The Flock – May 2020

Chapter I –  Deke and Daniel

  The sky was turning softly from black to charcoal gray above a body of water that eased into a rugged hillside.  Surrounding the pond, reeds and grasses rose toward the sky waiting for the first glimmer of sunlight.  At its edges, each wave of water slides up to its bank and back again.  A small ring of sand, dirt and mud spread from the reeds and grasses toward trees that gather around its edges and get denser up the side of a hill.  The hill rises up from the trees’ center and flattens to a small plateau where more grasses and bushes hold fast to the ground.  At the base of the hill on one end of the water’s edge, a small opening faces the coming sunrise and glimmers of gray light ride the waves inside of it.  On either side of the opening, large brown geese with black heads and white cheeks, quietly tread in the water.  On the side farthest from the cave, a small white goose with black wing tips, turns in the water and slowly paddles toward the small opening in the hill.  The goose’s pink bill has black cutting edges that look like a small black grin.  As it swims, on the horizon the sky behind him displays a small strip of pink.  The day is beginning.

  As the smaller bird glides toward the opening, he raises his head and quietly speaks to the sentries.

  “Good morning boys.  Why not end your shift a little early and find Daniel and ask him to come and talk to me, please?”

  “Sir,” one of the two geese says as they both bend their long necks toward him in a bow of respect and then quietly swim away.

  The white goose continues into the cave.  The water ripples beneath him as he goes deeper into the dark.  He turns slowly and faces the opening he just came through and waits.  The rise and fall of the waves beneath him, add a slight swish to the quiet.  The sky outside is getting brighter and light glimmers off the tiny waves and ripples beginning to add a sparkle to the interior of the cave.  His favorite part of the day is about to occur.  The light outside continues to get brighter and the water shimmers more.  The walls begin to capture flashes from the water and tiny lightning bolts streak throughout the cave.  Suddenly, sunshine falls directly in and a rainbow of color rises from the liquid to the rough edges of the walls painting them in light reds, oranges and yellows.  As the sun creeps higher in the sky, the colors change to greens, blues and purples to shadows once again.  It was then a large goose entered the cave.  The bird had white feathers around the base of the bill with salt and pepper markings on the other wise white breast.

  “Ah, Daniel!  You just missed it!  The shimmering colors on the walls of the Meeting Place are absolutely amazing!  It’s definitely my favorite part of the day.”

  “Is that why you summoned me, Deke, so early in the morning.”  Daniel grumbled out loud.  “I was having such a nice dream, too.”

  Deke smirked as he swam closer to his longtime friend and colleague.  Daniel was in charge of the Wist, the advisory team for the flock.  The Wist is comprised of five members, each representing a specific aspect of the management of the flock.

  Daniel lets Deke swim toward him wondering what his leader needed of him.  They have known each other for a long time and, in fact, had started as enemies.  Funny how things go and how one single moment can change everything.  He slips silently into a memory.

  “The Leader is flying in the bluer sky.”  The announcement was made by Maxim, one of the sentries at the time and the traditional declaration was clear, the former leader had died and it was time for a new one.  Daniel was ready.

  “I lay claim to take his place,” Daniel voiced immediately.  “To become your Leader!”

  The flock was silent.  The wind ruffled feathers of the large group of geese that had slowly gathered in the middle of the water.  They rose and fell with each wave as one, waiting.  A cloud ran across the sun casting a shadow over the ring of birds that surround Daniel.  Everyone waited.

  A small bird entered the middle of the circle and slowly swam around the larger one.  He had made eye contact while doing so.  The larger bird turned his head with the swimming of the other one.

  “Yes, I think I will challenge you,” he finally said stopping in the water.

Maxim nodded and spoke again, raising his head as he did, “Are there any other challengers?”

  The two birds in the midst of the flock waited.  No one joined them.

  “The Leader is gone to bluer skies and another will become at high sun,” Maxim declared.  The flock of geese dispersed and some flew away, some simply swam away and a few simply stayed in place.  The two birds, one larger and the other smaller, swam to opposite banks.

  Returning to the present, Deke had stopped in front of the larger bird and was studying his friend who had asked him a question.

  “I’m sorry.  What did you just say?” Daniel blinked.

  “Do you remember the beginning of all of this?

  “I do and I was just remembering it.”

  “Really? And what do you remember?” Deke asked him, settling next to him.

  “You challenged me.”

  “I did.  And?”

  Daniel returned to his memory.  High noon arrived but instead of on the water, the geese had gathered in a circle on the plateau at the top of the hill.  Inside it, the two combatants stood in front of each other.  In the surrounding trees, a group of small sparrows were quietly observing what was about to happen.

  Maxim stood at one side of the ring and his sentry partner, David, was directly across from him.

  “Daniel, are you ready?” Maxim called out.

  The larger bird stretched his neck and screamed a loud squawk.

  David’s voice rose, “Deke, are you ready?”

  The smaller bird simply responded, “I am.”

  With that, Daniel spread his wings and rose toward Deke.  Deke stood his ground, sitting down to brace himself for the impact when, at the last second, he dodged to his right.  The white bird glanced off the sitting goose and tumbled into the grass beside him.  Deke stood and walked toward the farthest end of the circle and sat down again.  Furious now, Daniel was up on his feet, wings still spread and running toward Deke.  He jumped with his webbed feet thrust forward toward the sitting bird.  Once again, Deke dodged at the last second but this time he grabbed an ankle of the larger goose in his mouth and pulled.  Daniel fell awkwardly, scuttled, and tossed from shoulder to shoulder across the ground.  Deke was upon him as he stopped, grabbing the same ankle again and clamped down.  He slowly started to spin around.  The faster he spun, the more Daniel struggled.  He twisted and turned, wings flapping, feathers flying when suddenly Deke let go.  Daniel fell on his back and tumbled backwards hitting his head on the ground.  He was dazed when he felt Deke’s mouth grip his neck.  Suddenly, he was scared and he squawked again.  Deke dragged him in his tight grasp to the center of the circle.  The surrounding birds had come alive, wings flapping, and they were yelling and squawking.  Feathers were flying and what they screamed was, “Kill him, kill him.”

  The larger bird’s eyes were wide with fright as Deke looked at the crowd, turning until his eyes came to rest on Maxim.  He dropped the neck of the larger goose from his mouth still looking at Maxim.

  Maxim bowed.  The crowd hushed and slowly they were all bowing to the ground.  Maxim rose and looked at Daniel who was still in a heap beside the new Leader.

“The Leader leads on,” David spoke. “You know what you must do, kill him or banish him.”

  Deke turned toward David but he was not only responding to him but to everyone.  “I don’t think so.  We are going to do something different.”

  Turning to Daniel, he said to him. “Get up.  Go home and rest.  I want to talk to you tomorrow.”

  “We started something different,” Daniel told Deke when he returned from that memory.

   “Exactly,” Deke pushed Daniel.  “Let’s do it again.”

Chapter II – The Wist

  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.”

Chapter III – Jake and Ki

  Two geese were hiding in the foliage on the hidden side of the hill around the corner from the cave opening.  Jake and Ki are facing each other arguing and they are opposites of each other but inseparable.  Jake is of average size, blackish-brown and white with a large white collar below his head.  Ki is small, gray with black wingtips, rounded head on a short neck. Here, in the foliage, they plotted their next adventure.

  “No, we are not going to do that,”  Jake whispered to Ki.

  “Why not?” Ki whispered back as he tried to convince his best friend to accompany him on his idea of an adventure.

  “It is crazy.  It will not make us look particularly good at all!”

  “ A lot of geese have done this before.  It will not be a first and it will not hurt anybody,” Ki responded as he started to swim back and forth in front of friend.  “And admit it, you need help.”

  “You need help,”  Jake snapped back.

  “I do need help.  We all need help,” Ki nudged Jake in the chest.

   “Well, I remember when you needed help,” Jake stated.

  They were goslings, well, older goslings, not quite grown-up but thinking they were.  Ki was the smallest of the group that hung out together, a clique of sorts, consisting of ten to twelve birds.  He also was the center of some bullying, a constant teasing and pushing about his size and of his origin.  Ki was one of the offspring of a small group of geese that joined the Flock and as hard as he tried to fit in, a few of his peers tried to push him out because of who he is.  He always pushed back though, mainly using his words but on this particular day when he was shoved, he shoved back.  Soon, a small circle surrounded them as Ki and a larger brown bodied goose, whose name is forgotten, raised their wings and squawked at each other.  The brown goose attacked by suddenly raising from the water and diving at Ki, hitting him and he went under water and struggled to get to the surface.  He sputtered and gasped for air as he surfaced only to be hit again and forced below the water. 

  Almost immediately, the weight upon him was lifted and when Ki resurfaced, he saw another brown goose smashing his beak into the side of his attacker.  He recognized him as Jake, another member of the small group who had always circled around him when his tormentors started their sessions of bullying.  The two geese separated, and Jake spoke to, not only the goose he attacked, all of them.

  “Knock it off!  The Sentries will be here to find out what is happening soon.  Let it go and break it up!”

  The group dispersed leaving Ki and Jake alone looking at each other.  The waves beneath them rose and fell with each smoothing ripple of the water.

  “Why did you do that?” Ki broke the silence between them.

  “Sometimes everyone needs a little help,”  Jake smirked in response.

  The memory gone now, Jake refocused and looked at Ki.  He slowly began to nod affirmatively and told Ki, “You are right.  I need help.  I have always lacked confidence in approaching females you know.”

  “I know,” Ki smiled back at him.  “You do like her, don’t you?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “Well, let’s go ask her if she feels the same.”

  Jake nodded and the two of them started to swim out of the reeds only to run into Marcus, one of the Leader’s personal sentries.  They slowly came to a stop before the large brown bird.

  “Jake and Ki?” Marcus asked of them.

  Jake nodded as Ki responded for both of them, “Yes?”

  “You have been summoned to The Meeting Place tomorrow at First Light.  Be there promptly.”

  Jake and Ki watched Marcus slowly turn from them and swim away.

Chapter IV – Drifter

    Drifter was swimming the outskirts of the pond, paddling as fast as he could, back and forth, back and forth.  He was attempting to go as fast as he could without a sound.  He was failing.  He paused and drifted as he caught his breath.  Maybe, he began to think, if he flattened and stretched his snow-white neck out close to the water, he could increase his speed and minimize the splash.  He did it as he thought it, pressing his blue-gray wings against the sides of his white belly. He stretched his toes apart to their maximum distance and began to move his feet.  He jetted forward increasing speed with little splash.  He felt fast but wanted to go faster.  Just one flap of his wings would help.  His mind was in conflict;  one thought was telling him that the goal was less splash, less noise but the second thought was to go faster.  Just one flap would do it, just one, and the splash would not change.  It will be perfect. Just one flap so he decided to flap.

  As soon as he spread his wings, he lurched forward, and his stretched-out head hit the water.  He raised it quickly, flapped once and he started to tumble forward.  He sat down to right himself, but that decision jerked him backward.  He leaned forward to counteract the motion.  Suddenly he was on his side, skidding forward on the water and he started to spin.  He relaxed and let it happen.  He slowly came to a stop and, soaking wet now, raised himself to a sitting position and simply drifted quietly.

  “That looked fun,” a voice startled him and Drifter looked toward it.

  “Father,” he smiled at the goose that looked identical to him, blue-gray, white belly and pink bill with those black ridges.

  “What were you doing?” his father, Aaron, continued to quiz his oldest offspring.

