THE WOUNDED KINGFISHER  

(a love story)

            On a beach.  It is dark and cold.  Danger.  A crowd has gathered to watch a bird.  A Kingfisher.  The bird staggers and shrieks.  He opens his mouth.  A river of blood pours forth.   

         The crowd is frightened.  They run away from the bird.  A girl breaks from the crowd and runs in the opposite direction.  In her hand she clutches a bouquet of feathers. 

Grey and blue feathers.

            The bird pursues the girl.  The skies roar with thunder.  Great bolts of angry lightning strike the ground near the girl, seeming to the lead the way for the bird.

            The roaring waves madly beat against the shore.  The kingfisher vanishes, engulfed by the waves.  He emerges, closer to the girl.

            She tries to run faster.  She trips and falls to the ground.  Bits of sand and gravel cling to her knees.  The feathers are coated with blood.  A bright, crimson pool of blood surrounds her.

            The girl slowly rises.  She does not look behind her.  She continues to run, tightly hugging the kingfisher to her heart.

            For some time the girl shelters the bird.  She builds him a haven by the water.  It has no sharp edges.

            She caresses the bird.

            She breathes into him her life, her passion

            She cares for the bird and loves him with an overwhelming tenderness.

            She is consumed by longing.

            She waits in desperate solitude.

            Until he comes to her.

            She looks up at him and smiles as he enters.  He finds his place and turns to return her smile.

            The world stands still.  A light falls between them.  She is exposed to him.  As exposed as raw nerve endings.  Her spirit reaches him.  Encircles him.  His whole self comes to life again.

           One morning the bird awakes, so full of energy, joy and life.  He knows he must leave the girl and once again soar through the skies, returning from where he came.  He rises quickly, leaving the girl to her dreamless sleep.  She feels him still warm, deep inside her.

            He soars, confident in his conquest, confident in the girl’s love.  He triumphantly screams out her name as he flies above her.  He hears not his scream but the pounding of his own heart, the steady, timeless pulse of love.

            The girl continues to lie still, the scream not reaching her consciousness.  She is safe with him.  That’s why she sleeps.