Letting Go

 Once upon a time, a bird fell in love with a balloon. Now, while this sounds like it would be a funny story, it isn’t. This is a sad story - at least at first. Unrequited love is always sad...

 He was a very handsome bird, with glossy black feathers and bright black eyes, and he had a charming way of flitting the tips of his wings when he landed on a tree branch that made all of the lady birds sigh. He knew that he was a very special bird with a fantastic future ahead of him, full of grand adventures and heroic deeds; a bird as handsome as himself, couldn’t be meant for ordinary things.

 One morning, the black bird awoke to see that humans had been very busy in the field near the forest he lived in. Being adventurous, he flew over to the field to get a closer look. The humans had been setting up brightly colored tents and there were cages filled with many strange animals inside of them.

 He was careful to keep his distance from the people; he knew enough about humans to be cautious. He didn’t want to be too close to what was going on but he didn’t want to leave either. There was so much to see going on all around him. It was all very exciting!

  There was a larger tent in the center of the field. Many of the humans were going inside and others were standing outside, waiting for their turn to go in. The black bird had just flown to the top of the large tent to see what all of the fuss was about, when he saw something that made him forget everything else.

 It was a beautiful red bird! She was floating in the breeze, bobbing up and down. Her bright red feathers were so shiny that he was sure that he would be able to see his reflection in her. She was surrounded by a flock of other birds of all sizes and colors, but she was the only red bird and she was the most beautiful of all! The black bird lost his heart immediately.

 He flew closer to the red bird, trying to get a closer look at his new mate. He wondered for a moment if he would have difficulty in persuading the red bird to leave her flock and go away with him, but he quickly dismissed the thought from his mind. Surely she would understand that two such beautiful birds were meant to be together.  

 He flew into the air and circled around the birds, then he started in shock. The birds were all prisoners! Each one of the birds had a piece of string tied to them. And there was a human holding onto the strings! The black bird was horrified! He had not thought that humans could do such a thing! He must set them free! But he would have to be careful. He did not want to end up a prisoner as well…

 He flew back to the tent and perched on top. He knew he would have to plan his rescue carefully. He watched as smaller humans came up to the bird catcher and he watched horrified as the smaller humans walked away, each one carrying a bird on a string!

 For several minutes the black bird was too worried that his mate would be sold to think clearly. Then he began to notice that while many of the small humans approached the bird captor and walked away with their new captives bobbing above them, he had not seen anyone leave with the red bird. He had been surprised; the red bird was the most beautiful one, surely everyone would be clamoring to own her.

 Fear filled the black bird’s heart. Maybe the human had an even more dreadful fate in mind for his mate? He had to save her, quickly, no matter the danger.

The black bird’s fear for his beloved made him brave. He swooped over the captured flock and hovered in the air beside the red bird. He pecked at the string holding the red bird captive. One peck, two pecks. Then, suddenly, the string broke! The red bird was free!

 The black bird watched his beloved soaring slowly upward into the sky. He had expected that once the red bird was free, she would make for the safety of the woods. But instead she just continued to climb, going higher and higher. She was now so high that she was barely a red spot in the sky. If she went much farther away, she would be lost to him forever. And she hadn’t even thanked him for risking his life to save her! 

 He flew after her, amazed that she had flown so high so quickly. He followed, flying as high and fast as he could, trilling after her, trying desperately to get her attention but she didn’t seem to hear him…

                                                          *

 The sun was very low, almost at the horizon. He had never flown this far in his life. He was thirsty and hungry and so very tired, but he knew that he couldn’t stop now. He had to find some way to reach his beloved!

 It was getting harder and harder to see the red bird in the fading light, but he could tell that she was not flying quite as high as she had been flying before. If he could only go a little faster, he might be able to reach her…

 The black bird was so focused on his mate that he never noticed the dark shape flying silently above him. Some instinct warned him to swerve just in time to avoid being snatched by the hawk’s talons. He was terrified! The black bird had never been hunted before, but he knew that the larger bird would be his death! He looked across the sky for one last glimpse of his beloved. At least she was far enough away that she would be safe.