  “Well,” Drifter began to explain.  “I was attempting to swim as fast as I could without making a sound.”

  “Son, you failed.  You made enough noise for the entire Flock to turn and watch you tumble and spin out.  And guess what?”

  “What?”

   “They turned away and continued on with their lives.  A few of them giggled and laughed.  Drifter, they think you are a clown!”

  “I don’t care.”

  “I do, son!” his father swam up and stared at him beak to beak.

  “Do you think I am a clown, Father?” Drifter asked.

  Aaron looked at him for a few moments before answering his son. 

  “No, I don’t,”  he swam around Drifter and Drifter turned with him.  “But it does not look good and perception is how our fellow geese, hell, the entire Birddom, decides who you are.  Unless, they get to know you, really know you.  How many geese know you, Drifter?

  Drifter kept swimming, turning with his father as he responded, “Not many, I guess.  It doesn’t matter.”

  “Everything matters!  Everything.”

  “How do you know that Father?”

  “I just know,” Aaron answered.

  They had stopped circling each other as they had both noticed a large white goose approaching them from the direction of the Meeting Place.

  “See, Drifter, you have been noticed,” Aaron whispered to him.

  The goose was almost upon them when they noticed that it was Petra of the Wist.

  “Drifter?” Petra asked him as he stopped right in front of him.

  “Yes?”

  Petra smiled.  “You answer a question with a question.  Are you afraid of me, Drifter?  For what reason would you be afraid of me?”

  “I don’t really know.  It just felt like I should be.”

  “Well,” Petra came closer to him.  “Do not be afraid of me but you have been summoned to meet with The Wist tomorrow at First Light.  Will you be there?”

  “Of course,” Drifter answered quickly but cautiously.

Chapter V – High

  Gabriel, a large snow-white bird, who shares duties with Marcus as one of Deke’s personal Sentries, is slowly swimming around the edges of the pond looking for a particular black-brown goose with a large white collar wrapped around its short neck.  In and out of reeds and grass, startling napping geese and drifting fuzzy gosling huddling near their mothers.  He was getting frustrated and not finding the goose that he finally swam into a group of birds treading in the water in a tight circle, obviously gossiping about something unknow to him.

  “Does anyone know where High is?” Gabriel demanded of the group.

  “Why?” a small, brown gooses asked in response.

  “Yeah, why?” another joined the first goose.

  “That is between us.”

  “Then why should I tell you where High is then.”  The first one responded, “If you aren’t going to tell me why?”

  “That’s a lot of whys,” a third larger white bird said.

  “It is urgent business from The Wist,” Gabriel finally explained.  “I do not know why I have to explain to you.”

  The group laughed as one except for one goose bobbing with each ripple of water.

  “High is very high, right now,” the voice was quiet and simply looked up.

  “What do you mean?,”  Gabriel asked as he turned his attention toward the bird who was speaking.

  “Her name is High, you know,” the voice said to him.

  His gaze remained on the circling goose as he spread his wings and pushed downward and rose from the water.  He continued to flap his large wings, gaining speed as he continued to rise.  The circling bird’s image continued to become clearer and Gabriel noticed that she  was riding on the updraft, simply flexing her wingtips to stay afloat.  He eased beside her.

  “Hello,” he began.

  “Hello.  What brings you up here so high in the sky?”  she turned her head toward him.      Gabriel noticed that she had bright blue eyes and they looked at each other for a moment and then she turned back in the direction she was set on.

  “What are you doing up here so high in the sky?” he repeated the question toward her.

  “Well, I will tell you even tough you have not told me why you at up here yet, “ she flapped her wings once as she responded to him.  “Sometimes I like to get away, as high as I can get, to just think.”

  He flapped once to keep flying next to her.  “Think about what?” he asked.

  “Oh, anything.  Sometimes on why we do what we do and sometimes on why the sun shines brighter on some days and not so bright on others.  Today, it was simply thinking  and wondering why we don’t fly as high as this and just float.”

Gabriel looked at this goose beside hom and tried to decide if she was a little off center or if she was just thoughtful.  He decided on the latter and asked, “Why are you called High?”

  She laughed a quiet laugh before answering, “Everyone asks me that question.  I was the first one who hatched in my clutch and my father had convinced my Mother that their first born would be called High because he wished that one to soar as high as the sun.  Funny, isn’t it, that here we are high in the sky.” High looked and Gabriel and held his gaze this time.

  Gabriel looked at those bright blue eyes and said, “you are summoned to appear before the Wist tomorrow at First Light.  Will you be there?”

  She continued to look at him as she thought about how to answer the question.  Finally, she responded,  “Of course.”  She then took two strong flaps and veered to her left leaving Gabriel behind watching her grow smaller as she floated away.

Chapter VI – Mattias

  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.

Chapter VII – Liza

    Liza is a beautiful goose,  A small bird, her body is white with black wingtips with a perfect round head with a small short neck.  In her group of friends, she is the silent one who spoke only when necessary.  She thought silently about things before speaking her them.  At first, her friends thought she was a little creepy but as time went on, they learned to wait and follow her guidance because more than one time she was right.  She had quite an entourage. 

  The rumors were spreading through the Flock now about certain geese being asked to go before the Wist tomorrow at First Light.  Liza is currently one of five geese floating in the sunshine in the middle of the pond and they were gossiping.

  “I heard that they approached Drifter and demanded that he appear before the Wist,”  Windy said knowingly.

  “How do you know?” Liza asked her.

  “Mandy told me.”

  “Mandy?” Liza nodded skeptically.

  “Who came to him?” Another asked Windy.

  “One of Deke’s personal Sentries,” Windy was beginning to enjoy the attention.  Liza began to swim around the outskirts of the group and glanced toward the Meeting Place.

  “I also heard that High was told the same thing,”  Windy began to reveal all that she knows to the group.

  “And who told you that?”  Liza asked of Windy.

  Windy turned toward Liza as she responded to the question, “Bob told me that.”

  “Bob.”  Lilly thought, now Bob is little more reliable than Mandy.  “And who told him?”

  “One of the Sentries, Deke’s Sentries,”  Windy answered.

  The group of five geese began to swim, naturally following Liza’s path.  A sixth goose was approaching them.  It was Mandy and she seemed in a hurry to join them.  Windy swam toward her, meeting her at the edge of the group’s small circle.

  “What’s up, Mandy?”  Windy asked excitedly.

  “Yes, yes,”  Mandy began as all but Liza huddled about her to hear the latest news.  “I just heard the Jake and Ki were also asked to appear to the Wist, too.  By Marcus, or was it, Gabriel?  It does not matter!  They were both told to appear.”

  “Oh my!  I wonder what they have done!” a gray goose exclaimed loudly and after being shushed, she continued,  “Those two are always up to something.”

  “Don’t you mean four geese?”  Liza asked them.

  The other five geese turned behind them and rested their eyes on Liza and waited.

  “What do you mean four geese?” Windy asked her, waiting anxiously.

  “You, and Mandy, have told us about four geese, Drifter, High, Jake and Ki.”

  Mandy confirmed the statement, “True.  What are you getting at?”

  “Well, if there were four geese involved in something, everyone would know about it.  Do any of you know of any reason what these four geese would be doing together?”

  “Maybe they were going to “visit” females?”  someone suggested.

  Liza looked at the speaker with her shiny blue eyes and stared.  Now, the group was surrounding Liza.

  “No that wasn’t it.  It has to be something else,” Liza thought aloud.  “It is something else.  As far as I now, none of these four had anything to do with each other.”

  “Jake and Ki are always together,”  Mandy reminded Liza.

  “That is true,” Liza said and swam to the left a bit and back to where she began.  “They will not do anything without the other.  They are bonded together.”

  “They are,”  Windy repeated. “Maybe whatever they did, it was their idea and they need Drifter and High.”

  “But even so, why?” Liza wondered. “Does anyone know Drifter?”

  “A little,” the gray goose now whispered.  “I kind of like him, sort of.”

  Liza turned her attention to the gray goose and asked her.  “Matilda, do you know him?”

  Matilda squirmed under Liza’s scrutiny.  “Not really.  I liked to watch him and dream that he would like me too, and we would be together forever.  I did see him earlier today.”

  “What happened?” Liza queried.

  “He was swimming.  It was like he was practicing, and he was going fast.  He spun out and I laughed out loud.  I am surprised he did not hear me, so I slipped behind some reeds.  Petra was with him.  That is when I saw a Sentry swim toward him and they spoke together.  Then the Sentry flew away, and I swam away.”

  “So we have an eyewitness to one of the meets,”  Liza summarized and turned on Mandy.  “Any reason why your sources have said only Drifter was asked when you just heard that Petra was there, too?”

  “Well, no.  This is the first time I heard Petra’s name.”

  “I wonder what’s going on,”  Liza said as she turned away from the group and looked at the opening to The Meeting Place.  The other geese lined up beside her and joined her in looking at the cave opening.  As they silently watched, the two large Sentries emerged from inside.  One stopped at the doorway while the other looked around and seemed to stop to stare at them  That goose began toward them and was definitely swimming straight at the group.  The line of geese, all female, remained in formation and calm.

  It was Gabriel.  It was plain to see who it was as he got closer to them.  He stopped about three wingspans in front of them and everyone treaded silently in the water, gently rising and falling with each small wave.

  “What do you want?”  Liza asked for the group, defiantly.”

  “I am looking for Liza.”

  “I am Liza,”  she responded.

  “You are asked to appear before the Wist tomorrow at First Light.  Will you come?”

  “What is this about?”  Liza inquired closely.

  “Will you come?” Gabriel spoke again.

  “I do not know if I do not know why.”

  With that, Gabriel turned and swam back from where he began.

  Liza watched him return to The Meeting Place and go inside before she wondered out loud, “I wonder what is going on?”

Chapter VIII – The Journey of Three

  Five geese were treading before the Meeting Place, treading, and bobbing on the water.  No words had been spoken when a sixth one joined them and broke the silence.

  “What’s going on?” Liza asked as she kept the opening to the cave in her sight.

  “Nothing,” Ki responded.  “Nothing at all.”

  “Well, we are all here for some reason,” Drifter swam in front of them.  “I am Drifter.”

  “Ki.”

  “Jake.”

 “High.”

  “Mattias.”

  “Liza,” she continued.  “Any guesses as to why we are here?”

  “No,” High responded.  “I am nobody.”

  “That’s not true,”  Jake spoke up, “I have noticed you high in the sky.”

  Ki laughed and pushed his friend’s side with the wingtips of his left wing.

  “Drifter you had a very public spill yesterday,”  Mattias stated quite matter-of-factly.

  Drifter nodded his head affirmatively as he chuckled at himself.

    “Still doesn’t answer as to why we are all here,”  Liza returned to the question at hand.

  The sky was beginning to turn to a lighter gray.  A slight breeze rustled the surrounding trees signaling the beginning of something different.  A brown-gray sparrow flitted from the Meeting Place opening startling the small group of geese as did a voice that sounded from behind them.

  “My name is Ack and I am a member of the Wist,” the voice announced, and the six geese turned in the water to face it.

  A large brown goose with a black head and white cheeks on either side as deep, dark brown eyes looked at them.

  “Hi,” Liza spoke first. “I am Liza and -”

  She was cut off by Ack, “I know who you are.  In fact, I know who all of you are.”

  “Well,”  Liza was beginning to show her boldness among these geese she was thrust to be part of. “Maybe you can tell us – ”

  “Why?”  This time it was Ki who addressed Ack and cutting off Liza in mid-sentence.

