Deke was fast asleep, hidden by tall grass, floating in the water.  He had his head tucked into his chest and was completely hidden at water view but not from above.  Protector saw him perfectly.  He decided to return to the group and report that he found the former leader of the Flock.  After a brief discussion, he led them to where Deke was and circled high above him. The others landed in the water nearby with the sparrow settling on a branch of a tree.

  The geese huddled in a tight circle and Ack asked, “How should we approach him?”

  “We were sent to do this together, I think we should all go,” Mattias spoke first.

  “I don’t think all of us bearing down on him will convince him to go home with us,” Daniel said and shook his head.

  “I’ll go,” Liza said.

  “Why you?” Drifter asked her.

  “I spent some time with him, and I have come to know him a little bit,” she answered him quietly.

  “But Daniel has known him the longest,” Ack offered as a possibility.

  “No,” Jake spoke up.  “I think Liza should go.”

  “Me, too,” Daniel agreed with him.

  “But why her?” Mattias asked.

  “Just a feeling,” Jake said, and Daniel shook his head in agreement.

  Liza swam forward into the tall grass and immediately found herself in a maze.  At first, she had trouble making sense of the path before her and which way to go but eventually the path became clearer.  She realized that all she had to do was float and the stream would carry her through to where it opened to a small pool.  She looked around and her eyes fell on a small brown goose snuggled in a mound of grass against the shore fast asleep.  She looked at him for a moment thinking that they finally found him and how much she wanted him to go home with them.  She wondered how she should approach him and what she should say as she simply let herself float.  Her answer became clear when the goose she was looking at, opened his eyes.

  “Hello,” he said not moving.  “I am glad it is you.  Are you alone?”

  “No,” Liza answered not moving any closer.

  “It figures,” Deke sighed.  “Is Daniel here?”

  “Hmmm,” she answered.

  “Was it his idea to find me?”

  “No,” she answered ad started to swim toward him.  “It was Ki’s.”

  “Ki’s?  Interesting?” he said not moving but watched her some closer to him.  “Who else is with you?”

  “We are on a Quest.  Protector and Simeone…”

  “Of course,” he interrupted

  “Protector, Simeone, Drifter, Jake, Mattias, Daniel,” she finished as she stopped directly in front of him. “And me.”

  He was silent for a moment as he watched her turn around and back in next to him.  She tucked her head into her neck and waited.

  “What is the purpose of your Quest?” he asked.

  “To bring you home with us.”

  “Why so many of you?” he asked her.

  “I don’t know.  Ki and The Wist chose us to convince you to come back home.”

  “Oh,” he chuckled to himself.  “I like Ki.  Did I make the right decision?”

  “I think so, but I am not a good goose to ask,” Liza responded.

  “Why is that?”

  “I didn’t go to the winter home.  I stayed with you, remember?”

  “That was you?” he said as he swam out into the pool and turned to face her.

  “Yes, it was me,” she said as she swam toward him.  “I stayed with you and you left me.”

  “No, no,” Deke shook his head.  “I went away for me.  I didn’t leave you.”

  “No, you left me.  I would have gone with you!” she cried. “I will stay with you if you don’t want to go back.”

  “Why?’ he swam toward her.  “Why would you want to stay with me?  I am an old gray goose and you are…” he stopped and turned away from her.

  “I am what?”  Liza swam to him.  “I am what? A younger goose who happens to be female who wants to be with you.”

  He suddenly turned on her and she stopped.  “Yes!” he said.  “You are younger and deserve someone younger.”

  “No,” she said.  “You deserve me.”

  The two geese floated and stared at each other until he turned from her.

  “Besides, you aren’t an old gray goose,” she called after him.  “You are an old brown goose.”

  He turned back at her, looked into her eyes, and laughed.  Liza swam toward him and they touched the crowns of their heads together where they simply looked at each other.  It was then and there it was decided that she was his and he was hers.

  “What are you going to do?” she finally asked him.

  “What do you want me to do?” Deke returned the question with a question.

  “No, no,” she said as she brought her head back from his. “You have to decide.  I am just going to be with you no matter what you decide.”

  “Well,” he relented.  “Let’s go see the team.”

  She nodded and he turned in the water.  Together, they headed for the tall grass maze to return to the group.

  Daniel, Ack, and Mattias waited together and let themselves drift in the water.  Drifter swam out a little farther and ducked his head beneath the water retrieving tiny fish for lunch.  Protector clutched a branch high in a tree and watched for anything that drew near the geese.  Simeone was perched on a branch beneath the eagle and napped.  A soft sound drew all their attention to the tall grasses where Liza entered, and they saw two geese emerge.  The water birds swam to them and the other two flew to lower branches.  Unfortunately, all but Protector, were talking at once.  Deke raised both of his wings and they all grew silent.

  “As you guys jibber jabbered at me, I heard a few questions that I will answer first and then you can ask me more,” Deke announced.  “First, my eyesight has become stable while not as clear as before, I can definitely see, just not too far away.  Number two, I have been here and there and everywhere, and number three, I haven’t decided to come back with you.”

  The birds looked at him quietly and let themselves float in the water.  Liza swam and stopped beside him, and they looked at the others

  “Deke,” Daniel spoke up and started to swim toward the tall grasses again.  “Can we talk?”

  Deke looked at Liza who shrugged back at him.  He turned toward Danial and said, “Sure.”

  The two geese disappeared from view.

To be continued…

The birds of The Quest were flying swiftly just above the trees.  Daniel was leading the group, flying toward the rising of the Bright Light.

  “Where are we going?”  Mattias screamed at Daniel from his position from the far right of the formation.

  “I told you,” Daniel turned his head toward Mattias as he started to flap harder and edging slightly in front of the rest. 

  He heard Drifter laugh and he smiled.  I hope Deke is there, he thought to himself, otherwise Deke might be lost to them forever.  He decided it might be easier for everyone to fly higher, so he stretched out his wings and spread out his tail feathers to slow down.  He slowly raised his head, flapped his wings again and started to angle into a slow rise.  All of the birds in the formation, except the sparrow, mimicked his movement and they slowly rose in the sky.  The trees moved farther away and began to look like patches of green far below them.  The eagle flew from the rear to the front of the formation, stalled and glided next to goose leading the group.

  “So, what’s up?”  Protector asked as he floated next to the white goose at the head of the formation.  “You do know, this pace is going to zap all of the energy from our bodies, especially from Simeone.”

  “I wasn’t thinking,” Daniel admitted.  “I was thinking but not about us.  I was thinking about Deke.”

  Oh, I get it,” Protector agreed.  “But you haven’t told us anything.  I think we should know a little more like how far away this place might be.”

  “You are right.  Can you find a spot for us to talk down there?” Daniel looked at the eagle.  “Thanks.”

  Protector nodded and flap his huge wings once and moved in front of Daniel.  He looked below and slightly ahead of them trying to spot a small body of water.  He saw a possibility ahead of them and, knowing Drifter would love this, he lowered his left shoulder and dove down.  As he expected, he heard a cry of joy, as they plummeted downward.

  The geese circled Daniel and the other two birds looked down from their positions in nearby trees as Daniel began to speak, “I am sorry for taking off that way, but I am excited.  I was thinking that Deke may have gone to the place hatched and where the Flock was before he brought it to where we call home now.  It is a little farther toward where the Bright Light rises every morning than where we are now.  I am thinking he is thinking that we wouldn’t think that he would go there.”

  “Is that what you think?” Drifter said and laughed.

  “That is a lot of thinking,” Ack laughed with Drifter.

  “It is,” Daniela agreed.  “Let’s eat a little and try again, shall we?”

  Once again, the birds were in flight much higher in the sky as they allowed the wind to push them.  Daniel was again in the lead with Protector flying on his left.  He had told the eagle when he spied their current home to look for a large U-shaped body of water and to let him know.  The Bright Light was high above them when the eagle slightly turned left, and he looked at Daniel.

  “There is The Flock to your right,” Protector called out and the geese turned their heads to look in that direction.  From way up here, all they could see is the long wedge of shimmering blue edge up to a ring of trees that they knew was the plateau that hid the cave.

