That Dove

Even when we don't realize what we have done; the evidence is all around us.

That Dove

(“Amalia”- Melody Gardot) The platform leads to a field surrounding a deep forest rich with flora and fauna. Giovanni lived in a city most of his life and now lives in a tropical town with little woodlands nearby; definitely none as luscious as the one before his eyes. The girls and the farmer boy frolic in the field of flowers and try to catch butterflies. The sun is high in the sky to match the heat of the day. Giovanni and the other boy take a look around to see what task await Giovanni. They decide to head into the forest to take a look around.

            Inside, the sun peaks through the small openings in the canopy of the trees highlighting the pollen floating in the air. A winding stream runs through the forest from the entrance to an unknown location. Along its banks is a lone baby deer that is shaking so vigorously that it collapses and tucks its head to its chest. Giovanni and the shadow boy run over to the deer. As they do, an orange glow approaches them from the other side of the stream. Giovanni reaches the baby deer and slowly approaches it to not scar it off.

“Giovanni, look.” the shadow boy says as he gazes to the lands behind the stream. Giovanni turns his head and sees the stream reflecting shades of orange and red. He looks up to see a hug forest fire rapidly spreading. His eyes open wide with fear as he grabs the fawn and moves it further away from the stream. The fawn lets out a cry as it struggles to escape Giovanni’s grip.

“Mom!” It says. “Mom where are you? Come back, it isn’t safe.” The deer jumps out Giovanni’s arms and runs back to the stream.

“Is she over there?” He asks. The fawn nods.

“It’s too dangerous to look for her now.” The shadow boy says.

“We need to put out this fire and find her.”

 “I’ll go get the others and bring more water. We passed a dam on the way- I’ll break it.” The shadow boy runs towards the field, but Giovanni insists he waits with the baby deer, while he retrieves the water. Giovanni heads towards the field while the shadow boy and baby deer wait in the water for safety. Through the flames, the shadow boy can see the mother; he decides to brave the fire.

            Meanwhile, Giovanni recruits the farmer boy to help him break the dam. He takes his dove with him as they find big rocks they can throw at the dam. The girls wait in the fields for safety. Upstream of the dam is a muddy field filled with fallen leaves and the rocks they need. Giovanni removes his shirt so they have something to carry the rocks in while the farmer boy uses his shadow hat. They have trouble picking up the rocks,

“It’s like they are covered in oil of something. Giovanni, we may have to roll them.”

“In that case, go get the girls and the dove. They can help us; we can relay the rocks over to the dam and the dove should circle the dam so we can easily spot it. Hurry, the other boy and the fawn are counting on us.”

“I got you! I will be right back!” The farmer boy makes his way downstream and has the girls follow him back to Giovanni; however, he has them stop at certain spots on the path between the dam and the muddy marsh. The dove circles the dam and Giovanni’s plan is set in motion. One by one the rocks are rolled downstream, but as they make their way to the dam, they seem to grow to a size equivalent to boulders. The Prairie girl at the end of the train has trouble moving it much further when she receives it from the other girl. The other girl runs to the boys to have them help and together they push the boulder into the dam, successfully destroying it.

            Water rushes downstream towards the fiery forest and the children follow its flow back to the other shadow boy and the fawn. As they run, they notice the water changes from a sparkling clear blue to an oily brown-black color. They run faster to warn the shadow boy of the toxic water approaching. They run without noticing the changes in their surrounds; the air smells like campfire, the sky is polluted with grey muck, the temperature has fallen, the ground is charred, and the trees are naked. Suddenly, they find themselves standing in snow and the water is partially iced over. Giovanni and the others stop running and start to look for their friend, but none know whose name to call.

“My friend, where have you gone? Have we really been gone that long?” Giovanni looks at the ground to see faint animal track and with it footprints that look to be human.

“Hey, Giovanni, I think there may be a cabin nearby, maybe he went there.” Safari girl points in the opposite direction to where a controlled stream of smoke is- from a chimney perhaps.

“But the tracks are going in the other direction. We should go this way.” Giovanni continues to follow the tracks, not really giving them a choice, but to follow. They are led to a cave surrounded by penguins and in its depths they find the shadow boy and the fawn.

“I’m sorry it took so long; it looks like we are too late.” Giovanni gently pets the fawn on the head with tears welling up in his eyes.

“Giovanni, I was able to brave the fire and rescue its mother. A little heat won’t hurt me.” The shadow boy explains.

“Where is she now?”

“Unfortunately, the fire did hurt her. She, didn’t make it past the first day of winter.” The shadow boy picks up some of the snow behind him to reveal a lifeless foot. “The fawn refused to leave so I stayed with it.”

“Thank you, friend. It’s okay if you want to venture on with your friends; I’m safe now.” The fawn expresses its sincere gratitude by licking the shadow boy on his face.

“You have a nice spot here. I’ll leave her here with you. Just send her our way if you need anything, ok!” The farmer boy smiles as he places his dove next to the fawn. (End)

“Thank you, that is very kind of you.” The fawn lets the dove rest on its head.

(“Eye Adaba”-Asa)  “I would imagine that you don’t have much time left to complete your mission, Giovanni. Time moves so fast here.” The shadow boy thinks. Giovanni, in a panic, pull the hourglass out his pocket to see that it is still running and only 1/3 empty.

“Let us keep moving then.” Giovanni heads for the exit, but the farmer boy approaches the fawn.

then follows Giovanni and the others outside. They haven’t gone too far; Giovanni had stopped in his tracks as he saw the snow turn from white to black. He looks to the river with is also covered in black muck.