  Ack swam into the group as they turned with him to face the opening of the cave.  “I don’t know why exactly.  What I do know is that we are going to embark on a journey.”

  As soon as he stated that, the two Sentries, Gabriel and Marcus, emerged from the cave and approached them.  Gabriel began to instruct them.

  “Please enter The Meeting Place.  Swim straight in until you are told to stop.  At that time, turn and face the opening.  Follow us inside.  Oh, of course, silence is assumed.”

  The contingent of geese swam forward and passed through the opening and deeper into the dark, black unknown.  They paddled carefully until they heard the instruction boom and echo around the walls saying, “Stop and turn!”

  They did and saw the gray light sneak through the opening.  Almost naturally, the seven birds floated equidistantly apart from each other, wings safely tucked against their sides, and their heads high.  As the cave brightened with the rising of the sun, they could begin to see each other, and the Sentries posted on either side of the doorway.  The light began to catch the ripples in the water, white sparks beginning to sparkle on the walls of the cave.  Suddenly, the light exploded into a shower of colors of yellow, pink, and orange flashing over them and on the walls.  The colors  became brighter and would recede with each wave of water and  becoming reds and oranges as the light outside become brighter.  The seven were transfixed as they looked on in awe watching the tapestry covering the skin of the walls and the reflection on each other’s feathers. 

  As the light began to lighten and the colors faded from blue to purple to natural, their eyes refocused and they saw two geese before them.  On their right, a large goose bobbed in the water, his chest decorated with black and white streaks, with thoughtful eyes looking at them.  Beside him, a smaller bird, white, and he appeared to be grinning at them and it was him, who began to speak.

  “Hey, was that cool or what?  I love that time of the morning when the Bright Light comes in and places me, and you, right in the midst of a rainbow.”

  He paused and swam forward toward them.  “Hi, I am Deke,” he introduced himself not really needing to because they knew who he is,  He is the Leader of The Flock.  He swam before each of the seven and bowed his head.  After he had bowed to the last of them, he returned to a place in front of them.

  “I guess you are wondering why you have been summoned here so early in the morning.  I wish I could say it was to see that rainbow.”

  Drifter laughed and the others looked at him sideways.

  Deke laughed, as he continued, “But it is not.  Directly, I am losing my eyesight and one of you is going to take my place.”

  The seven geese burst into a bleaking and squawking of noise as questions began to come down and around Deke and the constant echoing off the walls made it seem longer and louder than it really turned out to be .

  “Silence!” a voice boomed above it all.

  The seven settled and The Meeting Place quieted so that the only sound was the waves settling and lapping against the sides of the room.

  “Thank you, Marcus,”  Deke had remained calm during the onslaught of questions and noise.  “Isn’t this room great?!  Now, I would tell you what you will be doing but my friend Daniel, who, as you know, leads The Wist, has to show you that he is part of it, which he is, and insists that he be the one to explain it all to you.” Unknown to the seven candidates, Deke was displaying his sarcasm.

  “Yes,” Daniel swam forward with a glance at his friend, fully recognizing Deke’s sarcasm.  “As he just told you, Deke is losing his eyesight and we would like to continue enjoying the way of life that The Flock enjoys.  We are introducing the new way of selecting a new Leader.  You have been selected, by decisions of the Leader and the Wist, to experience The Journey of Three.  That simply means that you will be directed to complete a series of three tests.  Hopefully, the new Leader will raise to the top.  If not, after an evaluation of the three tests by the current Leader and the Wist, one will be selected.  You seven, are the first ones ever to participate in this process.  Now, I know you have questions.”

  “Why us?” Liza spoke first.

  “We notice the members of the Flock who are skillful in the traits we believe it takes to lead us.” Daniel answered.

  “What skills?” Mattias followed up with a question of his own.

  “Innovation, knowledge of life skills, diplomacy…” Daniel explained.

  “Wait, wait.” Jake interjected.  “I have not ever been very diplomatic.”

  “Really?” Deke responded and swam toward him.  “Really, Jake.  You may be the most diplomatic of all of us here.  Right, Ki?”

  Ki looked at Deke and slowly agreed with him, nodding affirmatively.

  Drifter interrupted with a statement, “I believe the decision has already been made.”

  “What do you mean?” Daniel asked swimming forward.

  “Well, him,” Drifter pointed a wing at Ack. “He is a member of the Wist.  He knows these tests and the “answers”.”

  Deke started to laugh.  He began to spin in a circle as he did and finally stopped to speak.  “Ack knows nothing.  When the Wist decided that one of the seven be one of them, they chose Ack and he was dismissed from the process.”

  “What are these tests?” High asked.

  “Ah, now that is a good question,” Deke exclaimed.  “I do not know.  I left that up to the Wist.  Daniel?”

  “When you leave The Meeting Place in a few minutes, you well head toward the Bright Light and on your way, you will be receive the instructions for your first test.   You may get started now.”

  The seven geese started for the exit when Deke darted in front of them and spoke one last time, “One more thing, well, two actually, no, three.  Yes, three – number one; you may have noticed a small brown bird exit this place before you came in.  That is Simeone and he is the King of Sparrows and a close friend of mine.  I hope he will become yours, too.  He and his kingdom will be tracking the progress on your Journey of Three and reporting back to us.  Two – Take this seriously.  Whoever is chosen, will be the next Leader of The Flock.  Finally – pay attention and learn all you can.”

  He backpedaled away from the doorway and added one more thing, “One more thing, have fun!”

  Only Drifter chuckled as they swam out into the sunlight.  The seven gathered in a small circle and began to whisper to one another,

  “What do you think?”

  “I don’t know,” High added.

  “Does it matter?” Ack responded.

  “No,” Liza added as she turned, spread her black-tipped wings, and rose into the sky.

  Drifter laughed and started to join her.  Jake and Ki followed them together as Mattias looked at High, shrugged, spread his wings, and flew up into the sky.  High began after him leaving Ack by himself.  He glanced back at the entrance to the cave, turned his head flapped his wings to hurry and catch the rest of them.

  Inside the cave, Daniel and Deke floated out and watched the seven geese fade from their view and Daniel said, “And so it begins.”

Chapter IX – Protector

The seven geese naturally became a V-Form in the order they rose into the air.  Liza was in the lead, Drifter settled slightly behind to her right, Ki then Jake was on her left.  Mattias slid behind Drifter and High glided behind Mattias.  Finally, Ack evened the formation by easing behind Jake.  They flew in silence for a while heading for the bright light that was continuing its slow rise changing the color of the sky from pink to yellow then to bright, clear blue.  The air around them was soft as Liza led them forward at a quick pace.

  It was High who spoke first, “Why are we going so fast?”

  “To get there!”  Liza replied and made another strong push down of her wings.

  “To get where?” Ki simply asked.  “I agree with High.  We do not know where we are going or how we are even going to find out.  We should conserve our energy.”

  Liza slowed as confirmation to the discussion.

  “We can conserve energy and go just as fast,” High suggested.

  “Of course,” Drifter joined the discussion. “The air glider would know.”

  “How?” Liza interrupted.

  “Go up until you feel a push from behind and you just go with it,” High instructed her.

  Liza raised her head and began to push her wings in long, strong thrusts and the other joined her.  The V-Form angled upward all as one, stretching higher into the sky.  Suddenly, a rush of air pressed them forward and Liza almost stumbled.

  “Spread you wings and just ride it!”  High yelled to all of them and closed his eyes.

  Drifter started to laugh.  Ki joined him, laughing too. The others were silent, nodding at each other now and then except for Liza, who just glided with it. Now and then, she flapped, and the others joined her.  They enjoyed the silence and the stillness for a while soaking in the sun and the crispness of the air.

  “Well, I have never seen geese so high,”  a voice shattered the stillness from behind them.  As they began to look back, the voice continued, “Do not look back because then I will be in front of you.”

  A shadow passed over them and a huge body eased down directly in front of them.  It was an eagle with a massive wingspan with wingtips stretched out and angling up and down slowing to match their pace.  The head of the predator was white and when it turned to address them, the hooked beak glistened in the sun.  The green eyes were sharp and clear and noticeable to each one of them.  The geese also glanced at the talons, curled and drawn back beneath the stretched-out tail.

  “So,”  he spoke again.  “These are the geese of the Journey of Three/”

  “How do you know?” Jake asked.

  “Well, Deke and I are,” he paused for effect. “Friends.  Everyone in all of Birddom know about this.  Don’t you know how well Deke and The Flock are known?  You need to understand your own history if one of you are to become Deke’s replacement.”

  “Who are you?” It was Liza who asked the direct question.

  The eagle returned his gaze solely on her before introducing himself.  “I am called Protector and, no, that is not my given name.  It is the name given me by your Leader and he asked me to protect you on this journey.  Other than right now, you will not see me, but I will be watching you.  Understand?”

  The seven flew silently in response.  Protector made a stroke of his wings, once then twice before turning slightly to his right before speaking again.

  “Do you see that tall tree in the distance, the one standing higher than the rest.  Answer me.”

  “Yes,” Liza responded.

  “You will land at the base of it.  You will receive instructions to your first test,” the eagle stated and then faced forward.  They could see him tweak his wingtip and rise above them, circled to their left continuing in an upward spiral above them until he was just an object in the sky.

  “Whoa,” Drifter spoke. “You really made him mad Liza.”

  She flapped once.

  Below them they were above a massive expanse of green, occasionally interrupted by small irregular circles of blue or gray.

  “What don’t we know about The Flock?  About Deke?” Ack questioned out loud.  “I thought I knew everything.”

  “Maybe you don’t,“ Mattas offered.  “Maybe Deke chose to keep some secrets to himself.”

  “I bet Daniel knows,” Jake offered. “Those two are bonded at the hip.”

  “Probably,” High offered.  “Liza, I think we should start heading down, slowly.”

  “Thank you.  I know,” and she started to angle down as behind her the conversation  continued.

  “They started something new and I am sure they had to cross many paths to achieve what we know now,”  Ki offered.

  “Great goose,” Drifter exclaimed. “I wonder why they started this; this way of living.  Have you ever wondered that?”

  “Not until now,”  Liza joined in for the first time.

  The greens below them began to become clear as they became trees of many shapes and sizes and those irregular shapes of blue became small lakes and ponds.  The tall tree was getting closer and it, too, became clear.  It was an old tree covered with green needles, not leaves as was their first perception of it.  Liza led them in a small circle above it and they scanned it carefully for any signs of danger.  High took a quick glance above them and spied the silhouette of a bird with wings outstretched and circling above them.

  “I think it is safe,”  High spoke to the team. 

  Liza answered with a dip of her right shoulder.  The others mimicked her, and they slowly disappeared through the canopy.  They quietly dropped on to the ground.  It was dark with sparse light filtering through and casting shadows of dark and light on them.

  “Spooky,” Drifter commented as they explored the base of the tree.  On the floor surrounding it, brown needles padded the surface.  Small fragments of white were scattered all around and within the needles.  A sound startled them, and they hurriedly looked toward it.  A sparrow had landed in a branch above them and the bird shifted his head from side to side and up and down in a nervous rhythm.

  “Simone?” Ack asked the sparrow and in return, the small bird bowed.

  “What’s going on?” Ack continued.

  “These are bones!” Jake exclaimed facing the ground.