  “It shouldn’t be too much farther,” Daniel reassured them, and he nodded toward Protector.

  Almost immediately, Protector start a slow descent  and the others followed him.  As Daniel had told them, they could see a clearing among a group of tall trees covered in needles that was a large crescent of water.  The eagle led them in a large le around the area and as they looked at the scene below them, they began to realize how large an area it was.  The body of water was shaped in a large U and it was completely surrounded with trees and from the air, it looked like there wasn’t any beach area to speak of.

  “Why would a flock live her?” Ack asked.

  “There is a great food source here.  Lots of fish,” Daniel explained.

  “Lots of fish,” Protector agreed with Daniel.

  “But from a safety aspect,” Liza observed. “There seems to be little border land anywhere.  Our enemies could hide right up to the side of the water.”

  “There is tall grass around some of the border,” Mattias added.  “But I don’t know if I would go there because they are right by the trees.”

  “Nonetheless,” Daniel said.  “This is where Deke was raised.  Protector do you see him anywhere?”

  “No,” the eagle responded.  “If he is here, he would have seen us by now and is probably hiding.”

  “Okay,”  Daniel said,  “We will settle over there and you continued to go around the edge of the water looking for him.  When you come back, we’ll talk.”

  The eagle separated from the sparrow and the geese and to start his scouting mission.  The geese landed quietly on the water and swam toward the edge of the water into the shade of the surrounding trees.  Simeone found a perch in a tree above them.

  “Interesting place,” Jake said as they gathered together.

  “It is true about food,” Drifter dipped his head beneath the surface of the water and rose up with a fish in his beak.  He swallowed and laughed.

  “It is about the only thing I like about the place,” Daniel remarked.  “The Flock back then was pretty big, too.  Not as big as it is now but big.”

  “Where did they nest?” Liza asked. “It looks like the grasses aren’t very thick to hide a nest.”

  “You are right.  It was done, of course, but we lost a lot of hatchlings to enemies because the grass was right on the edges of the water,”  Daniel explained.  “There was quite a bit of complaining to the Leader, but he liked the food.”

  The birds fell silent after the comment and floated on the water.  A slight breeze filtered through the trees causing the branch Simeone grasped to bob up and down and tiny ripples pushed the geese away from the edge of the water.  A huge shape swooped over them casting a quick shadow over them as the eagle landed on a larger branch above the sparrow.

  “I found him,” Protector announced to the group of birds that surrounded him.

  “Did you talk to him?” Liza asked him.

  “No.”

  “Did he see you?’’ Mattias asked swimming closer to the eagle above him.

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  “Take us to him,” Daniel told him.

  “Okay,” Protector said as he spread his wings and flew into the air.

  Following close behind him, five geese and a sparrow hurried to catch up.

To be continued…

It was an interesting sight if one would be happening to look up into the sky.  Four pairs of birds approached a single point in the airspace above a crescent of trees on the edge of a small body of water.  From the south, an eagle and a white goose descended first followed by a small white goose with black wingtips and a white collared dark brown goose from the east then two white geese arriving from the west and finally, the odd pair, a sparrow and a large white goose that came from the north.  The geese land on the water and swim toward the tree line where the eagle and the sparrow perched on branches.

  “It looks like no one saw Deke,” Daniel spoke first as Drifter started to spin himself in a lazy circle.  Liza looked at him and shook her head.

  “So what’s next?” Simeone asked as he nervously darted from one branch to another.

  “Calm down,” Protector turned to stare at the sparrow who immediately stopped and directed his attention on the eagle.

  “Let’s try to think like Deke,” Liza suggested.

  “What does he think like?” Drifter laughed as he stopped his spinning and swam toward the beach.  He waddled up on the firm ground, turned around and sat beneath the eagle’s tree.

  “Food, safety, water,” Ack replied as he swam to follow Drifter and stepped out of the water.

  “That is what we all want,” Mattias stated as he treaded in the water.

  “True,”  Liza said.  “But how does he think.  Come on guys, what do you know about Deke?  Protector and Simeone you must have known him a long time.  I know it is longer than any of us.”

  This time Simeone responded before Protector, “He never talked about himself or his needs.  It was always thought about others.  Everything was all about you guys, his Flock.”

  “Yes,” Protector nodded.  “He was very smart.  It was like he not only thought like a goose, but an eagle.  When we met, it was like he was seeking me out.”

  “I thought you told me you found him on top of the plateau?” Daniel asked the brown eagle with a white head.

  “I did find him on that plateau, but it still felt like he was seeking me out,” Protector continued.  “It was like he knew I would be there, and he was waiting for me.”

  “So you were there in the very beginning?” Ack asked him.

  “Yes, I guess so,” the eagle answered him.  “So was Simeone.”

  “That’s right,” the sparrow nodded as he spoke.

  “So, you guys were for Safety,” Liza stated.

  Protector shrugged when a breeze blew through the trees and the branches slowly rocked side to side causing the sparrow to flutter up then down to regrip on his perch.

  “Daniel,” Mattias spoke up. “What was your role in all of this?  You were there in the beginning, too.”

  “My role?  I was there simply by chance.  It could have been anybody to challenge for leadership of The Flock,” Daniel started to explain.  “It was a different flock before Deke.  We were just followers of the “strongest” of us all.  We just followed him wherever, and whenever, he wanted to go.  There was a lot of loss from our own to our enemies and, sometimes, there was not a lot of food to eat.”

  “Why?” Mattias interrupted.  “Why would you follow someone like that?”

  “Exactly!” Daniel replied as he swam closer to Mattias.  “That was why I wanted to be the Leader so I waited until that old gray goose died so I could challenge for all that power.”

  He paused and turned to face the others, “I am so glad I did!”

  “But you lost,” Ack said to him.

  “And I won, too!” Daniel swam toward him.  “Deke beat me but then he saved me.  He let me be part of change.  Together, we formed a team, The Wist, to give the Leader the best information to make the best decisions for all of us.  The Flock is not meant to be at the bidding of the Leader, but the Leader should be at the bidding of The Flock.”

  The group was silent for a while.  The eagle stretched his wings casting a broad shadow over the water below him.

  “We ran into Great,” Simeone broke the moment of silence.  Drifter laughed from his place on the ground below the sparrow.

  “You did?” Liza turned toward Ack. “What did he have to say?

  “Not much,” Ack said as he swam closer to Liza.

  “He never does say much,” Protector interrupted.  “All he does is eat and sleep.”  Again, Drifter laughed from below the trees.

  “As I was saying,” Ack continued to explain. “He told us that Deke wouldn’t be in such a small place close to trees because it was dangerous.  Daniel, you got to have a better idea where he might have gone.”

  Daniel shook his head before speaking, “I don’t know.  He shared when he wanted to, and he didn’t share when he didn’t want to.  He was funny that way.”

  “Where did he go when he snuck off?” Simeone asked.

  “Snuck off?” Mattias asked.  “When did he ever sneak off?”

  “All of the time,” Protector answered first. “I, sometimes, would find him floating in the sky way up high.”

  “Sometimes we would find him hiding beneath a berry bush fast asleep,” Simeone added as he flew down to the ground beside Drifter.

  “How did he do that without anyone knowing?” Mattias, again, was the one who asked.

  “We knew,” Daniel replied.  “The Wist knew.  Sometimes, Deke and I, would “disappear” together.”

  “Why?” Ack questioned this time.

  “Sometimes you just got to get away,” Jake answered.  “I get it.  All that pressure.”

  Liza swam toward the bank of the pond, waddled up onto it and sat next to Drifter.  The sparrow returned to his perch in the tree.

  “All this information about Deke is nice to know but is it getting us any closer to finding him?” Liza asked the group of birds surrounding her.  “Where would he go?”

  “I need to get away right now,” Drifter spoke up.  “I am hungry.  May I suggest a snack break?” 

