The Flight \ Goren Gordon

It flew across the plain and thought  'I can see the village from here’. After increasing its speed and entering the village, it flew toward one of the houses and landed upon its wooden roof. The feathery glider cleaned itself for about an hour until the messenger arrived. He asked the whereabouts of a John Maryal. A woman who worked nearby directed him to the right house. He approached and knocked on the door. A tall, sturdy man opened and stared with his dark, penetrating eyes at the messenger.

'Are you John Maryal ?' the stranger asked. The large farmer nodded. 'I have a message for you.' Maryal's eyes flickered with excitement and surprise. The messenger took out a scrollcase from one of his pouches and opened it. 'You are summoned !' he read out loud. Maryal frowned with resentment and every villager turned his face, some with a smile and some with a tear in their eye. The dark haired man thanked the messenger and bid him farewell. He shut the door and other voices came from inside.

The bird rose to the air only to descend once more and land on the window ledge, and gazing at the interior. It was darkish, but its keen eyes could distinguish some figures. One was John's, another a small woman, and another, that of a child. Maryal spoke and the child ran toward him and hugged him as hard as he could. The woman asked a question and Maryal answered 'Soon, very soon!' Suddenly, he looked at the window and shouted. He grabbed a stone and threw it at the spy. The stone missed it by an inch. Understanding it was not welcomed, it spread its wings and flew.

After gilding for several hours through the hot air, it could see in the distance a farm with a small house next to it. The bird flew towards it with increased speed and as it neared, it saw an old man working the land, plowing. A large oak tree was standing proudly in a corners of the plot, so it landed on one of its branches. The man continued to work for ten more minutes, then he put the plowshare aside, exited the parcel of land and examined it. Suddenly, he moved his hands, holding them up and then twisting them. He began to move in a dance-like manner: he turned and jumped, stamped his feet on the ground and shouted. Then, as suddenly as he had begun, he stopped. The unnoticed spectator didn't miss its cue and rose into the air, then glided quickly down toward the lot in a straight, moderate, almost predetermined, path. The moment it entered the perimeter, gliding five inches above the ground, plants came out of the furrows, missing it by a feather. They darted upwards quickly, growing leaves one by one and reaching a height of four feet in a matter of seconds. It escaped the plant "attack" in the nick of time, and with an exalted cry ascended to the air again. It saw the man spreading his arm towards it, so it landed there. The exuberant shaman tickled it in its soft spot and the bird enjoyed every minute. He took it inside the house and gave it something to eat. Afterwards, it rested while he cleaned, and then he sat at his table and began to write something. It jumped on the table and sounded a soft, yet demanding chirp. He continued to scribble, completely inattentive to his companion’s needs. Insulted when ignored, it spread its wings and flew out of the house.

As the sun was leaving the sky, hiding behind the mountainrange in the far west, the bird came upon a road. A single rider passed below, galloping northeast as he was trying to make good use of the last few minutes of light. Intrigued, it followed him, barely able to catch up with the brown horse. As the first stars started to paint the sky, the rider stopped and began to make camp. After a few minutes, he was lying next to a well fed fire. Sound asleep, he didn't hear the feathery guardian angel land on a tree right next to him. At midnight, when the half moon was high in the sky, thousands of small moons keeping him company, it observed something strange: a pale gray animal was approaching with graceful movements and an unnatural silence. It stopped twenty feet from the rider and listened. Sensing evil and danger from this beast, the bird opened its beak and let out a blood curdling cry. The beast's yellow eyes gazed at it. For the first time in many months, the wildfowl was afraid. Before any of them did anything else, the rider was standing with a saber in one hand and a dirk in the other. The beast knew it had lost its opportunity and left quickly and unseen. The rider searched the darkness for the cause of his awakening. Proud of having performing its job, the protecter gave another cry and glided slowly towards the rider, expecting a pat on the back. Instead it almost got a sword on the neck. It managed to avoid the second swing, too, and flew away sad and disappointed.

When the full moon was relieved from his duties and its thousand officers were blinking out of sight as the first reddish rays of the sun blessed the land with their warm touch, the flying traveler saw from high above a trail of men, marching steadily with the sun at their left. Descending it saw the objects they held and could hear their conversations:

- It's been a long time since I carried this sword with me.

- Me, too, though I practiced back home regularly.

- That's because you don’t have a farm to tend to. I've been working day and night for the last decade.

- Yes, but you have your rewards. You have a wife and a healthy son, and the name of your farm is known throughout the county.

- And your reputation is impressive, too. Or so I've heard.

- Ha, Ha. Well, you've heard correctly. My last ...

The curious bird advanced toward the front of the line, being given food, or taking it along thw way. Leading these tired warriors were two knights, riding gracefully on their powerful mounts, in full body armor and a huge blade at their side. They were talking.

- No, I don't. The courier didn't say explicitly. Only that we are needed desperately in the south.

- I heard rumors that the old king is dying. Maybe that has something to do with it.

- I don't think so. I heard that the bandits are giving the south roads a great deal of trouble. Maybe we're being sent as reinforcements for the army of the south.

- Perhaps you're right. I've... Look, someone's coming.