  Suddenly, a thundering crash of sound surrounded them and refocused their attention toward the tree.  They looked up as a small shower of needles fell on the ground around them. There, on a thick branch, toes with large talons surrounded and gripped it.  Attached to the toes was an enormous horned owl with equally enormous yellow eyes that stared down at the seven geese.  The eyes blinked and the head turned behind and then forward and looked back at them.  The owl lifted one wing and used its beak to preen its feathers.  The huge brown body, speckled with black and white streaks, caused the huge branch to sway and dip as it continued to nudge its wing.  The wing dropped and the bright yellow eyes looked from the geese to Simone.

  “Simone,”  the voice of the owl boomed, vibrating off of the trees.  “King of the Sparrows, it is good to see you again.”

  The small bird bowed in recognition.  The owl returned his gaze to the seven birds on the ground.

  “My name is Great, and I have been asked by Deke, The Leader of the Flock, to give you the instruction of your first test.”

Chapter X – The First Test

The seven geese looked at each other and shifted their weight from one foot to the other.  The owl stared down with bright yellow eyes, blinked once, and turned his head quickly away and then back to them.

  “What is the first priority of all birds?” Giant asked the geese, still gazing at them.

  They stood in silence for a few seconds when Ki answered. “Food.”

  “Ah, yes, food.  Your first test is to find food.  You must be hungry and feel the craving to reenergize because of your flight so far.  Am I right?”

  “Well, sure,”  Mattias agreed. “But the test must be more than that!”

  The owl spread his wings and the geese jumped.  Great folded them back and chuckled.  “You are correct.  There is more to the test.  You must find a location to feed the entire Flock by day’s end.  Now go, it is my sleep time and you are interrupting it.”

  The horn tipped owl spread his massive wings again, flapped and rose, hooted once, then disappeared into the darkness above them.

  The geese formed a circle while the sparrow darted to another branch closer to them.

  “I am hungry,” Mattias said to open the discussion.

  “Food enough to the feed the flock,” Drifter summarized.

  “How are we supposed to do that?” High asked.  “Do we separate or stay together.”

  “It is a test after all.  I think we go out alone,” Liza stated firmly.

  “No, I disagree,“ Ki interjected.  “Yeah, this is a test, but we were sent out together and whoever becomes the Leader has to be able to work with others to make decisions.”

  “I agree,” Jake confirmed.

  “You would,” Ack spoke up. “You two are brothers in spirit but I agree with Ki.  We need to stay together.”

  High chimed in with a question, “How do we decide if there are seven opinions.” 

  “We talk and decide together,” Ki stated to the group.

  “I disagree!”  Liza spoke loudly and High jumped, startled.

  “Whoa,”  Drifter spoke directly to Liza and his tone turned serious.  “You cannot bully us into this decision.”

  “Knock it off,” Ki interjected.  Jake rose on his feet, stood tall and stepped in front of Ki.

  Ack chimed in.  “We are wasting time with this distraction.  I think we should make a decision.”

  “Liza, would you agree to all-for-all voting?” Ki asked her.

  She eyed the geese around her.  She could see that she was clearly in the minority and at the corner of her eye she spied a second sparrow join Simone on a branch above them.  “Sure,” she finally agreed.

  “Fine,” Ki sighed in relief.  “First, let’s hear what everyone thinks on how to continue.  I think we should select the feeding ground together.  Liza thinks we should separate and find our own place to feed The Flock and I would assume, if that is our decision, that Simone would have enough “Watchers” for all of us.  Is that correct Simone?”

  “Yes,”  one of the sparrows relied. “There will be plenty of Watchers, as you call them, well, watching.”

  Ki nodded and turned to Liza and asked her, “Is that correct?”

  Liza looked at Ki, perhaps for the first time, before she nodded in agreement.

  “Now, let us hear from the rest of you.  Drifter?” Ki continued.

  “You might see me as a loner but I really am not.  I say, we decide together.”

  “High?”

  “I think we should stay together,”  she answered.

  “You know what my vote is,” Jake spoke before he was called upon. “I stay with Ki.”

  Ack laughed aloud, “I told you about you two, Jake, but I agree that we decide together.”

  “Hey, I agree, “Mattias was the last to voice his opinion.  “I am starving so let’s get going if we are to get going.”

  Ki faced Liza and nodded, spread his wings, lifted into the air, and headed for the top of the trees.  One by one the others rose with Liza being the last to join them.

  The geese broke into the airspace above the trees, headed in the direction they had begun the day but at a lower level.  From this height, it was clearer for them to observe their surroundings.  Onward they flew, travelling over treetops and fields that jig-jagged with lines of green and brown.  Occasionally, a small pond appeared, and Ki would lead them in a circling pattern above it before rising again.  This procedure occurred a few times.

  “There!”  Drifter shouted.  “To the right.”

  They all turned their heads in that direction and saw a large body of water.  Deke turned them toward it and began a slow turn around the perimeter of the large pond.  Tall grass and reeds rose around the edges with a cluster of trees stood on one end of it.  The most intriguing aspect of the location was a small island that held a few trees with bushes scattered about it.

  “What do you think?”  Ki asked the birds behind him.

  “Looks good to me.”

  “Me, too”

  “Nice eyes, Drifter,” Ack voiced.

  “Let’s go.  I am hungry!”  Mattias concluded.

  “Where?”  Liza asked them.

  “Where do you think?” Ki asked her.

  “I think we use the island as a base and then we can filter out and check the rest.”  Liza answered his question.

  No one else objected so Ki led them down and they landed almost simultaneously on the ground of the island.  The geese spread out in different directions to the edges of the island and slowly back to the center where they met once again.

  “The island seems safe to me,” Liza spoke first.

  “To sleep,” Mattias stated.  “Not to eat.”

  “I agree,” Ki nodded his head.

  “Yes,” High summarized.  “The trees and bushes will provide cover for us.”

  “Ok, what’s next?” Jake asked.

  “We check out the rest of this place,” Drifter said.

  “But not alone,” Liza said.

  “I agree,”  Ki said.  “There are seven of us.  Three teams?”

  “Mattias and High.  Drifter, Jake and Ack,” Liza declared as she turned toward Ki, “And me and you.”

  “No!” Jake spoke walking toward the two birds staring at each other.

 “No, Jake,” Ki spoke quietly.  “I think those are good teams.  Anyone else object?”

  Jake stopped and no one else said a word.  All seven stood in silence.  A sparrow joined them on a nearby branch and Ki glanced at it. 

  “No objections then.  Mattias and High go check out the woods, you three go check out the edge over there with the tall grasses and Liza and I will go over there.”

  “Let’s go,“ Drifter turned toward the water.  “This will be fun.”

  “We will meet back here to assess what we think shortly,” Ack added as he entered the water.

  Ki and Liza were the last to wade into the water and began to swim away from the others leaving a small wave behind them.  Liza did not wait before stating her belief, “I think I am the obvious choice to be the next Leader and the sooner you see that the better you will be.”

  Ki chuckled, shook his head, and kept swimming toward their assigned space.  Liza lifter her head high and followed him.  They swam in silence through the tall grass which became denser the closer they swam to the bank causing the water to lap higher onto the surrounding ground.  A gurgling sound interrupted the silence and they swam toward it.  They felt the cold on their paddling feet before they saw the small spring of water join the larger in which they were swimming.  Liza tugged at a stalk of grass near the opening of the spilling water and began to chew.  She nodded excitedly to Ki.

  “Sweet?” Ki asked.  Liza nodded affirmatively and Ki pulled at a stalk.

 A loud squawk filled the air and they both turned toward it.  Dropping the grass from their beaks they rose together with a quick flap of their wings and darted toward the sound.

  “Where did it come from?” Liza asked as they flew.”

  “The woods!”  Ki responded. 

  As they drew nearer, they saw Jake, Drifter and Ack land on the ground and were scrambling forward toward the noise.  A large brown streak entered the trees ahead of them as the two remaining geese landed and followed the others.  Speckled shadows spread on the ground before them as they hurried to catch up.

  The trees separated into a clearing as they spied the others surrounding something on the ground.  The eagle was clutching a branch above them, but his eyes were scanning toward the sky into the canopy of the tree covering.  Several sparrows were scattered among the surrounding trees.  Ki edged his way into the ring of geese to see Mattias on the ground and High sitting on the ground beside him.

Chapter XI – Going On

“What happened?!” Liza asked as she nudged in beside Ki.

  “It looks like he ate those berries,” Ack observed.

   “He did. I saw him do so,” it was Protector added into the conversation.

  “Yeah, those berries don’t make you feel particularly good and if you eat a little too much –“

  “And this happens,” Ki finished Ask’s explanation.

  “He said he was really hungry and as soon as we got into this clearing, he ran over here and started into these berries,” High explained to the group.

  Their attention turned to a row of bushes behind Mattias.  Rows and rows of purple berries stringing on red vines, hanging from and in between branches.

  “Will he be all right?” Jake asked.

  “Eventually,” Ack stated matter-of-factly.

  “How do you know this?” Liza asked pointedly.

  “You got to be kidding me, Liza,” Drifter answered. “He is the Wist.”

  “What do we do now?” Jake asked as he looked up from Mattias and around the team.

  “Someone stays with him and we continue to check out the pond,” Ki said.

  “I’ll stay,” the Eagle spoke again.

  “Okay,” Ki remarked with a little hesitation. “Jake, you and high continue to check out the woods, although I do like this clearing.  Liza and I will go back to our side of the pond.  Ack and Drifter go back to your side.  We will meet back here.  Is that okay with everyone?” Ki instructed.

  The others agreed and Ki turned from them to walk back the way he had come from with Liza hurrying to catch up to him.  High reluctantly rose to her feet and walked away from the dozing goose splayed out on the ground and joined Jake to continue walking the edges of the clearing.  Drifter looked at Ack and shrugged.  Ack answered with a head nod and they walked out together.

  “Ack,” Drifter began the conversation as they walked side by side. “How did you know about the berries?”

  “Well, you are right about being part of the Wist.  I did learn about berries from being part of that team. I’ve learned a lot actually.”

  “Like what?” Drifter continued as they trudged forward toward the water that can now been seen through the thinning of the bushes around them.

  “What is good to eat, where to fly and probably most important, when to fly,” Ack answered.

  “When to fly?” Drifter asked.

  “Yes,” Ack looked at the goose beside him to actually look at him for the first time.  Drifter always seemed to be a loner, an independent bird, who was out there on his own, but he began wonder about him.  Ack continued, “The Flock has always gone to warmer waters in order to have and raise the new goslings after they hatch.  They need to grow their feathers in before they can fly back home.”

  “Really?” Drifter seriously asked.”  I never realized that was the reason for doing that.  I would just go when we are told it is time to go.”

  Ack looked at Drifter again and, as they reentered the water, he decided that this goose is not an independent goose after all, he is a follower.

  “Ack,” Drifter continued their conversation.  “If you become the Leader, won’t you miss being part of the Wist?”

  Ack paddling beside Drifter answered the question not only to Drifter but to himself, “I had not thought about that.”

  High walked beside Jake as she searched the bushes for sources of food.  Jake was just waddling beside her with his head held as high as he could get it in order to better see all around them.

  “What are you doing?” High asked the dark brown goose with ash white splayed on his wings.

  “I am looking out for danger.”

  “Danger!  Do you think we are in danger?”

  “Not really,”  Jake admitted as he lowered his head and looked at the goose beside him with the gleaming white tail.  “I am not good at finding food.”

  “I would have thought you would be good at that,” High answered, turning to face him.  “What do you like to eat then?”

  “Bugs.”