  He got up from where he sat and marched back into the water and swam into the middle of the pond.  At first, the others watched him duck his head beneath the surface of the water and rise with a fish in his mouth but then they followed him.  The eagle rose from his perch to attain a better perspective of the water below him and the sparrow disappeared deeper into the woods.  The geese spread out among the perimeter of the pond and soon found themselves enjoying fish.  Protector splashed into the water, surprising the geese, but rose with a fish in his claws.  He flew to the shore on the far side and dropped his catch on the ground.

  Shortly afterward, the geese had settled on the ground beneath the tree where the eagle and sparrow were perched.  The breeze ruffled their feathers and they were quiet.

  “What is the plan?” Mattias finally broke the silence.

  “What are we missing?” Ack asked.

  “Food, safety, and water,” Liza said as she tucked her head into her chest.  “That’s all we need.”

  “Did he ever have a mate?” Jake asked the entire group but more directly to Daniel.

  “I never saw him with anyone,” Protector said from above them.

  “I agree with Protector,” Simeone agreed.

  “No, he never had one.  I don’t know why he did not as he surely could have had one,” Daniel replied.

  “Maybe he hadn’t found the right one,” Liza quietly said.

  “What does his love life have to do with finding him?” Mattias said in frustration.

  “It’s just another part of him,” Ack tried to explain to Mattias.  “We are just trying to figure out who he is to find out where he might have gone.”

  “It is just wasting time,” Mattias stood ad headed back toward the water.

  “You know where I would go?” Drifter spoke up from his seat. “I would go home.”

  “You are nuts,” Mattias turned around and approached Drifter.  “He wasn’t there when we left home.”

  “Drifter has a great idea,” Daniel abruptly rose from his seat. “Protector and I were talking about the same thing on our trip together.  I have an idea.  Let’s go home!”

  “What?” Mattias turned toward the older goose.  “He is not home.  We started this quest from home.”

  “Not that home,” Daniel entered the water.  “He might have gone home.  Follow me.”

  “Where are we going?”  Jake asked as he spread his wings to follow Daniel and the others did the same.

  “We are going to Deke’s home,” Daniel shouted back to them as he cleared the trees. “We are going to where he was hatched, his gosling home!”

  Five geese fell into a V-formation with a large brown eagle with a white head above and a tiny brown speckled sparrow below them.

To be continued…

They must be a funny pair, Daniel thought to himself.  A snow-white goose and a huge brown, white-headed eagle flying side-by-side in the air.  They were high in the sky, normally too high for a goose, but seemingly perfect for the two of them.  Once they became air borne, they quickly decided to fly this high to take advantage of Protector’s keen eyesight.  To Daniel, the landscape below them were simply different shades of green but to the eagle, the gray shade of the trees made on the ground had grown longer as the Bright Light slowly edged downward on their right.

  “Do you see any hidden water, Protector?”  Daniel asked the eagle.  “Big enough for us to stop for the night?”

  Protector moved his head slightly to the left and then to the right.  He turned his head toward Daniel and said, “Over there to our right and there is even fish big enough for me to eat.  Fish are much nicer to eat than mice.”

  “How can you see all of that from way up here?  Lead on, my friend, lead on,” Daniel encouraged him.

  Protector smiled at himself and slowly led them down in large circles in the warm air.  He loved riding the currents especially at this time of the year.  The season has turned from cold, crisp air to the warmer air of longer light time than dark.  He looked back at the white goose trailing him.  He had his wings spread wide and was following him at a short distance.  The trees were getting larger and he straightened his angle of flight and flapped his wings once to level their flight path just above them.  The glimmer of the water he spied from above was beginning to reveal itself through the branches in front of them.

  “I see where you are going now,” Daniel called to Protector.  “We can settle where we can find a suitable tree for you to rest on near the water so we can talk.”

  Protector acknowledged him by saying nothing but rising a little higher where he could see perching possibilities.  A tall tree to their left drew his attention and he headed toward it.  The closer they got to it, the larger the water grew before it.  He led the goose out over the edge of the water and swooped back around toward the tree.  He heard the goose land in the water as he grasped a branch mid-way up the tree.  He turned to face the goose who was swimming toward him.

  “Wow, Protector, this is a lot of water and I would guess there is big fish for you, huh?”

  “I think so, Daniel,” Protector almost chuckled as he spoke.  “So what’s the plan?”

  “Should we eat first then talk about a plan?” Daniel suggested.

  “You don’t have to tell me twice,” the eagle said as he rose and flew over the goose.

  Daniel laughed as he turned and watch the eagle fly across the large body of water.  After watching the eagle dive a few times into the water, he turned his attention to the water below him.  It was clear and after a few seconds, he spied a few small fish swimming right below him and he dipped his head and feasted.  When he was satisfied, he returned his attention to the eagle.  The big bird was circling above him and he watched him.  Eagles were certainly graceful looking, scary looking, and he should be afraid of them, but they certainly were graceful.  When did he first meet this eagle, the one they called Protector? 

  It was because of Deke, of course, that they were introduced to him.  Actually, Deke introduced Protector to the Wist, not to him  He remembered the day as he was leading a discussion with his team and, ironically, they were discussing the security of The Flock.

  “We should have teams of sentries walking the perimeter of the pond constantly,” Zelda was saying.  “This would keep enemies away or at least aware that we are looking out for them.”

  “Walk or swim.  I think we are safer in the water than out of it,” Sam had countered her.

  Deke had entered the Meeting Place cave and a huge bird streaked inside with him.  The movement caused the five geese already inside the cave to dodge and bleat in surprise.  Deke started to laugh.

  “That,” he said to the team. “Is funny.”

  “What’s going on?” Daniel demanded of his leader.  “Why did you bring an eagle in here. An eagle!”

  “What are you talking about?” Deke answered him with a question.

  “Security,” Daniel answered him.

  “Perfect,” Deke stated.  “Fellow geese, I would like you to meet Protector, our eyes in the sky.  Protector, I would like you to meet the advisory team of The Flock.  We call them The Wist.”

  Daniel remembered the introductions well but as he watched the eagle fly toward him with a fish clutched in his talons, he wondered why?  Why did Protector join us then?

The eagle flew deeper into the woods then returned shortly to the tree above him and the dark brown eyes looked down at him, waiting.

  “Before we make a plan,” Daniel began.  “Can I ask you a personal question?”

  “Sure,” Protector simply said.

  “Why did you join The Flock?” he asked.

  “What you really mean is why did I follow Deke?”  Protector corrected him as he looked down.

  “Well, yes,” Daniel admitted as he tucked his head into his chest.

  “It is a quite simple story.  I found him alone on top of that plateau above the cave.  He was sitting in the shade of one of those trees.  I saw him and landed nearby.  He saw me land and called out, ‘what is it like to be an eagle?’  I thought what a strange question to ask me.  I had to think about it awhile and he waited.  I finally said what I was feeling at the time – ‘alone’.  He said to me, ‘Really?  Do you want to join my flock?’  I said ‘yes’.  Really, I probably said, ‘I guess’.  That sounds more like me.”

  Daniel looked up at the eagle with surprise but agreed with him, “That does sound more like you.”  Daniel looked thoughtfully at the huge bird above him and came to the quiet resolution that everyone needs to belong to something and said, “I guess we should move on from then to now.  First, do you think this might be a place for him to be found at?”

  “No,” Protector looked up across the water as the sky was beginning to darken as the Bright Light lowered itself to its resting place.  “This place is too big for him or even too big for the entire flock.”

  “I agree,” Daniel was beginning to think about where Deke might really be.  “Protector, where would you go if you want to be alone?”

  “Do you mean outside of flying?” Protector asked.

  “Yes.”

  Protector thought about that for a moment or two and finally said, “I might go home.”

  “Hmmm,” Daniel let that sink in and he thought about it for a while.  Home.  Home does seem reasonable to him.  Where would Deke go home?  “I think you have something there.  I don’t see him as being so random but more intentional.  Maybe he did go home.  Tomorrow, let’s head back to our meeting place with the team and if no one spotted him, we have to talk about that possibility with them.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Protector agreed with him.  “Let’s watch the sky now.”

