Three Early Birds

A morning ritual between three souls looking for a moment of peace.

Three early birds, two girls and one boy gather for a sunrise on a rocky shore in the wind.  

The first bird is a peaceful one, the leader of these three birds. She sits down on a bench, overlooking the other two, not leaving her spot, she has the wind under control. Her wings are at ease, she’s at home.  

The boy is a lonesome bird, for now, by choice, fluttering and wrestling against the wind, if only he knew how to turn around and let the wind carry him to where he’s not yet been.  

The third is an odd bird, not from around here, the wind flows around her too fast, she tries to slow down, she came here seeking something new, something she does not yet know. 

Still half asleep, they’re slowly opening their eyes to observe what’s happening all around them; they see the silver of the quarter moon above their heads, and a hodgepodge of grey, white, yellow, orange, pink and blue clouds in the sky. They laugh at a cactus that seems to give them the finger, and the salt in the air makes everything in the distance seem blurry. They hear the birds chirping and tweeting all around them, and the roaring of the waves crashing ashore in the distance. They themselves are making noise too, three birds discussing other animals and plants, sharing stories about the world. At the first glimmer of gold on the horizon, everything stops, for a moment that’s all there is, the start of a new day. 

When the first sun rays start to heat up their faces both the lonesome bird and the odd bird try to relax their wings. The odd bird asks the wind to help her slow down, but the lonesome bird asks the peaceful bird to help him against the wind. She tries to explain to him how the energy flows around them. While they’re talking, they observe the odd bird performing her ritual. They see her gracefully picking up a pebble on her path, lingering, analyzing it, and then putting it aside, not with force but with care.   

The peaceful bird is pleased when they depart, she helped two birds to a fresh start, her job is done. The odd bird found a moment of peace, a step closer to what she’s been looking for, a way to use the forces in the world to her advantage. And the lonesome bird, he found serenity too, not there and then, but by writing down what he observed this morning at the start of a new day.