  “Eww,” High shook her head as she said it.  “Yuck.”

  “Well, what do you eat?” Jake looked straight into her eyes.

  “I like grass,” High answered.

  “Grass!  How easy to find.  What’s the challenge?”  Jake teased.

  “Oh, and you don’t eat grass,” she teased back. 

  “Of course, I do!  Grass is all over the home waters.  It is so easy to eat, too.”

  The two geese laughed with each other that slowly returning to an awkward silence.

  “I do like a treat now and then,” High finally broke the silence.

  “What do you like for a treat?” Jake asked stepping closer to High.

  “Berries,” High whispered to him.

  Jake looked into her eyes so deeply he noticed the tiny dots of black in the deep brown.  High did not step back as she looked back him.  Instead, she stepped closer to him and whispered back, “Those berries.”  She laughed and waddled past him to a small, silver gray, thorny, thick shrub filled with small, bright red berries hanging on red vines.

  Jake turned and followed her.  He looked at the odd-looking bush with the tempting red berries.  “What do they taste like?”

  “A little bitter but I love them,”  High stepped to the bush and bent to pluck one from it into her mouth.

  “Wait!” Jake shouted causing High to look back at him.

  “What?” she turned to directly see him.

  “How do you know they are safe?”

  “They are safe, Jake.  I know these berries,” High said as she turned, plucked one, and bit down enjoying its bitter juice.

  Ki and Liza are swimming side by side on their assigned side of the pond, in and out of tall stalks of grass and reeds.  Every now and then they pulled and snapped a piece of grass to sample.  Ki flipped forward, headfirst into the water at the base of a mass of the green shoots of grass.  He reappeared with a small fish in his mouth and gulped it down.

  “So there is fish down there, grass all around, and some bugs buzzing around.  I think there is enough for a flock to eat at this place,”  Liza summarized watching Ki finish swallowing the fish.

  “Yeah, I agree.  Let’s head back and see what the rest think,”  Ki nodded and turned to return to the woods.  Liza moved beside him and they were quiet for a few strides, listening to the water trickling from the spring.

  “What do you think, Ki?”

  “About?”

  “About this!  About these geese!  One of them, one of us, will be the next Leader!  Look at us.  Drifter is, is, is…a loner.  Jake is a follower.  Sorry, I know he is your friend. High is flighty.  Ack is a know-it-all and Mattias is impulsive.  You are too nice, and -”  Liza ranted on.  “And I, and I…am confused!”

  Ki listened and kept swimming toward the woods up ahead of them.  Drifter and Ack were just now exiting the water to start back to the clearing.  Ack held a few stalks of grass in his beak.  Ki knows Liza is expecting an answer from him.  He agreed that this group of candidates is varied but there must reasons they were chosen for this opportunity.  Deke had his reasons for choosing these particular geese, but Ki chose not to guess or think about it.  He simply wanted to do his best.

  “Liza, you think too much,” Ki said as he paused in the water to face her. “I think that this challenge, this opportunity to take on this responsibility, is about sharing what we know about life with each other, and about The Flock.  Here is what I have learned:  We all said yes when we were asked to see what all of this is about, and we said yes to accept and take it on.  Only you know why you were chosen and only you know why.  Stop over thinking and just be you.”

  Liza stared at Ki as she listened to what he was saying, and she watched him turn from her and swim toward the beach before the woods.  She followed him as he stepped out of the water onto the rugged ground on the edge as the waves of water lapped up on his feet.  He turned to look at her and waited.  She started paddling and swam toward him.

  As the last two geese entered the clearing, Mattias was sitting on the ground with his black colored head tucked tight against his dark brown chest.  High stood nearby, a few bright red berries and stalks of grass at her feet in front of Mattias.

  “Ah,” Ki observed. “You brought him something to eat.”

  “Are those berries okay to eat?” Drifter asked skeptically.

  “Yes,”  Jake answered as he looked toward High who gently nodded toward him.

  Liza directed a question toward Mattias.  “How do you feel?”

  “Not too well.  I do not think I can fly yet.  I don’t have the strength,” he spoke without moving. 

  A sparrow jumped on the ground between Mattias and the group.  The sparrow displayed a crown of brown feathers that spread from the top of his head back to blend with the feathers that spread down his back to his wings.  He jumped and twitched his deep black eyes from one goose to the next as he began to speak, “Protector and I had already spoke about this and I have already sent word back to The Flock.”

  “Simeone is correct,”  the eagle’s voice boomed above them.  “Mattias cannot go on in the Journey of the Three.  A group of his sparrows will stay with him until a representative from The Flock arrives here.”

  “Why not you?” Drifter asked him.

  “Why not me what?” he stared down at them still clutching the branch he had first landed on. “Oh, stay and watch over Mattias?  Thought of that and we, the sparrow and I, decided that I should continue watching over the rest of you.”

  The geese squirmed a bit at being reminded that they were actually on a quest.

  Just then a bright red cardinal settled on a branch opposite the eagle and the sparrow jumping on the ground.  No one saw him as he remained silent watching them.  At the same time, High spoke up, “I will stay with him.”

  A clamoring of sound exploded from the geese as they barraged High with questions and general squawking.  It was Simeone whose voice rose above them, “Be quiet! Please let her speak!” They settled and the only goose pacing was Drifter as the others simply stood and waited on High.

  “I am not Leader material.  I do not have the will power or knowledge to make decisions for an entire group of birds.  I am staying with Mattias and will return to The Flock with him.”

  At that exact moment, the cardinal decided to speak, “Excuse me.  I hate to break the mood,” he began.  The startled geese turned, and the eagle spread his giant expanse of his wings toward the bright red bird calmly sitting on the opposing branch.  “I am Lou and Deke asked me to tell you about your next test of the Journey of Three.”

  Five geese stepped toward him as one and he continued to speak, “The second task is to find a place large enough for The Flock to sleep and be safe before it gets dark tonight.”

  “What’s wrong with this place,” Ack questioned him.

  “Nothing/ Maybe it is the right place,” Lou responded.  “I do not know or care.  I was simply asked to give you the message.  Find a place for the entire flock to sleep and be safe.”  He jumped first to one side to spy them from one eye and then the opposite to gaze at them from the other and spread his wings and left them.

  The geese huddled closer to Mattias on the ground with High at his side.  The eagle folded his wings back to his sides and the sparrow continued to flitter back and forth on the ground before them.

  “I guess we have to be going on to find another place,” Ack spoke to the group.

  “Are you sure you will be all right here, High?  Mattias?” Jake asked the two geese on the floor before the tree from which the eagle rested on.

  Mattias nodded and looked up at High who looked from him to the remaining five geese and said,  ”Good luck.  We will see each other again soon.”

  The five geese re-huddled and it was Ki who spoke next.  “Everyone had enough to eat before we go?”

  No one spoke and they looked at each other fully knowing it was time to go because they had little time before it was dark.

  Liza looked up at Protector and noticed that Simeone was whispering to him.  She decided to ask him a question of her own.  “Do you know which way we should go?”

  “We were just talking about that,” Protector started to answer her. “I, we, think the best direction is to go in the path we began.”

  The geese nodded and looked at each other.

  “Ack, why don’t you lead us as we get going,” Ki suggested.

  Ack nodded, spread his wings, flapped, rose into the air and four geese, a white headed eagle and a tiny speckled brown sparrow followed him.

Chapter XII – The Second Test

  Once free of the treetops, the eagle continued upward to resume his post as the group’s eye in the sky.  Simone trailed off to their right and disappeared out of their sight.  The remaining five geese flew in silence for some time as the Bright Light was beginning its descent behind them.

  “We have to find a place to rest,” Liza reminded them. “Are you even looking for a place, Ack?”

  Ack remained silent as he made one more stroke into the rushing air.  Ki made a sideways glance at Jake as he glided behind Ack. Jake shrugged with a nod of his head.

  “Up ahead,” Ack interrupted the signaling between the two geese.  All eyes looked forward as a body of water appeared before them.  It grew bigger and Ack began to guide them lower toward it.  He soared to the right banking them in an angle closer to the water as they began to see that it was surrounded by trees that begin at its very edge.  They continued to circle around until a beach appeared hidden by tall sprouts of grass.  Ack spun them in a tight circle and alighted in the pond.  Together they glided, pulling in their wings to rest on their sides as they coasted to a gentle drift.

  “This place looks peaceful,” Drifter broke the silence.

  “It seems to be,”  Ki answered as he drifted toward the grass, “I’ll check out the grass for sign of an Enemy.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Jake volunteered.  “We should work in teams anyway.

  “We’ll check out the beach,”  Liza responded and headed toward it and Ack followed her.  Drifter swam a bit farther before turning to join the two that were heading to the beach.

  Jake paddled toward the waiting Ki who waited for his friend as his eyes continued looking into the grass.  When Jake joined him, Ki turned and the two of them entered the grass.  The tall stalks were a mix of green and yellow, some were tall and straight, others were short and bent back to ride the tiny ripples caused by the two paddling birds.  Ki snagged a piece of a stalk in his beak, snapped it, and began to chew.  He shrugged and nodded, turning to Jake.  Jake had stopped and was looking at him, almost studying him casting a gaze slowly from the top of his gray head to the end of his black wing tips.

  “Jake,” Ki started quietly almost as a whisper. “What are you doing?”

  “Nothing,” Jake replied as he waded closer to Ki.  “I was just wondering something.”

  “What would that be?”

  “I was just wondering what we are doing here?”  Jake swam past him and turned to be beside him. “And I don’t mean looking for a food source, either.”

  “Then what do you mean?” Ki continued to chew the stalk of grass he still had in his mouth.

  “Why do you think we were asked to be part of this journey, this journey of three?”

  Ki looked at his friend before he answered, “Someone, I would like to think, Deke, thought we had the right qualities to become the next Leader.”

  “Think so?” Jake asked still looking inquisitively at his friend.

  “Sure,” Ki responded as he returned Jake’s gaze. “I think we can eat here.  What do you think?”

  “Whatever you think,”  Jake turned and headed out of the grass.  Ki paused and watch the white collared goose disappear ahead of him before follow as he wondered what that conversation was all about.

  As Jake and Ki exited the water and walked up on the beach, the other three geese were returning from the woods toward them.  Jake sat down and the others joined him.  The light surrounding them was beginning to dim, and the northern sky was beginning to dot with pinpoints of light.

  “Protector is in there finding the best vantage point for him to watch over us tonight,” Ack explained.

  “And he is getting something to eat,” Drifter added. “You know he eats meat; mice, snakes and such.”

  Liza spoke ignoring Drifter, “It looks likes plenty of safe places to sleep.  There are plenty of bushes and shrubs in there.  What did you two find out?”

  “The grass is okay, nothing special,” Ki reported.

  “There are some berries in there, too.”  Ack added.

  They sat in silence as they all faced the water.  The quiet of the waves sliding back and forth on the beach and the silence of the night air beginning to be overcome by the creaking of crickets.  Insects skimmed across the top of the water and fish broke the surface to snatch them in midair.  Drifter snapped and caught a bug, too and swallowed it in a mere second.

  “I guess the question is – is this a good spot for the entire flock?”  Ki asked the group.

  “I think so.” Liza responded.  Drifter and Ack nodded in agreement.

  “Jake?” Ki asked the goose who was on his immediate right.

  “What do you think, Ki?”  Jake answered the question with a question.

  “I think it is big enough to feed The Flock for the night.  I really don’t like these trees being so close to the water but as a stop for the night, it will work.”