  The sky had quietly turned to a slight pink to orange with a cloudy black line slowly edging its way up.  The Bright Light was settling into its nightly resting place and the two birds watched the day ending.  It was time for sleep.

To be continued…

“You do realize we are going back toward home and, perhaps, beyond home,” Jake complained to Liza as they flew high in the sky.  Liza had taken the lead and had set a fast pace for the two of them.  They were passing through a thin cloud and a thin mist of water.

  “Aw, come on, Liza!  Can you miss the clouds, please?” Jake called out.  “And slow down so we can talk.  Please!’

  Liza sighed.  She looked over her shoulder at the brown goose just to her right and nodded.  She spread her wings, angled her tail, and rose higher in the sky allowing the warm air to move her forward.  Jake did the same but flapped once to move beside her.

  “That’s better,” Jake said.

  “Sorry,” Liza replied as she turned her head toward him.  “Yes, I know we have to travel farther than the rest, back over our home and, yes, perhaps, beyond it.”

  “You did hear me,” Jake nodded at her.

  They flew in silence watching the scenery below them change slightly from bright greens to browns to green again.  Occasionally, white, or gray shapes interrupt the greens and browns, and large white lines cut across them.  They sometimes saw large thick lines of glimmering water cut down and across the landscape below.  The geese have always stayed away from shades of white and those large, thick lines of water because that meant danger.

  “Where do you think he is?” Jake asked Liza.

  “I really don’t know,” Liza shrugged.  “He is a pretty smart goose.  You know, the time he and I had together before he disappeared was special.  He is very personal and matter of fact.  He never talked down to me like he was better than me.”

  “I haven’t had the opportunity to learn from him, but I did think Deke was funny,” Jake told her.

  “Funny?  What do you mean by that?” she quizzed him farther.

  “I don’t know.  He likes the rainbow colors in the cave, for goodness sake.”

    “Don’t you?”  Liza asked him.

  “Well, yeah, but from your Leader?  I just didn’t expect that,” Jake explained.  “Seriously, though, the Bright Light is getting low behind us and we have to find a safe place for the night.”

  “Yes, I agree.  Let’s go lower to see what we can see,” Liza said as she flapped her wings and began to lower herself.

  Jake did the same and they continued in a slow descent toward the ground.  They avoided white shapes and flew over the thick lines of water.  A small body of water appeared ahead of them.  It was near one of the white lines but is was free of trees.  Tall grass rose high on one end of the water.

  “What do you think?” Liza asked.

  “For one night, I think it will be all right,” Jake answered.  “Let’s circle around once to be sure.”

  “Okay,”  Liza agreed, flapped once to rise a little and she lowered her left shoulder to begin to circle around the water.  They passed over a red object made of wood, close to the water, but still far enough away not to bother them.  A path of dirt passed by the water toward the red object.  As they flew over it, she noticed the red object was larger than she had first thought.  It was a boxy shape, almost as tall and it was long.

  “What do you think?” she called out to Jake.

  “I think it is far enough away from the water,” he called back to her.

  “Me, too,” she said as she turned back toward the water slowly lowering to it.  She drew her wings back, her webbed feet forward, and her head up, landed on the water.  Next to her, Jake did the same. 

  They continued toward the tall grass at one end of the small pond.  Arriving there, they slowly turned to face the open water.  Behind them, the Bright Light was lowering itself to its nightly resting place.  Slightly above them to their right, a constant rumbling of sound would rise and fade away, rise, and fade away.  As it grew dark, flashes of light match the coming and going of sound.  The two geese pulled at the grass that hid them and silently chewed on the light green stalks.

  “Tell me about Ki,”  Liza broke the silence first as she lowered her head to her chest.

  “Ki?  What do you want to know?”  Jake softly asked her, enjoying the silence and that he is simply floating on the water.

  “I really don’t know him.  I mainly disagreed with him during our initial time together,” she answered Jake’s question.

  He laughed and said, “I remember.”

  “Do not take that to mean I resent him being chosen as our Leader.  I was a hot head then,”  Liza tried to explain to Ki’s best friend.

  “And you are not now?” Jake teased.

  “Come on,” she laughed.  “Give me a break.  Tell me about Ki.  He is your best friend, right?”

  “He is my best friend,” Jake stared into the dark water surrounding them.  “He is a good goose, Liza.  When we started out, we were like brothers.  We did everything together.  He was picked on a lot, being so small, and I kind of protected him.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know.  I saw something in him.  He was nice.  He was nice to everyone even to those that were mean to him.  I liked that,” Jake nodded to himself.

  “What makes him a leader?” Liza asked him.

  “Hmmm,” Jake paused and looked up at the sky dotted with tiny specks of light.  “I like how he makes decisions.  He kind of observes everything, takes in all suggestions and considerations, and then makes the decision.”

  “Sounds like Deke,” Liza softly said.

  “What do you mean?” Jake asked her.

  “He was constantly on me for being so determined to go with my first thought.  He told me to take everything in, every angle of the situation, every suggestion you can take in, and then, make the decision.  That is what he said – ‘The’ decision,” Liza replied.

  “Ki never said that, but he does that.  It sounds like you listened to Deke during your time together.  You do seem different to me,” Jake admitted to her.  “You really do.”

  “I learned to listen,” Liza replied.

  They grew quiet and the gentle rocking of the water lulled Liza to sleep.  Jake remained vigilant, resisting the urge to sleep, and stayed awake.  He wondered what Ki was up to just now.  Probably asleep as he should be.  He shifted his thoughts to Deke and wondered what he was doing.  He wondered if they will ever find him.   He shrugged to himself.  He wondered a lot.

  “Liza,” Jake whispered toward the goose floating nearby.  “Liza!”

  “What?’ her voice quietly came to him.

  “Do you think we will find him?”  Jake asked her.  “find Deke?”

  She remained quiet as she thought over her answer.

  “Liza?”

  “I want to find him,” she finally answered him.  “Now, go to sleep.  We have a big day tomorrow.”

To be continued…

Simeone fluttered to keep up with the large white goose beside him.  He wondered why he had decided to be part of this quest to find a friend of his.  His “flock” of sparrows stayed close to The Flock since Deke started it.  Maybe, that is why.  To find his friend, Deke.  He wondered how they lost him anyway. 

  When he met Deke, he and a few of his friends were in some trees that were stationed along the rim of a plateau at the top of a tall hill.  There were seeds hidden in oblong shells scattered on the ground below them and one by one, they would flitter down, grab a seed, and return to the tree they were resting on.  As he jumped down to the ground below himself, a goose waddled onto the plateau behind him.  His friends flew from their perches to other trees but Simeone stayed where he was on the ground.

  “Hello, friend,” the goose spoke first.

  “Hello,” Simeone responded cautiously as he hopped from one foot to the other.

  “My name is Deke, “ the goose introduced himself.  “And you are?”

  “Simeone, Leader of the Sparrows,” Simeone responded, trying to make himself important to the larger bird.  “Actually, King, of the Sparrows.”

  “Oh, your highness,” Deke replied as he sat on the ground in front of him.  “I didn’t know I was addressing royalty.  I wonder if I should get a name like that.”

  “Why?” the sparrow hopped.

  “I just became the leader of a flock of geese and I might need a new name.  What do you think?”

  Simeone remained silent for a few seconds and actually stood still as he surveyed the bird before him.  He was on the small side, as far as geese go, mostly white with black wingtips and the dark eyes on the rounded head that watched him thoughtfully.

  “If that is true, that you are the new leader of a flock, leaders need to earn their name,” he finally commented.

  Deke nodded in agreement still looking at the sparrow.  “Do you like this place?” he asked him.

  “Why?” he responded, hopping closer to the goose.  “Why do you want to know?”

  “Thinking about making it our new home,” Deke answered him.

  “There is no water here.  I thought geese needed water to live?” Simeone questioned him.

  “Oh, we do, Simeone,”  Deke said as he stood causing the smaller bird to jump. “Can you walk with me?”

  The goose turned and waddled away from him toward the edge of the flat land.  Simeone followed him, hopping as he caught up with him.  The goose turned his head, looked at him and nodded.  When they reached the edge, the goose sat down.  The sparrow paused beside him.

