Arctic Tern and the Flower Moon

One day, not long ago, a particularly brave Arctic tern stumbled across the field on his way home. His name was Jonah. He lived in the fields of a town in northern Greenland and every year, he and his colony would make the massive trek from the Arctic to the antarctic. Each and every year, his entire family navigated their way back and forth, or should I say, up and down across the entirety of the globe. And so, this year, this year was different. In fact, it was a year unlike ever before. For this year, a competition arose among the colony. It was a competition to see just who was the strongest tern of them all. The competition was judged on who could fly the farthest. 

Jonah resolved from the day competition was announced, that he would win. Jonah wanted the prize! For the prize was the heart of the world. The heart of the chief's daughter. Jonah planned and planned. He knew, if he were to win, he would have to use his brainpower since he was a smaller tern. 'How can I show my colony that I transcend anything it has ever seen? How can I make them go, wow!?' Jonah thought to himself. Other tern were lifting pebbles and eating raw grubs in preparation. Not Jonah! Jonah was studying the books for his preparation. Finally, one night, his eyes passed over a picture of the moon in one of his textbooks. that's it!' thought Jonah, 'Ill fly to the moon! No one's ever done that!!' Jonah deliberated about the matter and thought. Boy, he thought real good!! 'how will the others know I've been to the moon once I return?' Jonah, thought again. He thought real good. 'I have got it!' he cried aloud to himself, 'ill bring these seeds! Everyone will believe me when they see flowers on the moon!'

And so, next day, Jonah packed his bag tight, put on his coat and toque and mitts. Up, up he flew. Into the sky, carrying his sackful of seeds along behind him. As he got higher and higher, it grew cooler and cooler. Until everything in front of him was dark. Then, moments later, the sky was painted as if by a splatter of white. The light from these small orbs glistened. It wasn't those he was interested in. He had his sights set on the bigger orb. The moon! 'I sure am glad I brought my toque. It's mighty cold up here!' Jonah thought. Onward he flew. Until he noticed the sack of seeds slipping from his craw. With a swoop of his wing, he grabbed the bag. Some of the seed got away, floating away. He looked around and fixed his sight on the moon again. Seeing a small, lonesome seed floating away, just within reach, Jonah swung at it carefully and put it in his pouch. Ever more determinantly, Jonah sped toward the moon. It grew bigger and larger. Until it filled up his entire field of sight. He touched down softly upon the surface and looked around. 'How terribly bleak,' he said aloud, 'this will just not do. Let me plant a flower here. . . One there. . . Another over there. Soon we'll have a pretty celestial body! One worth visiting. Oh moon! No one visits you. And it's no wonder! You're so bleak. But not for long!' 

And Jonah got planting without a moment to spare. He watered the soil around where he had planted.

After a day's long work, Jonah packed up and looked toward the earth. 'They'll probably be wondering where I am. I'll be going home now!' 

With a swoop of his wings, Jonah shot up into the lunar sky and set his sights on the earth. 

When he returned, he landed next to a group of his colony. They were arguing. When they turned and saw Jonah, their wings flew up in relief. "Jonah!" They shouted, "we were about to call forfeit for you in the competition. "Are you ready to race? We're all counting on you!"

Jonah smiled triumphantly and said, "Race? Why I've already completed my race!"

They gasped. "Where did you go?" They asked.

"I went to the moon!" Jonah said proudly.

There was a moment of silence, followed by an eruption of laughter. The terns cawed and hooted. 

"I did. I did go to the moon," Jonah said. 

They laughed more and more.

Jonah closed his eyes and prayed. He looked up at the moon, full and bright in the sky. And, at that moment, the moon erupted in colors. Greens and purples and pinks and reds! 

The terns looked up, astounded and shouted, "what is happening to the moon?"

"Maybe I know what's happening to moon," Jonah said gleefully.

"Tell us!" They exclaimed.

"When I went to the moon, I brought with me my bag of seeds! I planted them up there!"

The colony erupted in applause and lifted Jonah up on top of their wings. They shouted his name and swatted him on his back with their wings. 

This is why sometimes, every so often, when you look up in the sky boys and girls, you can see a flower moon looking right back at you.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Family Division:

Once upon a time, there was a family. This family was an ordinary family. A mother, a father and a couple of children. They were ordinary. That was until the birth of their third child, a son. The parents were not expecting to have another child so soon. And since they could not really afford this child, an extra mouth to feed, they resented him. They would constantly mistreat him and neglect him. And the family’s other two children imitated their parent’s hostility towards this child. The family watched with resentment as the young child grew, seemingly unaffected by this constant rejection and mistreatment. The child would simply glance over every instance of abuse that they would force in his direction. Instead, he seemed far more fascinated with the toys of his brother and sister. His parents never bought him toys. But every opportunity he had he would seek something productive to do. This child seemed to be growing, maturing much faster than any other normal child. He was walking
Read more

Excerpts from Fables of Good Will:

Just as we gain nourishment from what we ingest into our stomachs, likewise we can gain nourishment through what we put into our hearts. Let us be vigilant about what we put into our hearts. For hope in humanity. For our world. In 2018, I began writing a collection of short stories. I called this Fables of Good Will. Sometimes after, I would realize my calling to writing in such a way. Fables are such a beautiful way to convey an idea, to inspire people, to convince them to see things another way. Indeed, the pen is mightier than the sword. This is an unfinished work. For all who have inspired, helped and blessed me with their friendship in this life. For all who have challenged me to reach my best. For the love that never manifested but still will manifest. 
Read more

An erratically friendly Squirrel

Upon the roof framing of an old, decrepit tool shed, in the rafters of the attic, an old and tired squirrel made his home. This squirrel had his nest, hidden away within the back of the shed, facing an old, unused parking lot and sheltered by a large, wooden fence. This squirrel was not really old. But the stresses of this life had caused age marks to grow across his once vibrant and lively, youthful face. His whiskers, once perky and erect, had begun to droop and hang. His eyes, once beady and bright, had become dull and sad. That was until one day a young boy came and surprised the squirrel by taking a seat on the logs in the tight space between the fence and the tool shed. The boy entered the small space hurriedly and sat. The squirrel became agitated and fluttered around, here and there and everywhere. He ran so far from his nest that he forgot he was trying to protect it. The boy looked up in agitation, as the squirrel chucked in perturbation. He thought again about his choice to
Read more