  “Then I agree,” Jake rose to his feet and turned toward to the woods.  “I am tired.”

  They all rose then and, all but one, turned to follow him.  “I want to take a swim and try some more of these bugs!” Drifter declared as he entered the water.

  “Don’t be long,” Ki cautioned as he trudged toward the trees.

  Drifter paddled through the water as the darkness was completely enveloping the pond.  He swam through the grass, mainly snatching at insects as they flitted around him and occasionally pulling a strand of grass into his beak.  The quiet of air around him was interrupted by voices coming from the area of the woods his friends had entered.  He streaked through the water and ran up the beach toward the sound.  He could here Liza arguing with a voice he did not recognize.  When he finally broke into a clearing, he quickly slowed to a walk and whispered to himself, “Whoa…”

  On the far side of the clearing, the geese were shifting back and forth with wings outstretched and their heads stretched as far as they could go and squawking toward the trees that stood in front of them.  In those trees, scattered about on lots and lots of branches were lots of blackbirds with their wings spread as well but not were silent.  Well, all but one, a blackbird with red patches on its shoulders, was on the closest branch to the geese.  It was his voice that had caught Drifter recognized as the one that had caught his attention and he was speaking now.

  “This is our place.  This is where we stay – The Black Shadow Flock.”

  “Black Shadow Flock?  You have a name?” Drifter almost aloud as he joined his fellow geese.

  The red-winged blackbird turned his attention toward Drifter ignoring the bleating of the others below him.  He looked at the blue wing tipped white goose that approached him.  He then returned to gaze at the other geese below him and shook his head and turned to his flock and said, “I am tired of this; attack!”

  As though they were one huge wall of blackness, the blackbirds rose from their roosts and with one voice erupted into a shrill cry that caused each of the geese to step back.  They dove down in waves, not touching the birds on the ground but skimming just above them and retreating back into the air.  When one team of darkness rose up, another was coming down, over and over forcing the geese to separate and scatter for cover.  Jake hurried to Ki and spread his wings to protect him from the onslaught of blackbirds that rained down around them.  Ack scurried and hid beneath a bush and spied from beneath it.  The onslaught surprised Drifter and he fell backward sliding down a small dip in the ground disappearing from sight.  Liza choose a different reaction to the attack as she decided to fight back.  As the blackbirds swarmed toward her, she beat at them with her wings and snapping at them with her beak.  She managed to knock a few to the ground where she attempted to stomp them before they flew up and away from her.

  “We need to stay together!“ Ki yelled from behind Jake. “Head to the bush where Ack is!”

  Liza wasn’t listening as she was in defense mode, flapping and snapping as the blackbirds began to hit with their beaks as they dove over and over at her.

  “Liza!  Come here!  Hurry!” Ki yelled as he and Jake hurried toward to the bush that hid Ack.

  A loud war cry rose above them all as a streak of brown entered the clearing from the direction of the pond, talons outstretched before it.  The eagle rose above them and flapped its wings twice causing an updraft and the shadow of blackbirds dispersed, leaving only one that was clutched within the claw of the eagle.

  “So,”  Protector spoke as he casually flapped his wings to hover in the middle of the clearing.  “What did I miss?”

  The four geese returned to a spot below the eagle whose eyes looked from them to the red wing bird he held fast in his claw.

  “Anyone?” he continued. “Remember, Red, I can catch you and I will eat you.”

  The blackbird nodded with eyes wide with fear.

  “I am going to let you go and you go stand by my friends,” Protector released him, and he flew to the ground.

  The large bird settled on the same branch the red-wing blackbird had issued his attack order.

  “Well,” the large bird continued.

  “It was a misunderstanding,” Ki started to explain.

  “Yes,” the blackbird hurriedly agreed.

  “No!” Liza interjected.  “They attacked us.  They – no, he – refused to even listen to us.  They just attacked.”

  “Not exactly,” Ki tried again. “It was a misunderstanding.  We had just decided to stay the night and thought that it might be a good stop-over for The Flock.  We came in here, to this clearing and in the trees were all of these blackbirds.”

  “This is our home,” the blackbird looked at the ground.

  “I see,”  Protector spoke.

  Ki turned to the smaller bird and said, “I am Ki and you are?

  “Red,” came the response as the bird gave a side glance at the eagle in the tree.  “I am the Leader of the Black Shadow Flock.”

  “I see,”  Ki continued.  “I am sorry for intruding on your home.  With your permission, we will stay the night and leave at First Light.”

  “Permission!” Liza screamed.

  “Knock it off,” Ack quietly told her.

  “Sounds great,” Red returned his gaze from Liza to Ki and finally to Protector who simply nodded.  The blackbird with the red patch on his shoulders took that as his cue and flew away.

  “Cowards!” Liza continued to rant.  Ack walked past her toward Ki.  Protector shook his head and tucked his wings to his sides.

  “Thanks,” Ki looked up to the eagle who nodded in response.

  “Aren’t you going to say something?” Liza yelled at them.  “They attacked me!’

  “Well, you kind of attacked them, too.” Jake observed.  “Hey, where is Drifter?”

  It was at that moment they realized that Drifter was not among them.

  “He was over there,”  Ack spoke as he waddled toward the spot he remembered Drifter last stood.  The others followed him and, once again, Liza being the last.  They stopped at the edge of the woods at a small dip in the ground and lying at the bottom was Drifter, sprawled out with one wing spread out but twisted awkwardly upward.  He was staring at it, flicking it now and then making it flutter slightly.  He noticed them and smiled and said, “I hurt myself.”

Chapter  XIII – Going on Again

The four geese stared down at Drifter until Jake carefully stepped down the hill waddling down to see if he could somehow help him.  Still, when he stood over him, no words were spoken by anyone.

  “Are you okay?” Jake softly asked staring down at the bird splayed on his back.

  Drifter looked at him for just a second before he erupted into laughter.

  Liza then pushed through Ki and Ack and scurried down to join Jake saying, “Of course he is hurt!  Can you get up?”

  Drifter looked up at her before he answered, “I haven’t tried.  My wing hurts so I was just laying here listening to everything going on.  The eagle must have been something else.”

  “What?” Liza leaned down to look directly into his eyes. 

  Jake stepped closer to her and nudged her side and whispered to her, “Back off…”

  Liza rose her head until it reached its outstretched maximum height and glared at the dark colored goose beside her.  Jake did not move a feather as he simply turned his head to face her and glared back at her.  The two of them stood this way for what seemed like forever as if everything around them just stopped and nothing but them existed.

  While they stared at each other, Ki hurried down with Ack following closely behind.

  “Jake,” Ki softly spoke to his friend. “It is okay. Do not let it get to you.  Ignore this.  Everyone is just stressed out from the blackbirds. It isn’t worth it.  Come on, Buddy, calm down.”

  Jake slowly turned his head to look at Ki.  The two of them exchanged a knowing glance between them and Jake nodded.  He looked down at Drifter as Liza lowered her head and stepped back from the other geese.  Drifter tried to roll on the side opposite his injured wing.  Ack and Ki edged themselves behind him and placed their foreheads on his back and pushed until he was on his stomach.  Drifter then pulled his good wing from beneath his body, pulled his feet beneath his body while pushing his forehead into the ground.  He slowly rose and balanced himself upright.  He stood, carefully tucking his injured wing into his side, and turned to face them and smiled at them.

  “Thanks,” he looked at all of them including Liza. “I appreciate the help.”

  “How do you feel?”  Ki asked as he intently examined the goose with the bright white chest.”

  “Sore.  The wing hurts but I don’t think it is broken just twisted,” Drifter responded.

  “Can you go up this hill?  It would be better if we get into the clearing for the night.  We can eat and rest better up there,” Ack added to the conversation.

  “Now you’re talking.  All this extra activity has made me hungry!”  Drifter stepped forward and strode up the slope that he had flipped down earlier.  The others looked at each other, shrugged and followed him.  They formed a crooked line up the hill with Liza not quite following but apart.  Jake was the final goose in the parade, and he was studying Liza more closely.  When they reached the top of the short incline, they spread out and headed for the far side of the clearing.  The large eagle was clutching the same branch he had landed on at the end of the incident.  Additionally, a small brown bird had joined him and was sitting on a branch above the large white-headed brown bird.

  Drifter trudged to a bush that was loaded with berries and hastily began to pluck them into his mouth.  The other four settled beneath the eagle.

  “He is a bit sore and he hurt a wing,” Ki spoke not looking up.

  “Hmmm,” Protector acknowledged the report.  “Can he fly?”

  “We don’t know,” Liza answered this time.

  “And if he can’t?” the eagle continued.

  The answer was silence.  Liza rose to her feet and began to pace back and forth around them.  Ack watched her pace while Ki ignored her.

  “I think we rest here tonight and decide what to do in the morning,” Ack offered.

  Ki nodded in agreement.  Jake remained silent but he watched Liza out of the corner of his eye anticipating the possibility of a problem with her.

  “Jake, what do you think?”  Ack asked him.

  Jake raised his head continuing to watch Liza and answered, “Whatever Ki thinks?”

  Liza turned to face Jake and challenged him, “You cannot make up your own mind!  First, you protect a coward and now you cannot even answer a simple question.  You can never be a Leader much less a good Leader!”

  Jake rose to face her immediately stepping in front of Ki.

  The eagle spread his wings and glided down between them and asked, “What is going on?”

  “Stay out of this!”  Liza screamed at the large bird in front of her.  “Drifter tripped down that hill and laid there just waiting out the attack.  He is a coward and this one chooses to defend him.

  “I am defending you!” the eagle stepped closer to her lowering his head and slightly turned it to stare at her with one eye.

  “Okay, okay,” Ki had gotten up and edged between the two birds.  “We all need to rest.  I agree with Ack, we will eat, rest, and make a decision in the morning.”

  Protector turned from Liza and looked at KI closely.  Eventually, he nodded in agreement, flapped his wings, and rose above them disappearing into the night sky.

  The sparrow flitted back and forth on the same branch, not saying a word, and watched at the birds below him. Three geese turned from the one goose and headed toward the one who was eating berries from a bush.  The remaining goose huffed and waddled in the opposite direction. He saw the larger group of birds pick at the berries and begin to settle beneath the bushes.  The lone goose plucked a few berries from the far end of the clearing, occasionally staring at the others.  Finally, the smaller gray goose separated from the larger group and slowly walked toward the larger white goose.  A short distance from the lone white goose, the smaller one simply sat down and started whispering.  He continued watching as the goose rose to its feet and returned to the other three.  The remaining goose slowly stopped pacing back and forth and slowly drudged toward the other geese.  The goose walked in front of the others.  One laughed at her and then groaned as if in pain, another averted his eyes and simply shook his head,  The goose who talked to the loner said something and the last goose sat down, slightly separated from the others and tucked its head beneath a wing.  The goose sitting to the left of the speaker rose and walked to the right and sat down between the loner and the gray goose.  The loner goose raised its head from beneath its wing and looked at the goose that just sat down.  That goose simply raised its head a little higher in response.  The lone goose nodded and re-tucked its head beneath its wing.  The sparrow stopped flitting back and forth and whispered to himself, “What am I going to tell Deke?”