 “What happened!” A worried Safari girl takes a few steps back.

“Could it be…” The farmer boy looks upstream.

“The black stuff we saw at the rock deposit, it made its way downstream when we broke the dam.” Giovanni deduces. He feels the black snow and notices the same oily feel it has as the rocks did. As he surveys the area he notices a family of five penguins who are covered in oil; they waddle around in circles unable to see where they are going. “We need to find some clean water and wash them off. Hopefully you did see a cabin; maybe the person living there has some soap we can use.” Giovanni approaches one of the penguins and picks it up, “This time, I won’t leave you behind.” The farmer boy picks up two of the penguins while the rest grab one.

            They trek through the snowy landscape and the subsequent blizzard that blows through the area. Visibility is hindered, but they keep moving forward towards the believed cabin. Faintly, they can see the smoke getting closer and closer. Not feeling any warmer than before, they are fairly certain it isn’t another forest fire. Eventually they make it to the small cabin. Knocking on the door, they are relieved that someone answered.

“Oh do please come in. You all must be freezing.” The old lady rushes them inside. “Let me get you some towels, oh! What happened to the penguins?”

“An oil spill I guess you can say.” Giovanni answers.

“Oh dear! We have to get them cleaned up right away!”

“Do you have any soap?” The Prairie girl wonders.

“No I do not, but I have something even better! Follow me.” The old lady recedes to a hallway off the main room. Giovanni and his friends follow with the penguins still in their grips. “I have this special water that will clean the penguins off with no problems. It works wonders when I need to clean my house, you couldn’t imagine the size of the dust here or the bugs, it’s ungodly.”

“Thank you, we appreciate your help.” Giovanni sets his penguin down as the old lady hands him a bucket of the water.

“You, young man, go dig a watering hole out back so the penguins may bathe in it. You look like you are good with your hands.” The old lady demands the farmer boy.

“Yeah, I am. I’ve been working on my family’s farm all my life. The best part of a hard day’s work is the homemade treats waiting for me when I’m done.”

 “I’ll make you something sweet then.” She turns to the shadow boy, “You and the other boy should help him, of course.” The boys do as she says; they dig a big hole in the frozen ground and fill it with buckets of her special water. Surprisingly, it doesn’t freeze over in the winter cold. The girls direct the penguins to the water so they can be cleaned. As the scrub the penguins with the brushes the old lady provides them, they notice the oil is staying separate and even forming into balls they can easily remove from the water.

“Ma’am, would it be okay if we used more of your water to clean the river? It’s partially our fault to why it’s polluted.” Giovanni asks.

“Of course young man. Take as much as you need.”

            Giovanni and his friends grab as many buckets as they can hold and remove all the water from the watering hole while the rest of the buckets are left empty to collect the oil. They spread out along the river. The ice starts to melt as the oil is removed and luckily they remove it all before the river starts flowing again. They bring their buckets back to the watering hole and dispose of the oil there. Exhausted, they all rest by the fireplace in the old lady’s cabin. They can’t rest for long because Giovanni notices the hourglass is still running.

“Don’t give up Giovanni! They appreciate your effort and tenderness; animals and even plants can sense genuine empathy”. The farm boy says.

            He doesn’t know what else he has left to do. Frustrated, he looks out the window to see if any other animals need help. It’s raining outside and there isn’t a soul in sight. The water level of the river is slightly lowers than it was before despite the rain- due to the water cycle no doubt. The flowers are starting to bloom, but something is preventing them from doing so fully. Giovanni focuses on the flowers more closely. As rain drops taps the petals and leaves, they start to wilt and then dissolve. He fears the worst- the water was more toxic than he realized. He looks at his hourglass again, and see that he is almost out of time.

“I don’t know where Lepus is, but we need to make it back to the station before time runs out. Safari and Prairie, you should be safe here with the old lady. Please, shelter yourselves from the rain. Let’s go, guys.” Giovanni takes an umbrella they can fit under and they run to the station. The rain makes holes in their umbrella and Giovanni’s clothes. Only when they reach the station and see the train does he catches his breath and notice a hare wrapped around his leg.

“I’m sure they won’t survive much longer, natural selection won’t allow it.” Giovanni shakes Lepus off his leg.

“This is not natural selection…this was a human disrupting the process." Giovanni hangs his head in shame. “I made so many mistakes, the least I could do is try to fix them, but it seems all I did was deter the inevitable.”

“Believing this, was your devotion really worth it? You almost didn’t make it.”

“If I see someone in need of a helping hand, I will help them no matter what. Who knows when my life will be in danger, when my time will be up; I only hope to have a friend or stranger care enough to risk their life to save mine. I know what it’s like to feel helpless with no one around to hear your cries- I don’t want others to feel sorrow I feel for my mother’s declining health and my father’s suffering. My devotion to save them is unwavering.”

“Be careful, Giovanni. Devotion can lead to downfall and burning bridges. Never forget the people who helped you along the way; they deserve as much blame and praise for your successes and failures.”

“Yeah, I understand. We all need to take accountability and realize that a problem is not cause by one but many and that it will take many to fix it- and time.” Giovanni hands Lepus the hourglass. He flips it over and hands it to the conductor.

“All aboard! Next stop, Libra!”

“I’m going to stay here, Giovanni. I’m sure I and the girls can fix the acid rain problem; we can build a dome if we have to. Besides, I gotta make sure Amalia and the fawn are safe.” The farmer boy hugs Giovanni before disappearing into the toxic rain. Giovanni and the shadow boy enter the train and return to their seats and in silence, waiting for the next stop. (End)