form, the lead goose faces the direct weight of the air that they fly into and the pressure of splitting into that air places on the body is immense.  It is necessary because as the air around you separates, it eases that pressure on the next goose and the next one and the next so that, as the leader, you have to be ready for it. Sometimes it could be smooth, easy, and then it could hit hard and smack you in the face.  In his dream, it was a smooth ride and his team was streaking through the sky.

  The waves suddenly rose beneath Mattias and he opened his eyes as it dropped with him on them. His brother, Junior, was circling him, eyeing him curiously.  The brown goose, black feathered head and white cheeks was the exact image of Mattias.

  “What?” Mattias asked him.

  “Were you asleep, little brother?” Junior asked. Yes, he was the oldest of his five siblings and, of course, the first son and why he was burdened with the name, Junior.

   “What’s it to you?”  Mattias tried to paddle away only to have his brother follow him.

  “Nothing.  I was just looking after you.”

  “I do not need looking after,”  Mattias said as he kept paddling.

  “It seems that you do,” Junior continued to follow him.

  Mattias turned on his brother, “What do you mean?” 

  “You fell asleep on the open end of the pond.  You could have been caught by the Enemy so easily.  You have to be vigilant to be safe.  Did you at least have a good dream?”

  Mattias looked at him as they floated facing each other.  His brother was right about where he had fallen asleep, so he had a mixed reaction to his brother’s question.  He ended up just staring at him.

  “Well?” Junior spoke to him again.

  “Yes,” Mattias started to swim around his brother.  “It was a very good dream.”

  “Ah,”  his brother turned to follow him.  “What’s her name?  I hope it was about a female anyway.”

  “What?  No, no.  It was about leading a V-form.”  Mattias headed back to the open end of the pond.

  “A V-form?  Goose, you got to get your head out of the clouds.  That is a hard job.  You got to be strong to do that.”

  “Hey, Deke is a lot smaller than me and he leads the entire Flock.  If he can do it, why not me?”  Mattias turned his head toward his brother.

  His brother shrugged before he spoke, “Missy used to beat you up pretty good, so I am questioning your strength.”

  Missy is one their little sisters and it was true.  Missy used to take Mattias beneath the water and she would just laugh when he emerged gasping for air.  Mattias was at a disadvantage because he could not fight back because of fear.  He was not afraid of Missy exactly; he was afraid of hurting Missy.  He knew he could take her on easily, but his defeats made her feel good.  Besides, he loved her laugh.  He loved his entire family.  His Father, Senior, was a wise old bird who liked to tell them bedtime stories of the good old days.  But he would then say he loved the current days are better since Deke became the Leader.  His mother, Dawn, named so because she was born at dawn, knew how to handle her large group of goslings.  Every day she led them on adventures to the far reaches of the pond, showing them what to eat, the best places to sleep and hide.  She introduced them with many other groups of geese of all shapes, sizes, and colors.  Along with Junior and Missy, he had two additional siblings, Master and Alicia.  They were truly inseparable.  Momma says that they were born at the same time and Father agreed, as he always emphasized “at the exact same time.”  They swim together, they eat together, and they play together.  Junior tends to be the leader of the goslings as they were being raised and Mattias was the rebellious one.  His Father would laugh at his resistance and rebelliousness, but his Mother was always concerned.  When he got caught sneaking away one night to go with his friends on a night walk to the top of the hill to see the night sky, his Father was smiling, Junior was lecturing, Missy was floating by his Mother who was crying and said, “What if the Enemy would have got you?”

  Mattias was staring at his brother when he returned from his thoughts about growing up as a part of his family.  He looked up and replied to Junior’s comment about his strength.

  “I am stronger than you think.”

  Marcus surprised the two brothers as he quietly splashed down from above and swam silently toward them.

  “Mattias?”

  Mattias nodded at him and Junior stared at Marcus.

  “Mattias,” Marcus continued, “You are requested to appear before the Wist tomorrow at First Light.  Will you come?”

  Mattias looked at his brother who shrugged back at him.

  “I will be there.”

  Marcus stretched his wings, rose from the water, and turned toward the Meeting Place.

“What is that all about?” Junior wondered as he moved to be next to Mattias as they watched Marcus fly away from them.

To be continued…