Chapter XIV – The Third Test

A chattering of birds awakened Ki and he unfurled his head from beneath his wing.  He scanned the clearing.  Dew had settled across the grass and glistened in the early morning light.  The white trunks of nearby trees seemed to stretch up to the Bright Light as Ki’s eyes slowly followed them upward.  Jake stirred beside him.  Ki turned to look at his best friend and shook his head.  He was fairly sure Jake was not afraid of anyone or anything.  On the other side of Jake, Liza was still asleep.  Ki shook his head as he thought of her stubbornness and wondered how she came to be that way.  Ki looked back to his left and looked at Drifter, thought about his situation and, more importantly, what does he think of it.  At that moment, Ack arose from the far end and headed to a nearby branch and plucked a berry.  Ki rose and waddled toward him causing Jake to raise his head.  Liza also looked up, watched the two geese then stretched her wings.

  “Good morning,” Jake said to her.

  “Hi,” she simply replied.

  “Listen,” Jake stammered. “I have been thinking about last night…”

  “Me, too,” she cut him off in mid-sentence. “I am sorry, too.  I think I am going for a swim and a stalk or two of grass.”

  “I should come with you because we shouldn’t go anywhere alone,” Jake said as he stood up.

  “You’re right.  Let’s go.”

  Ki had turned in their direction, ready to mediate and then noticed that two geese had walked off together in peace.  He then continued to join Ack.  Ack turned and nodded at him.

  “Good morning,” Ki said as he stretched to pluck a berry from a bush.  “These are kind of tart, don’t you think?”

  “At least they don’t make us sick,” Ack stated.  “So what do you think?”

  “About what?” Ki plucked another of the tart morsels from the bush before him.

  “About these tests and the things that are happening to us?” Ack turned to look straight on at Ki. “Why us?”

  Ki faced the goose next to him and studied the large, brown body, black head, white cheeked bird staring back at him.  “Why were you chosen, do you think?”

  “Simple.  The Wist wanted a Wist member represented and I am the youngest member of that group.”

  “You don’t think you should be The Leader?”

  “What about you?” Ack avoided answering the question.

  “Honestly,” Ki smiled at him.  “I never even thought about it until now.”

  “And?”

  “Why not?” Ki laughed aloud which caused Ack to join him and as the two geese were laughing, Drifter snuck up on them.  The two laughing birds jumped which caused Drifter to erupt into laughter, too.  Unnoticed, Jake and Liza rejoined them, looked at each other and shook their heads.

  “So,” Jake interrupted. “What’s so funny?”

  “I don’t know,” Drifter answered, his laughter slowing to a giggle. “Ask them?”

  “Oh,” Ki looked at Ack before adding, “Nothing much.”

  “Ok,” Liza sat down.  “What do we do next?  Anyone have a guess?”

  “Not me,” Drifter sat down, too.

  “Maybe Protector knows something,” Jake offered.

  “Nope,” a voice came down from above them.  “Not a clue.”

  A slight breeze shuffled through the trees.  The Bright Light was lightening the clearing as the day became longer.  The five geese are sitting in a semi-circle facing the clearing with the large white-headed eagle clutching a branch above them.  Drifter drifted in and out of naps, Ki and Jake chatted quietly among themselves and the two on the ends were quietly sitting as they waited and waited.  Around them, other birds chirped and tweeted and fluttered overhead and through the clearing.  Protector watched a butterfly flicker up and down and around him and then leave him as it rose toward the top of the trees.  From the water side of the clearing, Simeone flew toward them leading another similar in size but bright blue and red chest.  They flew to a smaller branch next to Protector.

  “A thousand pardons,”  the bluebird blathered.  “I didn’t know where you were and fortunately, I flew into the King of Sparrows.”

  “Literally,” the sparrow added.  “He ran into me.  Get on with it.  The day is getting done and they have to be getting on.”

  “Quite right,” the bluebird continued.  “This is the Third Test of the Journey of Three.  You are to fly home.”

  “That’s it?” Liza exclaimed.  “We waited for that?”

  “Wait for it,” Ki cautioned as he stared at the small bird. “And?”

  “On your own.” The bird flitted back and forth on the branch.

  “Really?” Ack asked.  “Do we even know where we are?”

  “That seems to be the test; to find your own way home,” the bluebird paused.

  “Fine,”  Liza rose to her feet, stretched her wings, and flew into the sky.  The remaining birds watched her disappear and looked at each other astonished at what they just saw happen.

  “What am I supposed to do?” Protector asked of the sparrow.

  “That I do know,” the answer began. “Deke wants to see you, too.”

  “Who watches over them?” the eagle asked.

  The bluebird answered this question, “They are on their own.”

  The eagle shook his head and looked at the geese on the ground below him observing each of them closely before he spoke to them.  “Good luck and I will see you later.” 

  He turned and followed Liza from the clearing.  The bluebird choose at the same time to leave them, too.  Four sparrows joined Simeone and waited on the geese.

    Drifter sighed and turned to face the other three geese, “I can’t fly yet.  I have got to rest a little longer and I now know that I really don’t want to be Leader.  Way too much responsibility for me.  I am like High; I like being on my own.  You three, go on.”

  “We can wait for you.  Whatever it takes,” Ki said.  “There is safety in numbers.”

  “No,” Drifter argued back.  “I will be fine.”

  “Will you be fine?” Ack added. “It gets pretty dark at night and scary.”

  “I’ll stay with you,” Jake spoke up.

  “What?” Ki looked directly at this best friend.

  “You know I am not cut out to be a Leader, but I am cut out to protect others, Ki.”

  Ki looked at his friend and nodded, “You are cut out for that.  I will see you soon.”

  “Thanks,” Drifter said to Jake and the two birds sat side by side.

  “I will leave one of my Watchers with you two as well,” Simeone added.  “The Bright Light is high in the sky, so you two better get flying.”

  Ki and Ack looked at each other, nodded, spread their wings, and rose into the sky leaving Drifter and Jake behind.  Two small brown birds followed them, and another disappeared in a different direction.  The two circled above the pond when Ki asked Ack, “Which way do you want to go?”

  Ack glanced about and finally answered, “I will go this way.”

  “Okay, my friend, “ Ki nodded.  “I will see you soon.”

  Ack nodded and the two birds separated in opposite directions.

  Liza was overjoyed to be away from the geese she left behind.  As she hurried away, she remembered what High had instructed them, she rose higher hoping to catch the swift air that would push her faster.  Finally, reaching it, she began to reflect on what it would mean to become the Leader.  She felt that this was her destiny.  It was meant to be as she had always known what was best for others.  She recalled the countless times she wondered why Deke did what he did.  And what about the Wist?  Who are they to make decisions for the entire flock?  She did not need any help to make decisions for herself.  It should be me, she thought.  It should be me but what if it isn’t, she thought.  She spied some familiar landmarks below her.  “Do I really think I can be a better Leader than Deke?”

  Ack circled to his right to place the Bright Light at his back and follow in the direction Ki had taken.  He knew it was the way back home.  He spread his wings out wide and coasted.  His wingtips fluttered through the wind that he flew into at a leisurely pace.  His thoughts returned to his questions he had asked Ki earlier.  Why was he chosen for the Journey of Three?  Was it really just to have a Wist representative or did they really think he could be the next Leader?  He certainly knows how it all works together, the Leader and the Wist together work out what is best for all of The Flock.  He certainly admired Deke for dedicating his life to make it happen and to the partnership he has with Daniel.  He would want that, too.  He did understand the important role of the Wist.  Because of this knowledge, he certainly felt that he could be the next Leader.  He flapped his wings again and coasted toward home.

    Ki wondered why Ack choose to go in the opposite direction of home when he knew it to be the way home.  He chuckled as he stroked higher into the air.  He thought about the three tests: food, lodging, and knowing the way home.  What else does a goose need to know?  Ki froze on that question, what else does a goose need to know?  He stroked again and glided. 

  “A goose needs to know where to find food, know where to sleep, how to get home and..and…” Ki said aloud to no one.  The sky ahead of him was clear but in his mind, it was just beginning to become clearer.  He began to put together what they were really participating in.  Deke is a very clever bird and Ki began to see that even more clearly.  Why did Deke choose the seven of us?

  “Ok, really six because Ack was added by the Wist,” Ki again spoke out loud and continued to do so.  “Let me look at each of us more closely.  I will begin with Jake.  Why Jake?  He is loyal to a fault and Liza is an independent and strong-willed, High knows more air patterns than anyone I have ever known, Drifter is creative and fearless to try new things, Mattias is patient and kind, and Ack knows the history of the Flock because he has helped make decisions for us.  What about me?  Why did he pick me?”

  He looked at the terrain below him.  Tall green pines overshadowed smaller trees below him and disappeared as he flew through a cloud.  As it filtered away, a small pond appeared, and he decided he needed a swim and perhaps something to eat.  He lowered his left wing and glided down toward it.

Chapter XV – Old and New

  As Ki arrives, he circled far above the larger pond that had been chosen as Home.  The contour was large and circular on one end that edged against the hill side with the large plateau of scattered trees and bushes filled with the bright crimson berries that The Flock enjoyed.  The smaller end was long and wide, surrounded by long, sweet stalks of tall green grasses that not only served as food but also offered cover for geese who choose to sleep there.  The woods that outlined the pond, while still a place of danger, was also another source of food and protection.  The cave was unseen from the air, but he knows it is there.  As he scanned the tree lines, it became obvious that there were other birds there, too.  He definitely noticed more sparrows than he had ever noticed before.  There were also cardinals, blue jays and tiny bluebirds darting in and out of the trees, too.  He began to appreciate this sky view was of seeing things that Protector must see all of the time.

  As Ki circled above, Ack coasted to a landing on the water and glided toward the opening of The Meeting Place.  Marcus and Gabriel are at their stations on either side of the entrance.

  “Welcome back,” Marcus spoke first.

  “Thanks,”  Ack floated toward them.  “Am I the first one back?”

  “No,” Gabriel replied.  “Liza is back and so is Mattias and High.”

  A quiet splash sounded behind them and Ack turned to look behind his to see Ki drift toward them.

  “Welcome back,” Marcus repeated.  “We were just catching up on who is back.”

  “Liza,” Ack spoke as Ki swam to be beside him. “And Mattias and High, too.”

  “Really?  That is good news.  Is Mattias feeling better?” Ki asked the two sentries.

  “Better, yes, but not completely.  He will be his old self soon,” Gabriel informed them.           “Simeone says Drifter is flying now but not for the long flight back here yet.  He and Jake seem to be getting along fine.”

  “Jake grows on you,” Ki smiled to himself.

  “So what’s next?” Ack asked the obvious question.

  “Well,” Marcus began. “You are to join Liza on the flat ground above The Meeting Place and wait to be called.”

  “Of course,”  Ki said and looked at Ack who returned a glance.  Together, they turned from the two white guards and swam toward the beach nearest them.  The two geese waddled up the hill following a familiar path that meandered to the top.  As the ground flattened making it easier for them to walk, they spied a black tipped goose sitting beneath the shade of a tree with her head tucked in under her wing.  Liza is fast asleep.

  Ack and Ki approached her as quietly as possible and quietly seated themselves beside her.  They looked at each other, shrugged and Ack lowered his head beneath one of his wings.  Ki simply lowered his head to his chest, closed his eyes and fell asleep.

  “Excuse me.”  It was Marcus who woke them as the three geese shifted to look at him. “Deke and the Wist will see you now.”

  Gabriel stood nearby waiting for them to stand, stretch their wings and waddle toward him, Liza first, then Ack and Ki.   Marcus fell in behind the three as Gabriel led them down the hill toward the water.  A few curious geese waited nearby as they entered the water and started toward the Meeting Place entrance.  Gabriel stopped there, turned and took up a position to the left of the doorway.  He nodded to them to continue inside as Marcus took his position on the right.  Liza slowly led them into the depths of darkness.