  “From where you are, can you see the view below us?”  Deke asked.

  Simeone hopped closer to the edge and looked down.  Far below him, an expanse of water began at the bottom of the cliff.  From there, it arced to his left where the far bank was hidden from him by trees. 

  “I didn’t realize there was water down there,” he said to the goose.  “I never looked beyond those trees behind us.”

  Deke chuckled as he looked at the Simeone, King of the Sparrows.  He got serious and asked the small bird, “What do you do?”

  “What do you mean?”  Simeone hopped closer to the goose.

  “What makes up your kingdom?”  Deke asked watching the sparrow closely.

  “Simeone, what’s on your mind?”  Ack interrupted the sparrow’s deep thoughts.

  “What?” the sparrow answered him as he looked at the white goose flying beside him.  “Can we take a break?”

  “Sure,” Ack said. Looking from the small bird to the ground below him.  A quick, sliver of light attracted his attention.  “Looks like a small bit of water down there.  Shall we?”

  “Fine,” Simeone said and angled toward it.

  The goose followed the sparrow looking at the area they were heading.  The water was surrounded by tall, dark green trees.  He knew they were the kind of trees that dropped small, brown oblong pods that contained seeds that sparrows liked to eat.  Thankfully, the water was clear and there might be something for him to eat, too.  There was already tall grass and reeds growing around the edges for it being early in the warm season that he would, at least, have grass to nibble on.  Ack laughed to himself.  He decided he must be hungry.  He landed on the water as the sparrow flew to a nearby tree and he swam toward him.

  “So what’s up?” Ack asked Simeone.

  “I was just thinking about Deke,” Simeone replied. “And when we first met.”

  “Interesting story?” Ack asked in curiosity, drifting below him on thew water.

  Simeone hopped forward and backward, once, twice, before he answered Ack.  How much should he tell him?

  “He asked me why I was King of the Sparrows?  Truthfully, Ack, I didn’t know.  At the time I met him, I had been “king” for three seasons.  Most of us, don’t live three full seasons, I have been around for thirteen full seasons.  I have known Deke for ten of them.  Wow, I have never thought of that before now.  Anyway, I told him that I didn’t know.  Do you know what he said to me?”

  “I do.  Maybe.  Did he did say why not?” Ack offered a guess.

  “Yeah,” Simeone paused on the branch.  “He said, why not?  How long have you known him, Ack?”

  “Know him?” Ack smiled at the sparrow.  “I don’t know him.  I was born into The Flock.  The first I came to meet him was when I was part of the Journey of the Seven at the end of the last hot season.”

  “Ah, that’s right.  You were one of the seven possibilities to replace him.  Well, let me tell you, he is great at asking questions to get you to think about your answer.  Why not, he said?  I had to think why I was King of the Sparrows.  I finally answered him this way, I listened to my kingdom.  As I said that, I realized that we really listened to all birds.  We know about the red birds, the owls, the eagles, the big birds, and the little birds.  We are everywhere and we are small enough to go unseen.  I told him that, too.”  Simeone paused, and slowly nodded.  “He just looked at me and nodded.”

  When Simeone grew silent, Ack looked at him and simply floated below the tree he was perched in.  A breeze caused small ripples in the water causing the goose to bob up and down.

  “You hungry?” Ack finally asked Simeone.

  “Yes, I guess I am,” Simeone solemnly said.

  “I think those seeds you like are on the ground,” Ack noted to the sparrow. “Why not eat a bit?

  “Very funny,” Simeone flittered down from the branch to the ground.  He found a brown pod nearby, pushed his beak between two brown pieces and drew out a small white seed.  He proceeded to crunch it in his mouth.  He repeated the steps again and crunched a second seed.

  While Simeone ate from the brown pod, Ack looked into the water and spied a small fish.  He cried out in joy, dipped his head, pulled it out of the water, and swallowed.  He was able to find two more fish and he was satisfied.  He looked back to the shore to address the sparrow.  He was no longer on the ground.  He looked up into the tree and there he was, back on the branch he had started from.

  “So what do you think?  Would Deke stop here?” Ack asked Simeone.

  “No,” the sparrow said.  “I don’t know what is farther within the trees, but it doesn’t seem safe to me.”

  “It isn’t safe,” a voice boomed from above them.  “So interrupting my slumber again, are we?”

  The sparrow had flown to another tree at the unexpected sound as the goose turned and swam from the shoreline.

  “Simeone,” the voice continued.  “It seems we go seasons without seeing one another to seeing one another all of the time.  So you are looking for Deke?”

  The brown bird flew back to the tree he flew from when he first heard the voice.  The white goose slowly swam back toward the tree.  The two birds peered up into the branches and spied two huge, golden eyes, looking down at them.

  “Great?” the sparrow asked.

  “It is I,” the bird revealed himself.  It was a huge brown owl who spun his head behind him and back to them.  The wings fell at its sides and the large talons gripped a large branch.  “Why are you here disturbing me?”

  Ack stepped forward to get a better look at the great owl.  He was a big bird just as he remembered him from his first encounter with him.  The owl had huge wings and big yellow eyes that blinked slowly as they observed him.  Yes, observed him was the right word for what Ack felt.  He was being closely examined.  This was the owl named Great that sent them on their first test when the seven candidates went through the Leader contest.  Contest?  He laughed to himself.

  “What’s so funny, goose?” the owl grumbled at him.

  “Oh, nothing, sorry,” Ack immediately bowed to the owl.  “We are looking for Deke…”

  “Deke?” Great cut him off in mid-sentence.  “Why should you be looking for my friend Deke?”

  “He left The Flock,” Simeone spoke up.

  “Why?  That wasn’t his plan, Simeone,”  Great said as he closed his eyes and twisted his head, front to back to front.

  “I know,” the sparrow agreed.  “But he did leave and Protector…”

  “Protector, the eagle?” Great interrupted the sparrow this time.

  “Yes,” Simeone continued.  “Protector came across him five, or is it six, settings of the Bright Light ago.  The Flock wants him to come back.”

  “The new Leader, Ki, wants him back?” the owl asked.

  “Yes, we all want Deke back,” Ack answered him.

  The owl suddenly spreads his massive wings and slowly brings them back to his sides.  He opens the talons of his left foot and regrips the branch then does the same with his right one.

  “He isn’t here, and he hasn’t been here,”  Great told the goose below him and the sparrow on a branch nearby.  “Look around.  Does this place even look like a place he would stay at?”

  Ack returned his gaze toward the water.  It was clear and surrounded by tall grass but small and awfully close to trees where enemies could be.  No, the owl is right.  Deke would pass this place without even looking at it.

  “No,” Simeone answered for him.  “We will leave you on your own, Great.”

  “It is about time!” the owl growled again.

  Ack laughed and nodded to the sparrow.  “I guess we will see you around then.”

  “I guess you will,” Great returned Ack’s comment as he watched the two birds rise in the air and fly away.

To be continued…

The smaller, blue-gray goose with pink bill with black edges that looked like he was grinning all of the time, flew flap to flap with the larger brown feathered one beside him.  The larger goose turned to look at him and shook his head at him.

  “What?” Drifter asked Mattias as they glided for a moment.

  “Do you know you always look like you are smiling?” Mattias asked.

  “Yeah,” Drifter laughed.  “I was kind of born this way.”

  “You know, others don’t always take you seriously,” Mattias flapped once.

  “Should they?” Drifter flapped to match his partner.

  Mattias looked at Drifter saying nothing as an answer and turned back to looking forward.  The sky in front of him was still a pale blue but the Bright Light was edging down in front of them.  They flew in silence.

  “What’s it like finding a match?” Drifter asked, breaking the silence.

  This time Mattias laughed and flapped faster, rising higher into the air.  The smaller goose followed as they continued to rise higher and higher.  Jake began to wonder what was going on when Mattias leveled out and began to circle slightly above him.

  “Well, I am going to answer your question,” Mattias said.  “Look down.”

