Thursday, July 19, 2012

A Story About a Story About Love Birds

Through this time, Juan and I were still talking, still emailing. We'd made no promises to each other and simply tried not to ask too many questions about who and what we filled our time with when not sharing our few, brief moments of communication.We talked about our dreams, our passions. With him it was sports. With me it was literature. I told him how I'd always loved to write. He told me he'd never read a whole book in his life but if I wrote something for him, he'd read it over and over and over. I tried to write him something hopeful and encouraging but this was all the hope I could muster...

Love Birds 

I met this flamingo the other day. We were both waiting for our morning coffees. It was a long line. We got to talking.

I told him how surprised I was to see a flamingo in Toronto. Especially in the middle of winter. Turns out he’d fallen for a Canada Goose a while back. She’d gone South for a holiday. Landed in his backyard. And so they met. And so they got to know each other. They’d both agreed from the start they were going to keep it light, have fun and then fly their separate ways. But he couldn’t shake the memory of her. The soft curves of her white and black body. Her graceful power as she spread her wings into flight.

He accepted the fact that he needed to be with her. He accepted that he was built to mate for life. So he grew some down and followed her migratory patterns North.

And sure he misses home. The tropical breezes. The shooting stars. He isn't built for cold weather. The stress of the city. Of course he hates the snow. But he has her. And that’s what makes him.

I wanted to tell him that humans could be just as beautiful. That, sure, we’re not always faithful. But we can be true. But how could I? When ‘I’ll see you again soon’ so easily turns into ‘I’ll never be back.’ And ‘I miss you so much’ can mean ‘I’ve already started to replace you.’ When ‘I love you’ so often becomes ‘Goodbye.’

How do you start a story at its ending?

Instead I told him not to worry. That summer would be here soon. That warmer days were just around the corner. He touched his pink wing to my arm, softly.

‘Yes dear. Indeed they are. For all of us’

He said and then he walked away, shivering, to be with his bird.

And I didn’t move. I didn’t do anything. Not anything at all.


4 comments:

  1. I love the flamingo story!

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    1. Thank you so much for reading...and the kind comment!

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  2. yes, a nice story. It is a pity there are so much Gooses that think it is an easy decision for a Flamingo.

    nice blog. I keep reading

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    1. I think most geese don't know how to understand or empathize with the complexity and variety of emotions and motivations it takes to leave everything and everyone you know behind for a new, unknown life. But hey, with our blogs the flamingos and the geese can unite! I will be waiting for the link to your new blog on your old topics Mr Flamingo!!!!

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