A white horse with a brown head was galloping towards them from up the road. A man was riding it. He approached the knights and talked to them. The bored eavesdropper listened for a few minutes and then decided to look for adventure somewhere else, so it rose up, up into the warm air until it almost touched the white clouds above. It released a cry and darted forward.

At high noon, as the yellow sun struck hard against its body, the tired wanderer saw the towering stone wall. After a scrutinizing search it saw the guards at their posts, and landed on the ground, hiding behind the tall grass. The watchmen didn't let any animal enter the city. If they spotted one, they would kill it immediately, without remorse, so the stalking bird waited for darkness. When it heard the bell of the shift's end ring, it flew upward and forward to enter the city without being seen, but a refreshed watchman noticed it and raised his bow. It somehow knew that an arrow couldn't hurt it, ever, so it flew without fear and the arrow flew right past it. The stealthy animal alit, landing in one of the alleys in the crowded city. When it observed there was more noise than usual, it glanced at a tavern and saw it was full. Dozens of soldiers were drinking ale and the barman refilled their pitchers every two minutes. Although the men were drunk, and sang incomprehensible songs, there was a strange tense feeling among them, as if they were expecting something. Each time the door opened, all heads turned in that direction. 'Tomorrow is the day', someone shouted and everybody raised their pitchers and yelled. After a few hours, everyone was asleep, overtaken by the gallons of ale they had drunk. The weary bird decided it could use the rest, too.

The only sounds it heard for the next few days were those of combat and commotion. It didn't mind, though, because it foa huge store of food and spent hours hours eating and resting. After eating enough for a month, it flew unseen to check on what was happening. Upon reaching the north gate, it saw the two knights talking with an important figure in town.

- We assembled our troops as soon as the messenger arrived, my lord, and marched nonstop for the entire way.

- And you arrived none-too-late, let me tell you. My army is being beaten in every battle, and our enemy is just a few miles from here. But, now with your reinforcements, we will defeat them. We are not the only ones who have been weakened. They have lost many good soldiers, too.

- Tell us exactly what the current situation is.

- Well...

Again, the energetic adventurer was bored with these petty details so it flew away, but too high this time. 'You again' it heard someone shout. It turned its head and saw Maryal throwing another stone at it. He missed, but suddenly, everyone saw it and began throwing things at it. The watchmen turned to see what the fuss was all about, and when they saw the cause, they began shooting arrows at it. None of these hit, but the evasive target lost a lot of feathers when it maneuvered like crazy to avoid the menace. It soared into the air and exited the town, sobbing.

It flew across the battlefield and saw hundreds of dead bodies lying on the ground, accompanied by a mass of looters, and soldiers trying to set things in order again. It continued its flight for several more days, and landed to rest in a green meadow surrounding a beautiful oval lake. Large mammalian animals rested there in the noonday sun and the air was clear, except for patches of insects. The sight was beautiful to its weary eyes and it contemplated upon staying there for the rest of the year. But it wasn't the settling kind, and it knew it needed adventure, so it stayed there for only a week, to restore its strength and then rose into the air, taking an unknown path and following it resolutly.

The bird entered another city, this time without avoiding the watchmen, because, for some peculiar reason, there were none. It explored the streets and observed that all the women and children were gone and that the men were preparing for an unknown task. It didn't care much so it left them to get on with their work. After some time, it heard a cry: 'They are coming, they are coming !', and the men began to run in all directions, carrying weapons to strategic places on the wall. The intrigued observer didn't understand military tactics, but it understood something major was happening, so it flew to see what was going on. No one paid any attention to it, so it reached the outer perimeter of the city with ease. Behind the walls it saw hundreds and hundreds of soldiers laying siege to the city. With its keen vision it recognized a familiar face and its own twitched with anger. At the end of the day, queer though it seemed to it, the besieged townsfolk were merry and cheerful.

- They can remain here for years, we have the old man's potatoes. We will never starve and we have enough soldiers to withstand any attack.

The party continued for every night for the following week, but suddenly something changed. Someone on the other side blew a horn and they attacked, and for some bizarre reason, the attackers fought like crazy men, pressing the defenders backwards and almost subduing the second line of defense. The townsfolk panicked and reinforcements were called in. Interested by this sudden change of events, the bird spread its wings and flew to the center of the scene, but it was careless and almost rammed a running soldier. He saw it and raised the cry of his life. It almost deafened the hapless creature. His companions looked at him and spotted it. They began chasing it with their swords, and the archer started to shoot arrows at it. Confused but not afraid, it escaped the area, but the soldiers who were laying the siege were everywhere, having no other choice, it flew to their side. At midpoint between the defenders and attackers, the latter spotted it, and began shooting at it. Now, extremely puzzled, it flew straight upward having no other direction to go in, but suddenly, something happened: Its small body was pierced by an arrow. The sharp metallic head entered its body, split its internal organs, and came out the other side. Slowly, its life's energy left its feathery body, and its strength drained away. It began diving downward, like a large, beaked rain drop.

The descent seemed to take forever, and its consciousness slowly entered the dark abyss of the last sleep. The last sound it heard, before hitting the ground, was a unanimous, cheer of joy !!