  Drifter did as he was told and looked down.  Far below them were blocks of large and small blotches of various shades of greens and brown with teeny, tiny specks of shadows drifting across them.  A thin dark blue line squiggled across the lower part of the scene below them.  They were quite far up in the air.  He looked back at Mattias.

  “Follow me,” Mattias said as he flapped once, tucked his wings to his sides and dove.

  Drifter laughed and twirled, flipping over, pulled his wings in and followed him.  He squinted his eyes as he plummeted downward.  The air around him chilled him as it seemed to turn colder, and he shot through the air.  The blocks of color were slowly getting larger as he didn’t dare turn his head to better see Mattias. He was really, really going fast and he loved going fast.

  Mattias was streaming downward, leaning downward, trying to go faster.  Until he met High, he would never, ever, have tried doing this dive from so high to go so fast.  He squinted at the approaching ground, decided to push out the tips of his wings to begin to slow down and angle out of the dive.  He began to slow but still was zipping down.  He hoped Drifter was doing the same as he pushed his wings a little further and felt the air slightly tug the underside of his wings.  That was the sign to begin to lift his head to begin to angle out of the dive.  He did and the air grabbed his head.  He let it do so and he spread his wings out wide and leveled out in a slightly upward angle.  He looked around for Drifter.

  Drifter saw Mattias from the corner of his eyes and noticed the slight flicker of his wingtips.  He knew then it was time and followed his instincts pushing his wingtips outward.  He felt himself begin to slow and slowly raised his head.  He wanted to keep the speed as long as he could when he spread his wings to its their fullest and began to level off.  He saw Mattias hovering to his left and he circles back to him.

  “That was a trip!” he yelled as he pulled up next to Matttias.  “But how does that answer my question?”

  Mattias nodded at him and said, “High taught me that.”

  “Oh,” Drifter nodded back.  “I get it.  Pretty cool, huh?”

  Both geese looked beneath them.  They were floating over a circle of trees that surrounded a small body of water.

  “What should we be looking for?” Drifter broke the silence.

  “Deke,” Mattias answered him.

  Drifter laughed and replied as he flapped once.  “I meant what should we be looking for in trying to find him?”

  “Oh,”  Mattias answered.  “Food, water and safety.”

  “What do you think?” Drifter asked looking down.

  Mattias shrugged and started downward toward the water.  Drifter followed and caught up with Mattias.

   “Let’s fly around it first before we land, okay?” Drifter commented.  Mattias nodded and spread his wings to begin a large circle above the trees.  Even early in the season, the leaves of the trees would not allow them to see through them to the ground.  They completed the circle, looked at each other, nodded, and headed toward the water.  They landed on the water gliding until they stopped.  The water rippled outward causing small splashes on the edges of the land around the water.  Together they swam to the center and began to tread causing them to start a slow circle.

  “Not too bad,” Drifter observed.  “But I am wondering about how close the trees are to the water?”

  “I agree.  Too many chances for enemies,” Mattias stated as he continued his scan of the surroundings.

  “Hmmm,” Drifter answered.  “Let’s see if there are any fish in the water.”

  Almost at the same time, the two geese looked down into the water.  Mattias dipped his head, rise up with a small fish glittering in his mouth and arched his head back.

  “Well, there is food here,” Drifter shook his head and looked back into the water.  He spied a glint of silver, lowered his head, and grabbed the fish.  As he raided his head, Mattias asked him.  “Do we really expect to find him, Drifter?”

  “Expect?” Drifter turned to look directly at his searching partner.  “Nah.  Hopeful, maybe.  I hope so.  I kind of liked him and I think he would be fun to be around.”

  “Why does everything have to be fun to you?” Mattias asked him.

  Drifter shrugged.  “Why not?  Shall we check out another place before it gets too dark?  Maybe we could do that diving thing again, huh?”

  Mattias looked at him for a moment, thinking about this goose swimming before him.  He shrugged and said, “Why not?  Let’s go.”

  The two geese rose above the water and slowly angled toward the Bright Light beginning its way down to its resting place.

To be continued…

Drifter loved travelling so high in the sky.  The greens, browns, and blues of the land far below them and the light blue sky above thrilled him.  He was at the base of the diamond now following the others at the swift pace the large, brown eagle had set for them.  The Bright Light had risen for the third time since they had started The Quest.  The sparrow flew below, flapping desperately to keep pace with the rest of them.  The eagle pulled his wings into his sides and began to dive down.  He had done this a few times during their flight and the geese mimicked him, folding their wings to their bodies and dove with him.  Drifter yelled with joy as he cut through the air with increasing speed.  He squinted his eyes as he plummeted down and he could make out a small body of water, growing bigger as he got closer. 

  The eagle raised his head and spread his wings to begin to slow himself down.  Again the geese replicated him, raising their heads, and spreading their wings.  Protector began to circle, and the geese lined up behind him as they slowly glided lower and lower toward the ground instead of remaining in their V formation.  The body of water was a small pond with a wooded area on one side of it.  The sparrow was with them now, flying at the shoulder of the eagle.  Protector glanced sideways at Simeone and nodded toward the trees.  He angled around to approach the trees from across the water in order to allow the geese more of it to land on.  The shadows of the birds flying across the water as they crossed and lowered themselves to it.  The geese landed on the water as the eagle and sparrow continued to the trees.

  The geese looked around as they floated toward the trees.  Stalks of light, green grass bordered the entire rim of the pond including the beach at the base of the trees.  They spread out, floating beneath the eagle who was resting on the tree nearest the water.

  “Okay,” Mattias said.  “Why are we here?”

  Protector bent forward and quietly said, “This is where I talked to Deke.”

  “Really?” Ack said, as he turned to survey the pond and its surroundings.

  “I think this would suit him,” Liza remarked as she looked around, too.

  “Me, too,” Daniel agreed.  “When the grass gets even higher in the hot season there will be plenty of protection.”

  “And a food source,” Ack said.

  “Plenty of bushes for cover and more food in there,” Protector informed them.  “Those bush berries he likes so much.  I found him in there.”

  “Seems to be a perfect,” Liza summarized for all of them.

  “So what’s next?” Jake asked.

  The answer was simply silence.  Something dropped into the water to their left and no one jumped in surprise.  After a discussion, they decided to rest for a while.  The geese spread themselves around the pond, sampling the small fish as they swam.  Eventually, they hid themselves among the grass and slept.  The sparrow disappeared.  The eagle flew to the top of the tallest tree and watched over them.  Jake left the water and waddled up the beach into the woods where Deke was last seen.

  As he left the water behind him, the trees filtered the light from the sky above casting random shadows on the ground before him.  He wandered through a few rows of trees unevenly spaced, eventually exposing a clearing of green grass sprouting on the ground at his feet.  He stepped into the midst of it and slowly turned to survey the edge of the clearing.  Across the edge, directly across from the spot from which he came, a hedge of bushes ran all across the curve of the clearing.  He noted that Protector was correct about these being the bushes that will bear the berries that Deke enjoyed.  Beyond them were more trees, denser than the ones he just came through.  To his right, more trees and turning to his left, still more trees.  He continued to walk toward the bushes and began to look beneath them.  Near the center, he noted a small indenture filled with leaves.  He looked closely and spied a few feathers within the leaves.  He smiled to himself and said, “This is where he slept.”

  A noise behind him interrupted his inspection and Jake turned to look.  Liza emerged from the trees and headed toward him.

  “Find anything?” she asked as she waddled.

  “I think this is where he stayed,” Jake told her. 

  She looked at the spot he was observing and said, “I think so, too.  This looks like a place he could call home.  Still a lot of danger spots among the trees but certainly a good food source and close to the water.  He probably liked to sit in the middle of the clearing to bask in the Bright Light.  I would.”

