Author’s Note – Dear Readers – There were so many comments about how I ended My First Story – The Flock that I decided to write a sequel to it. If you remember, I dedicated that story to my late buddy, Joe, and I am sure he would have loved that ending but he would want me me to write more about them. Thanks for reading and I hope you are enjoying reading My First Stories.
Rolling hills of light spring green undulated for as far of the eye could see. Nothing seemed to break the green being viewed from miles and miles in the sky. If one were on the ground, looking up through those spring green trees to the light blue sky of early morning light, a lonely figure of a bird could be seen circling in long, lazy circles. The wings are stretched wide and never flapped. The Bright Light was warming the air as it rose from the earth and the bird was enjoying it.
The bird was huge, covered in deep brown feathers except for those of the head and they were white. The tail feathers are spread wide, guiding the bird with subtle movements, left, right, up, and down. The feathers of the huge talons match those surrounding the head, the beak bent to a hook were a dull yellow, and the huge eyes are deep, deep black. This bird continues to travel in a huge ring high in the sky and those black eyes are scanning the landscape below. The hills were dotted with lots of trees of all shapes and sizes and some of them surround small bodies of water. The bird could see through each leave of every tree and through every ripple of water. The brown bird was hungry.
He preferred fish but would settle for any moving creature he could find except for other birds. Why? When he was a small bird, in a nest nestled high inside a trunk of a tree, he was fed scraps of everything, even geese. As a full-grown bird, it was different now as he has many friends in the world of birds, especially geese, so he stays away from eating birds. A flash in the water caught his eye and he angled his tail feathers to begin a slow spiral down toward a small pond. Another flash sparked in the water and he focused in on it. A shadow appeared near the shimmer, slightly beneath the water. He smiled inside and flapped his wings once, twice, still angling toward it. The shadow continued in one direction and he could see it was rising toward the surface to snap at insects gathered just above it. He could see the color of the fish now, light tan across the top and into its tail, lighter, almost white toward the belly. Tentacles surrounded its mouth as it opened to snatch the insects and return into the water. It was a good size fish and the bird decides on exactly what it wanted to eat now, that fish. The wings flapped a few more times, eyes on the prize, and angled around to approach it opposite the Bright Light as the bird did not want his shadow to cross the path of that fish. Suddenly, the bird folded his wings into his sides and began to dive toward the water, the talons trailing behind, the head straightened and the eyes focused The speed of the descent increased as the huge bird remained steady and just went it appeared it would dive straight into the water, the talons sprang forward and down. The wings began to flap in a downward motion and slowly rose above the water that thrashed in a spray and splashing of water. As the bird cleared the top of the water, the fish was held fast in its talons. The moderate size fish thrashed back and forth straining to break free of the bird that flapped its wings faster to rise higher and spring forward toward the edge of the small pond. The fish twisted as the two of them elevated higher into the sky and when they crossed the water’s edge and were over land, the talons let it go. The fish hit the ground with a thud and it no longer moved. The big bird landed beside it, lowered his head to look at it, eye to eye, and said, “Thank you.”
After feeding, the bird had returned to the sky, spread it wings and circled on the warm, rising air. He closed his eyes as he drifted in his chosen path of an endless circle enjoying the peace of contentment. His stomach grumbled and he opened his eyes, said aloud, “I guess I am still hungry.”
He returned his gaze to the landscape below. Through trees and over open water, he looked for any movement that might be food when he saw something. This time it was on land on the outskirts of a clearing in the trees. He began to angle toward it to get a better view. He saw some bushes jiggle and the edge of something gray appeared beneath it. The big bird decided that this might be something to satisfy his appetite. Maybe a dessert of a mouse. He adjusted his tail feathers and flapped his wings twice to begin to accelerate toward it. Again, he decided to approach the animal opposite the Bright Light to prevent his own shadow from revealing himself too soon. The gray animal continued to shake the bush as he reached the edge of the clearing and he thrust his talons forward. At the same time, the gray beast emerged from the bush, backing from it, and rising to its full size. The eagle threw his wings down and backward and began to tumble on the ground in front of the animal that was actually a goose, a small gray goose.
The goose dropped the stalks of grass it had been holding in its beak and spoke in surprise, “Protector?”
“Deke?” the huge eagle stood from its tumble, lowered his head, and simply said. “We thought you were dead.”
The gray goose waddled toward him and said ”I am glad to see you, too.”
The two different birds looked at each other for a while in a mutual gaze of admiration.
“Protector, I never thanked you.”
“For what?” the bigger bird asked in reply.
Deke looked at him before explaining himself, “For protecting the seven, for your years of helping me, for your friendship.”
Again, the eagle bowed before him. The goose reached down to retrieve the stalks he had dropped and began to chew.
“Pardon me,” he said. “I’m hungry.”
The eagle watched him and wondered about this goose in front of him. Here was the former Leader of the Flock, all alone, who was really thought to be dead, and he is alive. The great Deke, the goose who reshaped a flock of geese and had become the envy of every bird in the world of birds. Deke revealed that his eyes were failing, and he could no longer lead so he devised a plan to replace himself, The Journey of the Seven. He,
Protector, was asked by Deke, to watch over them. And he did, happily. When the new Leader was chosen and Ki took over, Deke asked him to continue watching over them as they went south last season because Deke couldn’t. It was Ki’s first trip as the New Leader. When they returned, the Flock had learned, the goose had disappeared and was assumed dead. But here he was, a mere three days away from their home by the cave.
“So Protector, you have questions?” Deke asked as he looked at him and he simply sat down.
“First, I am glad you aren’t dead.”
“Thank you.”
“What’s going on?” the eagle flew to the lowest branch of a nearby tree.
“Well, it seems that while my eyes are bad, they are not getting any worse,” the gray goose began to explain. “So I decided to try something new, being out on my own.”
“Why?” the eagle gazed down at him. “There is safety in numbers. Just now, with any other eagle, you would be breakfast.”
“I will try to be more careful,” the goose replied.
“Are you going to answer my question, Deke?” the eagle stopped in front of him. “I am going to have to tell them I saw you.”
“I can’t be with them. My being there would be a distraction and that may create a problem for Ki.”
“But you could be a help to him.”
“He has Daniel,” the goose stood and walked closer to the eagle. “And he also has Liza. She is a really smart bird.”
The eagle watched his friend, yes, his friend, walk past him and his eyes turned to follow him. “Where are you going?”
“For a swim,” the goose answered. “It has been good to see you again, Protector.”
“I will have to tell them I saw you.”
“Feel free but I really don’t want to be found.”
“I cannot help what they will do,” the huge bird flew and landed near him and walked a few steps in his direction.
The small gray goose, turned and looked at the huge eagle before him and said, “I will be long gone from here.”
They stood looking at each other before the goose nodded toward the eagle and disappeared beneath the bushes on the fringe of the clearing. The eagle spread his wings and thrust them downward. He rose from the clearing above the trees and went forward in the direction of the goose. A small pond was just on the other side of the bushes and he passed over it, he spied the gray bird enter the water and glide on it. Protector flapped and rose higher into the air heading for a destination three days away. The Flock would be anxious to know what has become of Deke. He rose higher and flapped harder.
To be continued…
My First Stories 