  Of course, now that he knew that she was safe, he had no intention of dying today! He dodged and darted through the air, but the hawk was always a talon’s-breath away from snatching him out of the sky. He felt a sharp pull as one of his tail feathers was pulled out. The hawk had almost had him that time!

 The black bird dove for the safety of the forest below him. The tree canopy loomed below him. He was almost safe! He cried out in pain as he felt a talon scrape across his back. He fell the last few feet into the trees, stunning himself against a branch. The hawk plunged through the leaves, claws first, hoping to grab his prey. The black bird threw himself off of the branch, desperate to escape from the winged death above him. The treetops were too dense for the hawk to follow. The last sound he heard was the hawk’s furious scream of rage as it flew away…

                                                        *

 The black bird huddled miserably on his branch. He knew that he was safe where he was; the tree branches were so close together, it would be difficult for anything to get to him in all the tangle of leaves. But even though he was safe for the moment, he was desperately unhappy. The talon mark on his back burned like fire, and his head hurt and he was very hungry. Worse still, he was terribly thirsty. Any one of these things would be bad enough on their own, but worst of all – he had lost his beloved! Even if he took to the air at that very moment – and he was too injured and too afraid of the hawk to return to the sky – he had no hope of ever finding the red bird again. She was lost to him forever…

 The moon rose high in the sky, lighting the forest from above. The black bird wasn’t used to being awake at night – he was usually asleep in his safe tree long before darkness fell – and he didn’t like it one bit! He had no idea where he was and he was sure that every noise he heard was something that wanted to eat him!

 The moonlight had made the forest as bright as day time. Slowly, the forest became quiet as the woodland creatures settled down for the night. In the light of the moon, the silence seemed peaceful and comforting. Even as hungry and thirsty as he was, the black bird felt as if he could sleep now. He had just tucked his head under his wing when he heard it.

 In the distance, someone was singing. The black bird was instantly awake. It was a birdsong but he had never heard any bird sing that beautifully before. It was almost too beautiful to be real! His heart began to beat faster. Only one bird in all the world could possibly sing that beautifully! It must be the red bird! She was calling to him!

 The black bird began to fly toward the sound of the song. The sky was growing lighter and the song was growing fainter. He began to be afraid that he would not be able to reach the red bird before she had finished singing. Maybe she had given up hope that he would find her!  There was a clearing ahead, but it was still too dark to see well, and he was afraid of the open sky, and he had reached the end of his strength. The singer was silent now. He had tried to call to her to let her know that he was near, but he had been too tired even to sing…

                                                              *

  When the black bird opened his eyes again the sun was low in the sky. He had almost slept the whole day away.  He was very hungry and thirsty. The tree he was perched in stood at the edge of a large clearing that was so large that he couldn’t see the end of it from where he was sitting. It was full of flowering bushes and fruit trees, all growing together in a wild, untamed, sun-warmed tangle.  The fruit trees were so close to him that he could smell the fruit, but they might as well have been on the moon. If he tried to fly, he would tumble out of the sky.  

 “Hello.” The voice came from just above his head. He was so startled he almost fell off of his branch. He looked up slowly; the voice had sounded cheerful but it could still be a threat. On a branch a few feet above him perched a little brown bird.

 “Hello.” The brown bird said again. The black bird tried to answer – he had always believed that manners were important – but he was so weak that he couldn’t make a sound. “Oh, dear.” The brown bird said. “I’ll be right back.” She flew away and returned very quickly holding a twig loaded with ripe cherries in her beak. She hopped onto the branch and laid the cherries in front of him. “Eat these.” She said. “They’ll help you feel better.”

 “Thank you.” He said.

 “No trouble.” The brown bird said. “In a little while when you’re stronger I’ll show you where the water is.”

                                                             *

 The black bird knew that the little brown bird had saved his life. She wasn’t a particularly pretty bird – her feathers were a dull, dark-brownish color – before today he would have had nothing to do with a bird as plain as this one. But she had saved his life. It was only right that he try to be polite. So he asked questions and tried to be interested and grateful.

