Birds Chasing Hope

Birds Chasing Hope: Excerts: Maya had many close calls. A huge limb right above her head almost crushed her to death when lightening struck the tree. The power of lightening had destroyed many old trees by splitting them into small checker-like pieces. The typhoon had become more and more violent, as the other storms merged to create a single, deadly, unforgiving storm. “A few more days…” Maya kept telling herself. It had been thirty-eight days since Maya last saw the sun. She had been counting each day, as they brought new miseries into her world. Charcoal clouds were still blocking the sun from penetrating the sky. The entire forest remained soaked with rain. Though the rain had receded for days now, many uprooted trees in the forest were still embedded in the mud. Soaking wet for many days now, Maya had been imprisoned on the same limb. Her feathers had become so saturated with water that, even if she wanted to fly, she could not. It was as though her wings were stuck to her body with super-glue. Lonely, sad and depressed, she sat there, thinking that only the sun could bring her relief. Globe Trotting Maya: Maya always kept her ears open when she heard migrating birds talking about different things. Actually, her forest was a heavenly place for many migrating birds. It had everything they needed- lots of food, clean water and plenty of shelter. When Maya wasn’t traveling, she received news from migratory birds. She talked to them and invited them to her tree. Lately, that is how she kept up with all the current events of the world. It was through one of the migrating birds that she heard about the melting glaciers up north. Maya became even more frightened when she found out about the speed that they were melting. She knew that fast melting glaciers would raise the sea levels and could become a recipe for major disasters. She also heard that because of the melting ice, penguins and other sea mammals were relocating closer to humans-only to get killed by them. A flock of birds also told Maya about the oil spill from an oil exploration project that had killed millions and millions of fish and other sea animals. That oil spill had also killed the entire bird population of a nearby island. Birds who ate those fish also met a miserable death. Older birds that could not fly long distances were found dead in black, oily ocean water. Maya just could not understand why her mind was traveling toward more dark stories. She wanted to focus on uplifting tales, but how could she think of anything else on such a gloomy day? She desperately tried to divert her mind to uplifting stories for her own sake. She closed her eyes again and focused hard. Finally, an image of an old, bald man came to her mind. Who is he? Then she remembered it was the image of a man she saw in many places around the world. In some pictures, she only saw his face. In others, he was walking with a small stick in his hands. It was the image of a man who had changed the world with his vision of peace and humanity. Maya had heard a lot about his peaceful and non-violent protests and negotiations over violent options to free his people. She had also heard stories about a similar man in another country who followed the footsteps of peace and had changed that country forever. Maya and Molly: Even though Maya and Molly had become good friends, sometimes Maya found Molly in some strange corners of the forest talking to her own self. At first, when Maya asked her to whom she was talking, Molly always avoided the subject. But as they grew closer to each other, Molly revealed her secret to Maya. Maya was in shock and in denial for weeks. Unlike other birds, Molly had a supernatural ability to communicate with the dead human spirits. It was her sixth sense and she knew that if she revealed it to other birds in the forest, she would become the center of jokes and ridicule. It explained why she liked to seek a place away from other birds every so often. Molly told Maya that she wanted to utilize her ability to understand humans and wanted to help wandering human spirits seek salvation. In this way, both Maya and Molly had something in common. They both cared deeply about humans. Strangers Arrive: As Molly continued having the conversation with the newcomers, Maya observed both birds. She saw that the red bird had bright red feathers, with some black spots on them. He also had some black spots on his forehead. Obviously, they were both male birds because they both had thick voices and whiskers on their faces. The red bird had a long black tip on his tail. He looked stiff, with a small scar next to his sharp, long, curving beak. He had long feet with sharp toenails. His voice was confident and very authoritative. Maya noticed that he had a peculiar habit of flicking his wings when he spoke. He appeared to be a little younger than her and very alert. He sat straight up. On the contrary, the black bird had black shiny feathers, with tiny red spots on it. He also had a long black tail, with a slight tint of red on the back part of it. His beak was large and curved. His body was plump, with square tipped nails and a long stretching neck. His feet arrangement was strange, as well. They had two toes facing forward and two toes facing backward to give him a distinct appearance. Maya noticed that he also had a nervous habit of twitching his neck before he spoke. His body puffed up and his chest bulged forward to make him look bigger than he actually was. He also hopped nervously like a sparrow and walked on a branch like a Pipit when the red bird was speaking. Two strange looking birds, Maya thought. Clearly, the red bird is the leader, and the black bird is an associate. At first, they appeared to Maya as if they were cave birds. But upon a closer observation, she noticed that they both had shiny feathers. Therefore, she concluded that they must have come from the part of the world with lots of sunshine. They also appeared to be physically fit and strong, which made her think that they must have lived very chaotic lives. We Must Overcome: “Hope can be a very good beginning, Mr. Black,” Maya responded. “Hope along with determination and hard work can do wonders. I believe that if we are capable of destroying, then we are also capable of protecting and saving the planet. Mr. Black, our life is what we make it. Our life can be what we want it to be. It’s time to let go of our egos and understand what is at stake. Together, I am confident that we can achieve our objectives of peace and harmony. Violence and hate only provoke more violence and hatred, Mr. Black. We must not hide our true selves of peace-loving and nature-loving creatures of this planet. Because of you and Mr. Red, I have a new vision today, and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. We are the children of this world and we must live in harmony with each other.”