  Jake nodded in agreement and waddled past her.  He stopped at the center of the clearing and plopped himself down.  Liza laughed and went to sit beside him.  They sat in silence listening to the breeze skipping through the new leaves of the early warm season.  The eagle flew down from his roost and settled on the ground beside them.  The two geese waited for the eagle to speak but it, too, remained silent.  A brief fluttering of wings interrupted the quiet as the sparrow flew into the clearing and landed on a nearby tree branch.  It grew silent again with only the noise of the occasional rustling of the leaves moving in the breeze.  First, far away but drawing nearer, snapping of twigs and the muttering of geese making their way through the woods toward them.  The sound paused as four geese entered the clearing.  They slowly approached the birds sitting on the ground before them.

  “What’s going on?” Ack cautiously asked them.

  “Not much,” Jake answered him.  “Just waiting.”

  “For what?”  Drifter asked as he sat beside them.

  Daniel continued toward the bushes, looked at the indention beneath them and turned back toward them.  “Looks like he was beginning to make a home.”

  “That’s what we thought, too,” Jake admitted to him.

  “Protector,” Drifter addressed the eagle sitting beside him.  “I have never seen you on the ground.  What is with that?”

  “I thought I would try a new perspective,” Protector admitted to him.

  “And?” Ack asked wanting to know the answer.

  “It is different, but it was nice and quiet,” the eagle turned his dark eyes toward Ack.

  “What is the next step?  We have no clue where he might have gone.,” Mattias quizzed the group.

  “That is true.  We have no idea where he went,” Daniel agreed.

  “I don’t think he went far, though,” Liza commented as she rose to her feet and began to pace as she spoke.  “He liked this place and he likes this area.”

  “Still, we don’t know where he went,” Mattias stated.

  “Maybe we should split into teams,” Daniel suggested.

  “I think so, too,”  Liza agreed.  “I think we should go in different directions and report back here to make our next decision.”

  “What if one team finds him?” Ack asked.

  “Then one stays with him and the other comes back here to get the rest of us,” Liza said in response.

  “Why not bring him back here?” Jake asked.

  “He may not want to come,” Daniel explained.  “I think it might take all of us to talk him into returning to The Flock.”

  “I expect that will be the case,”  Liza agreed with Daniel.

  “We could stay together as we look for him,” Mattias suggested.  “That way we could save some time when it comes to convincing him to come back with us.”

  “Drifter,” Ack directed himself toward him. “We haven’t heard from you.”

  “I am okay with either way,” Drifter shared for the first time.  “Let’s just decide so we can get going.”

  Ack nodded but didn’t answer him instead directing his attention to the eagle quietly sitting on the ground.  “What do you think, Protector?”

  The big bird rose to his feet and looked around at the group of geese surrounding him then slowly looked up to the sparrow who sat silent on the nearby tree branch and simply said, “Teams.”

  “Okay,” Jake spoke.  “Let’s do teams.”

  Again, the group became silent until Daniel spoke, “And the teams would be?”

  “I think, Me and Jake, Drifter and Mattias, Daniel and Protector, and Ack and Simeone,” Liza offered.

  “Fine with me,” Drifter stood and walked toward Mattias.

  “Directions?” Ack asked.

  “How about Liza and Jake toward the direction the Bright Light rises, Drifter and Mattias toward where it sleeps at night, Ack and Simeone to the right of the Bright Light’s rise and me and Protector to the left,” Daniel offered.

  “We return here tomorrow when the Bright Light sleeps,” Jake reviewed with them.  “And if, no, when we find him, one stays with him where he is found.”

  They all nodded as the groups of two birds gather together and one by one each group rose into the sky until only one remained watching the others disappear.  Liza and Jake looked at each other.

  “What do you think?” Jake asked her.

  “We will see what we will see,” Liza shrugged, spread her wings, and flapped them to rise above the water.

  Jake mimicked her, spread his wings, and rose with her.  They flapped harder and continued to rise above the clearing of trees.  Once above them, they angled around to place the Bright Light at their backs and toward where it rises in the morning to begin to look for Deke.

To be continued…

Deke lazily floated on the warm updraft of air high in the sky.  The Bright Light seemed dimmer even though the space around him was free of clouds.  When he led The Flock, he never flew this high but when he was alone, well, this was wonderful.  Way up here, he could spread his wings and just coast.  And think.  He sighed.  It was unfortunate Protector came across him.  He was getting used to that place.  The seasons were just beginning to change.  The grass beginning to grow, and those bushes would soon be growing berries that he could eat.  The pond had plenty of little fish and it was clear.  He absentmindedly shook his head in disappointment.  There are other places just as good as that one.  He remembered when he first found the warm home of The Flock with that magical cave. 

  The Flock was growing as other geese began to join them.  The first challenge he approached Daniel and his team, The Wist, was to find them a new home.  They suggested sending out scout teams to find a location big enough for the size of The Flock at the time but with the possibility of The Flock getting even larger.  He agreed with them and teams were sent out with instructions to find a place no longer than two days from their current home, with a nice size water source, and provide plenty of protection.  The plan was that when the teams came back, Deke and Daniel would return to their choices to make the final decision.  He thought it would be a quick thing to do but it wasn’t.  In frustration, he went out on his own one day, flying toward the Bright Light’s early morning rise into the sky.  His eyes followed the hills and valleys below him when a level area appeared.  Trees were around its edges and the ground plummeted down from it.  He followed it down with his eyes and they fell on a body of water.  This drew his attention and he flew toward it.  He leveled above the water and flew around the perimeter.  It was a good size pond bending in a small semi-circle with tall grass and reeds around its edges.  Trees surrounded it but with nice borders of smooth, dirt beaches.  As he flew back toward the flat land, he noticed a dark hole at the base of its hill.  He landed a short distance from it and floated toward it.  He noted that it was a cave mouth and he decided to enter it.  He paddled silently and cautiously, letting his eyes adjust to the soft gray light inside it.

  The space opened and rose high above him.  He looked up and saw the shadows of tree roots hanging from the ceiling.  The water went deeper inside and to his left was a small beach with huge, snarling tree roots shaped in huge circles, coming down and bending upward back into the ceiling.  He continued paddling toward the back of the cave as it grew darker.  Deke began to hear a trickle, turned to his left and followed the sound.  The further he swam, the louder the sound became until he could make out the rear of the cave and at its base, water fell from the wall.  He turned to face where he came into the cave.  A dome of light shaped the opening, letting enough light inside for him to envision a meeting place for The Wist.  He remembered how he made his final decision.  He had brought only Daniel there and they stayed overnight inside the cave.  When the Bright Light rose, the cave revealed its real secret of the shower of colors that began each and every day, and in the midst of the rainbow on the walls, they agreed that this was the place.

  Deke smiled at the memory as he lazily floated on the warm air.  Yeah, he will find himself another home and he knew just where to go.  He turned away from the Bright Light and flapped his wings once, twice, and drifted.  The wind had shifted, and he was turned into it causing him to squint his eyes.  He angled his tail feathers and he began to rise higher.  Slowly, keeping his wings outstretched, he rose above the Windstream and the air calmed and flapped one, twice, and he floated.  His mind returned to his memories.  This time further back to his childhood. 

  His parents were similar geese in that they looked almost identical to him, small birds, blackish brown with white feathers on their wings and large white collars around their necks.  His father, Nathaniel, was strong-minded and determined to be a stronger than his size might indicate.  His mother, Mar, was just as strong wiled but her approach on life was more thoughtful.  He was one of three goslings, a sister that was named Dee and a brother Kreek.  Deke hatched last so he was considered the baby of the bunch.  Family life was simple; they followed their mother during the day to learn to swim and find food leaving their father to protect their nest.  They would return at the end of the day, then Nathaniel would leave and return right before the Bright light had disappeared into night.  It was during this time, when his father was gone, he played alone.  His mother received his mass quantity of questions and she sometimes turned him away.

  He remembered observing his first leader change.  Magna, the leader of the flock had died, and two geese challenged to replace him.  The flock was gathered on land on the outskirts of the pond in a huge circle.  The two combatants were huge white geese who were in the center of the circle.  He was mesmerized as we watched them jump and dart at each other, stabbing with their bills and beating with their wings.  One gained advantage by darting and then rising above his opponent and jumping upon him.  He heard the snap of the loser’s wings and Deke left his place in the circle.  He didn’t like what he just witnessed.