 The brown bird told him that she was a nightingale.  She was a young bird but she was very adventurous. She had flown far and wide and had seen much of the world outside of the forest. The black bird listened to her stories, interested in spite of himself. The nightingale might not be pretty but she was good company.

 The clearing had once been a homestead, but the humans had moved on long ago leaving the remains of a cabin and an orchard of fruit trees. The clearing seemed to be a haven for the birds of the forest; it was so peaceful and safe. The black bird was happy to have such a nice place to rest and recover from his injuries but he didn’t plan to stay for very long. As soon as he was well enough he would go in search of his beloved.  

 After a few days, he felt as if he were strong enough to continue his search. He wanted to set off immediately, but he knew it wouldn’t be right to leave without telling the nightingale. He had begun to think of the nightingale as his friend and he didn’t want to go without saying goodbye.  

 The nightingale listened to the black bird’s story of how he had rescued the red bird and how he had followed her so high and so far away and she was very sad for him. The nightingale had seen travelling circuses and she knew from his description of the fancy red bird that he had fallen in love with a balloon and not a bird at all.

 The nightingale explained to him as gently and kindly as she could that his love had been a false love. The black bird’s heart was broken. He was embarrassed too, which was almost worse than being heartbroken. For the next few days, he hid in the trees around the clearing avoiding all the other birds – even the nightingale. He couldn’t believe he had been so stupid as to believe that a balloon was a bird! Surely the nightingale would tell all the other birds and they would all laugh at him!

 A few days passed and none of the birds who lived in the clearing had come to make fun of him, and when he joined the other birds in the cherry trees, none of them teased him about his foolish mistake. The nightingale had kept his secret! She was a true friend.

 The black bird and the nightingale began to spend most of every day together. Nightingales are famous for knowing stories – especially stories of love – and the nightingale told the black bird all the stories she knew. She hoped that hearing about how silly human beings behave while in love would help the black bird feel better about the mistake he had made.  

 The nightingale told him about ‘The Little Mermaid’; the story of a beautiful mermaid who loved a prince and gave up everything – including her life – for the chance to be with him. The nightingale didn’t know how to explain what a mermaid was; she told him it was a fish.

 Then there was the story of ‘The Steadfast Tin Soldier’; a toy soldier who fell in love with a ballerina doll and went through many adventures before he melted in a fire. The black bird liked that story, all the way up until the soldier fell into the fire; he certainly didn’t think it was smart of the soldier to end up that way! 

 Hearing the stories did help the black bird feel better about the mistake he had made and he was relieved that the nightingale didn’t think that he was stupid for falling in love with the balloon. In fact, he couldn’t help but think that the nightingale might admire him for all that he had done in the name of love. After all, he had behaved just like the heroes in her stories, risking everything for his beloved. It didn’t matter that it had been a balloon; it was the intention behind the actions that counted.

                                                             *

 The black bird opened his eyes, unsure what had woken him. Maybe it was the brightness of the moon; the moon was full, just as it had been the night he had followed the bird’s song to the clearing. He tucked his head under his wing again and closed his eyes. He hadn’t thought about the bird song he had heard that night in so long. He had convinced himself that he must have dreamed it…

 But no… There it was! The bird song. The very same song he had heard before and just as beautiful as he remembered it. Only this time, it was coming from somewhere close by…

 He flew quickly toward the song. He wasn’t sure what he expected to find – certainly not a red balloon – but he knew he had to find out who the mystery singer was. After all, whoever it was had led him to the clearing and saved his life…

 He followed the song to the ruined cabin and perched on the remains of the old chimney, was the nightingale, singing in the moonlight.

 “It was you!” He said. “You were the one who led me here.” Everything now made sense. When he had first heard the mysterious song, he had felt as if he were following his heart home. And here, now, in this clearing, with the nightingale, he was home! Now, he knew that beauty came from the inside of a person, not out. The nightingale might not be as beautiful as the red bird had been, but the nightingale’s heart was as lovely as her song.

 The nightingale had been in love with the handsome black bird since the first moment she had seen him and was very happy to learn that he had discovered that he loved her too. They certainly weren’t the most conventional bird couple in the clearing, but since they had found true love, they were the happiest…