  Once inside, as their eyes adjusted to the gray light, they began to see the Wist on their left, lined up, slowly rising and falling with each ripple of water beneath them.  Behind them they also noticed a twisted mass of what looked like tree branched on which a small shadow jumped and flitted among a low one while a larger mass of a darkness rose above it, wide at its top tapered toward the branch it rested on.  They knew the shadows are Simeone and Protector.

  “They are holding onto the roots of the trees that are above us,”  Ack informed his partners.

  “That’s right, Ack,”  Daniel startled them as he slowly approached them from their right.  “The roots are reaching for the water that we are swimming in.”

  The three candidates stopped in a line, shoulder to shoulder, Liza was nearest the Wist, then Ack and Ki.  Out of the darkness directly in front of them, Deke slowly treaded toward them.

  “So…”  he began. “You want to be the Leader of The Flock, huh?”

  The three looked at each other, first, confused, then knowingly and they refocused on Deke.  “You are kidding,” Ack asked for them.

  “No,” Deke treaded water in front of them.  “I am not.  You want to be the Leader.”

  Movement behind Daniel on their right, redirected their attention and they saw Mattias, High, Jake and Drifter line up to watch the proceeding.

  “Jake!” Ki cried out.  “You are okay!”

  “Yes, we are, “Jake calmly responded to his best friend. “We are all okay.”  The others nodded their head in agreement.

  “Yes, everyone is okay, and everyone is here,”  Deke continued. “Simeone, Protector, the Wist, and finally, you three are here with us.”  He slowly began to swim first to Liza.  “We have talked to everyone for their input.  Everyone except each of you.  Liza, we will start with you.  Why should you be the next Leader of the Flock?”

  Liza raised her head high and swam slightly forward and turned toward her companions.  “I am the most decisive.  I know what I want, and I know what is best for everyone.  These guys are too hesitant, too fearful to make quick decisions.”

  “I see,” Deke responded.  “Sometimes quick isn’t right.  Some decisions take time especially those that affect so many geese.”

  “No,” Liza turned toward him.  “I know that an immediate decision is best because it keeps me out of danger.”

  “Keeps you?”  Daniel quietly interrupted.  “Keeps you?  Didn’t you mean us?”

  “Daniel,” Deke gently addressed him and redirected his attention toward Liza.  “But he is right, didn’t you mean us?”

  “Because I know what is best for everybody!”

  The dark shadow in the corner spread his wings to its fullest distance and refolded them back into its sides. Liza jumped at the movement.  Deke remained calm and continued to assess her with his fading eyesight.  He then nodded at her and slowly turned away in a small circle to return to where he started, directly in front of them.

  “Liza,”  he raised his head toward her.  “You are not ready to be the Leader.  You have a few more things to learn and maybe someday you will be the Leader I think you can be.”

  “You are wrong!”  Liza screamed at him swimming toward him.  “You are so wrong!  You will see what happens when you pick one of these weaklings!”

  Deke remained unmoved by this and his expression seemed to sadden as he looked at her.   Liza paused in her angry lecture and looked back at him. 

  “You will see,” she quietly repeated glaring at him, turned and stormed out of The Meeting Place.

  Deke waited as the waters settled from Liza’s sudden exit from the cave.  All the geese bobbed up and down slowing as each wave became longer and quiet.  Deke moved toward Ack and paused in front of him.  “Well, that was interesting,” he said.  “I hope you aren’t quite so dramatic.  So, Ack, why should you be the Leader?”

  Ack responded with a nod before he spoke,  “I don’t know that I should be the Leader.”

  “Why not?”  Deke asked him, swimming just a bit closer to him.  “The Wist chose you because they felt that you would be the best Leader.”

  Ack chuckled and turned toward the Wist.  “I am honored, and I appreciate your confidence in me.”  He bowed low to the water to them, slowly rose his head and turned to Daniel.  “Thank you, Daniel.” Daniel nodded back to him.

  Ack continued to explain, “I know a lot about a variety of important tasks that are required to direct the Flock.  Maybe that is all it takes but I have a feeling that it is not.  I am more, shall I say, hesitant, than Liza for sure, in making personal decisions.  I cannot imagine what it takes to make decisions for the Flock.  And I know the Leader relies on help but ultimately makes that decision.  I just do not know if I can make that final decision.  It must be hard to do.”

  “Sometimes it is,” Deke spoke directly.  “I see that you realize that, and you seem to know to get help from others.  Maybe you are the one.”

  Deke finally left Ack to swim toward Ki and stopped before him.  “And why should you be the Leader?”

  “Actually, Deke,” Ki began.  “I was thinking about that on the way back home.  I have decided that I understood the reason for the three tests; food and lodging for all and knowing the way home because they are important for our basic needs as a Flock but those were only the means to see us in the “real” test. Do we know what it means to be a Leader?  Each of us, Deke, have those traits and some of us are better at some of them than others. Those traits are knowing our history, being creative and fearless, knowledge of flight patterns and airstreams, being loyal, independent, strong-willed, patient, kind, and knowing yourself.”  Ki swam closer to Deke.  “I am not the best at any of those things, but I know me, and I can learn from those that are better at them.”

  Deke nodded and swam toward Daniel.  He stopped in front of him and said,  “An interesting duo that will lead us to an interesting decision, old friend.”

  Deke swam toward his old friend, paused in front of him.  He turned toward the two finalists and spoke, “Marcus!  Gabriel!” 

  The two sentries came into The Meeting Place and the Leader continued. “Hello guys.  Will you please let The Flock know that I have an announcement to make tomorrow morning at First Light?  Thank you.”  He paused and waited for the two geese to leave them alone.  He then directed his next comment to Ack and Ki, “Guess what?”

  Ack and Ki looked at each other and returned their gaze back to Deke and waited on him to say, “You will find out tomorrow at First Light, too.  Meet us on the hill above The Meeting Place and we will let everybody know at the same time. You honor me with your participation and honesty.  I look forward to following where either of you may lead us.  Thanks!” 

  Deke looked at Daniel, swam past Ack and Ki back into the dark corner of the cave and the two of them left.  Once outside, they swam a short distance together and paused, turned to face each other, and treaded in the water.  Shortly thereafter, Jake, High, Mattias, and Drifter joined them.  The six geese slowly formed a circle and silently floated in the water.  A small, white goose with black wingtips, a rounded head with a short neck approached the group and edged her way into the circle.  She looked at each of them and nodded.  Seven geese gently rose and fell with each ripple of water beneath them.

  Still dark but the quiet sounds of the small birds awakening, indicated the rising of the Bright Light was eminent.  Jake walked with Ki on the path that leads to the top of the hill.  They walked silently, side by side, as was their natural habit.  This path was well worn as it was used a lot and it had become the easiest way to get to the plateau where berries grew and a splattering of shade trees grow to doze beneath.  As they arrived at the peak of the path, they noticed that Deke and Daniel were already there.  Their sentries, Marcus and Gabriel stood to their left watching the two of them as they, too, sat side by side.  They were facing the direction that overlooked the water they called home and where the Bright Light would appear.  Ki led Jake to a place just behind them and together they sat down to wait. 

  All around them, it became obvious to them that sounds became clearer.  Crickets rubbed their legs together, the small birds chattering, the silent splashes rising from below them, and the trees swishing in the small breaths of air that passed through them. They turned in surprise as the Wist flew overhead and landed on the left of Deke and Daniel.  In the graying light of the sky. A darker shadow lowered in ever closing circles until Protector came into view and swooped before them to a nearby tree.  Deke shook his head and his soft chuckle joined the pleasant sounds of the early morning.

  Another column of geese arose from the path and the remaining candidates waddled to join Jake and Ki.  Another fluttering of small birds sound from behind them and while the majority flew to the trees, one landed on the ground before Deke.

  “We are ready to spread the word,” Simeone reported.

  “Thank you, my friend,”  Deke responded.

  The sparrow stopped flitting around and paused in front of the goose and bowed before him.  “It has been an honor, Deke.”

  “To you, too,” Deke bowed to him.  “As soon as the Bright Light appears, we will all know.”

  The small brown bird flew to the trees to join his flock and Deke returned his gaze before him.  The splashing of water below them became slightly louder as the sky lightened to a brighter gray.  A dark, charcoal gray cloud hugged the horizon revealing a light pink beneath it.  It was becoming clearer the water beneath the hill was filled with its on colors of white, brown and gray dipping with the waves beneath them.

  “Will the Seven, please join us here,” Daniel turned toward them.  They slowly made their way to join the two geese.  As they began to line up, Deke instructed, “Ki and Ack, you join me.  Ack, you step to my left and Ki, you on the other side.  I love this time of day.  The air is cool and the sky…take a look.”

  At that moment, the Bright Light had edged on the horizon spreading a trim of yellow and silently began to expand causing the slight pink to turn to a rose.  Deke then smiled and looked at Daniel who rose and announced, “Attention, members of The Flock, our Leader has an announcement!”

  The sound that projected from this overlook of the crowd below was clear and all geese drew their attention upward.  Deke stepped forward to the edge and the sky brightened at that moment as the Bright Light emerged above the horizon.

  “Good morning!  I have never held anything back and I won’t now.  I will be direct.  My eyesight is failing, and I feel, no, I know, I will be blind soon.  Knowing this, the members of the Wist and I made the decision to develop a process to replace me.”  He paused to allow for the gasps and the rumbling that rose from the water to settle before he continued.  “We chose these seven geese to a complete a series of three tests we called the Journey of Three.  These tests were to see which of them would be the best Leader for you.  I asked several of my friends to help, particularly an eagle to protect them and a sparrow to watch and tell us what was occurring during these tests.  I thank them again for their service.”  He glanced slightly toward the nearby trees. “We interviewed the candidates yesterday and we have decided who the next Leader will be but let me assure you, that I will train the New one in all that I know until I can no longer see.  Now, it came down to these two geese beside me, Ack,”  he turned toward him and then to turned to back to his other side, “and Ki.” 

  Deke stepped back to allow the two candidates to be front and center and as he stood behind them, he begins his pronouncement, “Members of The Flock, your new Leader is…”

The End

Epilogue

  The Flock continued in their normal ways under their New Leader.  Mattias and High became closer friends and Drifter began to teach the younger geese how to be “more free” according to him.  In other words, he and his students were having fun.  Jake became a sentry because the Wist decided that was he was best suited in that role.  Deke spent a great deal of time coaching and instructing the New Leader in what he knew and what he had learned leading The Flock during his time as The Leader.  He swam, he flew, he talked, he guided his replacement and when the north wind began to blow colder air over their home, it was time for The Flock to fly to warmer waters.  Deke decided to stay behind, very much against the protests of the Wist, and particularly from Daniel.  However, when they left, he was not alone. Marcus and Gabriel were with him and, surprisingly, Liza.  She wanted to learn from Deke on how to become a better goose.

  When it was time for The Flock to return, the first V-form landed on the Home waters.  The Leader was immediately greeted at The Meeting Place, by Liza with Marcus and Gabriel posted at the entrance.  She informed him that one morning when they woke up, they had discovered that Deke was not with them.  After a thorough search of the half frozen pond and the snow covered plateau above it, that it had become clear that Deke was gone.  He had left The Flock on his own.

• Gregory Jenkins – May 5 – June 11. 2020