Ki has begun to understand why Deke loved being in the cave when the sun rose early in the morning. He made it a point to be inside it when it happened. He was in there, feeling the water rise and fall beneath him, when he was joined by another small goose. By the shadow it cast as it entered the cave, he knew who it was who was entering.
“Good morning,” the goose almost whispered the greeting.
“Good morning, Liza,” he replied. “Have you come to join me to welcome in this new day?”
“I have,” Liza admitted.
“And what else?” Ki asked fully knowing that it wasn’t her only reason.
The entrance to the cave began to allow the pale yellow of light to enter the interior as the Bright Light slowly began to rise in the sky. The two geese continue to rise and fall with the tiny ripples in the water. A thin strip of yellow light began to sparkle on the water at the base of the doorway splattering a few stars of light on the cave walls. As the light continues to get brighter, the stars became more frequent and spread across the ceiling. As the geese looked above them, the ripples increased as they moved and the stars became streaks and flash all around the cave painting its walls with yellow, orange and red. The geese turned in opposite directions, the streaks now include additional colors of blue and purple. They complete their spins in the water to return to look at the entrance. The rainbow of colors streaming across the walls and ceiling begin to fade as the light entering the cave begins to lighten and change to the pale blue of sunrise completed. They ride on the waves as they return to slower, calming ripples, rising, and falling, softly shushing on the banks of the cave.
“That was beautiful,” Liza commented. “Too bad it does not last all day.”
“I know,” Ki agreed. “But it just enough to get the day going.”
“What happens when it’s a rainy day?” Liza asks giving Ki a sideways look with her inquisitive eyes.
“It is gray inside here and I try to get outside,” Ki chuckled. “What do you want, Liza?”
“Nothing,” she began. “I was just wandering how it went. Your first trip leading The Flock.”
“We are reviewing that now,” he revealed to her.
“Reviewing with who?” Liza asking the question even though she felt that she already knew.
“The Wist and I. They have been helpful to me. They have been a part of Deke’s team since the beginning and they know a lot about where to fly, eat, and sleep. It was warmer at the winter home, too.”
“I bet it was warmer than it was here,” Liza agreed.
“So what were things like here?” Ki began to swim toward the shoreline to their right and Liza followed him.
“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Yeah, it did get cold, but this Cave was warm. It provided us with great shelter and, believe it or not, the water didn’t freeze in here. The clearing on top of the hill above us provided us with food and we certainly could see a great distance to avoid our enemies. The sky was clear of birds as they stayed sheltered wherever they were, and we could fly wherever we wanted. And Deke! He is so fun.” Liza paused when she mentioned the former Leader of The Flock.
“Yes, I bet he could be,” Ki said as they got closer to the beach inside the cave.
“Oh, he was funny,” a voice interrupted Liza. “He was very funny but not always at the right time.”
It was Daniel who was resting, and waiting, on the beach. Daniel was the leader of The Wist, a group of geese that were chosen by Daniel to provide advice and counsel with the Leader of the Flock. There were five geese, who all happened to be white geese, and each had a responsibility for certain needs of the flock itself: things like travel and food sources.
“Good morning, Daniel,“ Ki walked up onto the beach. ” You do remember Liza, don’t you?”
“Of course, I do.” Daniel nodded at her, “Liza.”
Liza simply nodding in return. Her assessment of Daniel was limited. All of her time with Deke was spent on learning how to survive and it did not allow a lot of time learning about his personal relationship with others, other than with her. Daniel was still a mystery to her.
“The three of us need to talk about what you learned from Deke,” Daniel suggested as he rose to his feet to join Ki. “But not today. The Wist has a busy schedule.”
Liza was still bobbing on the water as Ki turned toward her and said, “I’ll find you later.”
She turned and paddled toward the entrance to the cave. As she left it, the dazzle of the Bright Light caused her to squint her eyes and she drifted, waiting for them to adjust to the light. Liza continued forward and stayed to the edge of the water. She drifted into the tall reeds along the edge and was thinking about Ki. Until her participation with the seven candidates to take Deke’s place , Liza didn’t pay much attention to him. Ki was an unknown factor to her. Well, in fact, they all were. She did know Ki and Jake were good friends and he did come across as being loyal. He proved to be kind and compassionate during the journey. But, to her, she hasn’t decided yet if he was the right choice to replace Deke. A rustle and quiet splash drew her attention to her right. Entering the water and swimming toward her was Jake.
The white ring around his neck stood out on his black body and he had white stripes on his wings that were tucked tight into his sides and he slowly paddled toward Liza. When he arrived next to her, he drifted alongside her.
“Good morning, Liza. Long time, no see.”
“Hello, Jake. How have you been?” Liza paddled with only her left foot and turned in a semi-circle to face him, so she was now drifting backward.
“Pretty good,” he looked down into the water hoping to see a minnow swimming near him.
They drifted in silence for a moment. She examined him as his eyes darted from her to the water. His dark feathers, she noticed, were exactly the same color throughout his body. There was no variation except for the white stripes of his wings. His head darted forward and beneath the surface of the water causing a small ripple to expand and cause her to bob slightly up and down. When he rose his head, a small silver fish was in his beak. He gulped it down.
“Hungry?” she asked him.
“A little bit,” he answered her and lowered his head so that his beak rested on the tuft feathers of his chest. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” she responded.as she squinted her eyes at him when he asked her that question. She wondered what his angle was and, more importantly, what kind of question he would be asking her.
“What was Deke like?” he asked paddling a tad bit closer to her.
To be continued…
My First Stories 