  Deke drifted on the warm air, leaving his wings outstretched and his memories behind as he returned to the present.  He averted his eyes from in front of him to the ground below.  The patchwork of earth featured different shades of brown and soft green.  A small, round color of blue appeared in the near distance.  Its shape and location were familiar to him and he started to glide downward.  He hoped his good thoughts of childhood were accurate as he drifted closer.  Deke was returning home.

To be continued…

The geese caught up with the eagle and the sparrow then they divided to form a V with
Protector at its lead.  Drifter flew on the right of the eagle and asked, “Why aren’t we going any higher, Protector?”

  The eagle turned his head toward him for just a second and gazed at Drifter then nodded to his right.  Drifter turned his head to follow his gaze.  A small pond appeared within a small batch of trees.

  “We are going to stop down there,” Protector said as he angled his left wing higher than his right and he started downward. 

  The five geese duplicated the eagle’s movement leaving their wings outstretched to slowly glide downward.  The sparrow fluttered above them for a moment but followed them toward the trees by the small pond.  The larger bird swooped to a tree nearest the water and settled onto one of its larger branches.  The sparrow followed him and grabbed a smaller branch that grew off of the one the eagle had clutched.  The geese landed on the water and immediately gathered beneath the large brown bird with the white feathers of his head.

  “What’s the deal, Protector?” Jake was the first to ask him.

  “I was told to bring you here and wait so we are waiting,” the eagle explained.

  “What are we waiting for?” Liza was more direct than Jake as she looked up at him.  “Simeone, do you know anything about this, this delay?”

  “No, I am as surprised as you,” the sparrow jumped nervously on the branch he had chosen.

  “We shouldn’t have to wait too long,” Protector told them.  “This pond has plenty of fish your size so why not you take advantage of this short break.”

    Drifter uttered a small laugh and immediately swam toward the edge of the pond.  There was little grass growing along the edges so there would be no obvious hiding places for the promised snack.  Ack followed him.

  “How do you know?” Liza asked as she looked into the water around her.

  “I saw them when we were up above this place.  There is even decent size fish for me but I don’t want to scare away your size so I will wait,” Protector told her. 

  A splash to her left drew her attention and she saw Mattias gulp down a small silver fish.  He noticed her glancing at him, and he shrugged.  Liza looked beneath herself again and several small fish slowly began to appear.  She stabbed her head beneath the water and easily snatched one in her bill.  She quickly pulled her head up, arched backward, and the fish eased down her throat.  She looked up at Protector who simply nodded at her.

  Liza took the opportunity to look around herself.  Drifter and Ack were on the water’s edge dipping down and retrieving fish, gulping them down as fast as they could.  Mattias drifted nearby in the same area, staring down through the water beneath him.  She spied Jake drifting nearby with his head resting on his chest watching the rest of them.  She slowly swam toward him.

  “You should eat, Jake,” she remarked as she drew next to him.

  “Probably,” Jake agreed sarcastically.  “We should be looking for Deke.  What on earth could we be waiting for?”

  “We will know soon,” she tried to reassure him as she watched him as he stared at Protector.  She followed his gaze and noticed that the sparrow was missing from the branch.  She was wondering where he went when he returned to the branch with a seed in its mouth.  The eagle immediately left at that time and flew to the far side of the small pond, suddenly dove down, talons forward, opened wide, and dipped into the water.  He flapped his wings downward and rose with a fish, a little larger than the ones they had been eating, but not huge, clutched in its grip.  He flew to the beach farthest from them, dipping its huge head to begin to eat.  Liza looked at Jake and simply said to him, “Eat.” 

  Jake looked into the water below him and suddenly dipped his head.  He pulled up a fish in his bill.  Liza smiled and did the same.

  After they had filled their stomachs, the geese drifted together in the center of the pond and the eagle and the sparrow had resettled on their chosen branch.  They waited as the Bright Light rose slowly in the sky and gentle breezes sent ripples beneath the geese.  Slowly, one by one, all of the birds, but one, fell asleep.  Protector remained alert, turning his head left and right, silently waiting for the next thing.  His eyes began to track a bird that had appeared from the direction they had come.  The distant bird  flapped its wings at a leisurely pace, gliding on the rising warm water.  Its color began to unveil itself as it drew closer and the bird appeared to be white.  The eagle spread his wings and flapped, slowly rising above the pond, righting itself as it flew toward the bird.  The geese on the water awakened as the eagle left the branch and watched him approach a white bird in the distance.  They followed the eagle, saw him circle around the bird and began to fly beside it.

  “Who is that?” Drifter broke the silence.

  “Not sure,” Jake answered him as the water birds turned toward the two birds in the sky.

  “I think I know who it is,” Ack announced.  “I should be surprised but I am not.”

  As they got closer, the bird in flight beside the eagle became clear.  It was a brilliant white goose flapping stroke by stroke with the larger brown bird beside it.  They separated as the eagle continued to the branch it had made as its perch and the goose lowered itself toward the pond.

  “Why, it’s Daniel,” Liza said incredulously and joined the others to greet him.

  Daniel landed smoothly on the water and glided toward them.   The five geese gathered about him, quietly waiting for an explanation but he continued toward the tree where the eagle and the sparrow waited.  They followed as he turned to face them.

  “I guess you are wondering why I am here,” Daniel began.  “Simply put – I am joining you.”

  “What?!” Mattias reacted loudly and spun himself in a tight circle.

  Drifter laughed as Liza and Ack approached him.  Jake stayed silent and watched the scene before him.  It was Ack who spoke first, “Daniel, I don’t know if that is a good idea.”

  “I agree,” Liza joined in.  “Don’t you think we can bring him back.”

  “Oh, I know you will be able to do it.  I want to be there when you do.” Daniel chuckled.

  “But why?” Mattias asked as he joined them.

  Daniel grew silent for a moment and Simeone took the opportunity to speak.

  “Deke and Daniel are best friends.”

  Daniel looked up at the sparrow then back to the geese and spoke again.  “Yes, that is true.  I cannot explain it very well.  You know our history?”

  All of the birds on the water and on the branch nodded.  They knew that Daniel and Deke were combatants to become the leader of The Flock.  Deke had won, the smaller of the two birds, and forever changed how The Flock was led.

  “Well,” Daniel continued.  “After the battle, he met with me and we discussed my future.  In the past, the loser of the fight would either be killed or was forced to leave.  Deke refused to do that.  Instead, he asked me to help him change The Flock.  He had this idea for a council of geese, but he was not sure how to make it happen.  We worked together and decided on the format of selecting a group of geese to help and advise The Leader on the major aspects of what The Flock needed – flight, food, and safety.  We argued and agreed then selected the team.  I thought that would be it and he would go and be the Leader leaving me on my own.  But he asked me to lead this group we came to call The Wist.  Because of that we became inseparable until he told me that his eyesight was failing him.  I was surprised that when we returned home, he was gone.”

  “Try waking up one morning and he was gone,” Liza muttered.

  The gathering of assorted birds grew quiet.  The light green leaves of the trees surrounding them moved with a light gust of wind.  The sparrow jumped and turned nervously on the branch.

  “What took you so long to get here?” Protector asked him.

  “It was not quite so easy to sneak away.  It was not so easy to convince Ki either.  Petra finally convinced him that everything will be okay.  It must seem to Ki that everyone is bailing on him,”  Daniel explained.

  “Exactly,” Jake agreed.  “I should go back.”

  “Nope,” Protector said.  “I heard him say that you are to be him.”

  “How could you know that?  We talked about that in private,” Jake stared up at the huge bird in the tree.

    “Don’t you know?” the sparrow answered him. “Eagles have very good hearing.”

  Protector turned his head toward Simeone and grunted.  “We should be going.”

  He spread his wings, rose into the air, and started across the pond.  The sparrow followed him as the geese turned and glided in the same direction, slowly rising from the water.  Ack was the first and he took the lead.  Drifter settled on his left and Liza on his right side.  Daniel followed Liza, Jake behind Drifter, and Mattias, again, flew between them making a diamond in the sky.

To be continued…