142 Seagull

The Little Red Haired Girl

142 Seagull

In between the packing, trips to the storage unit, and organising the sales of items Body no longer needed, and moving, Body began to feel unwell again. Not a physical un wellness, but depression and sorrow.

Her therapy had continued throughout but Body and her therapist realised their course of work had come to a natural end along with her moving house. It was understood and Body had been grateful for all her help. It was time to stand alone even though Body had no idea of what her future held which Brain found really perplexing to have no plans.

Was that why Body felt such a weight of sorrow? This feeling was not necessary and there was no real reason for it. They had got out of the Pumphouse, they had finished the house and they had sold it. There was a lot to be thankful for and Body regularly gave thanks. All five of them did.

“This spirit of sorrow feels second hand to me” called Spirit. “We have no reason to be weighted so. We are now free to go where we want, free to explore any direction, anywhere the wind blows.”
“I know” Body took a deep inhale of breath. “What do you meam ‘second hand’?”
“I am not sure but we have no weights anymore, no commitments, no burdens. Let’s enjoy it even though other spirits may not want that for us.”
“You’re right Spirit. I also feel that I need to be outside more. Maybe with all this packing and moving I am missing it.”

“Can we go to the beach?” the Little Red Haired Girl asked.
Body looked at the sun in the sky “It’s a little late in the day for that little one and it’s still extremely hot, how about we go to the park instead where there is some large trees for shade?”
“The one with the duck pond and the swings?”
“Yes”. So Body finished unloading the last box and drove to the park.

The air in the park was refreshingly cool and Body sat on a bench under a large Cork tree and took long, deep breaths, feeling the tension release from her shoulders. She must get outside more often, she missed it. The forest walks were not going to be as available to her now she had moved, but there were other lovely outside spaces nearby such as this park and the beach. She must use them.

“There is loads of unpacking still to do. Why are you sitting around?”
“Shut up Brain” they all answered.
“Let’s just breathe and relax a while” Body stated as she watched the Little Red Haired Girl on the swings. She never had a swing in her own home garden.
“That’s why she spent so much time in Allison’s garden next door. Allison had a swing and even when they were out she was allowed to go and use it.”
“How kind of them” Heart cried.

Body heard a commotion of ‘quacking” as the ducks ran past her in single file as she sat on the bench. They seemed to be in an awful rush and lined up behind each other as if they were on some sort of invisible track. It made Body smile.

“Look they have ducklings!” the Little Red Haired Girl exclaimed with joy. “Look how tiny and fluffy they are!”
It was true, they were adorable, black, or mottled, or black and white in colour like their parents.
“How many are there?” Body asked the child “count them as they go past”. The child struggled to count them as they were running all over the place behind the parents, certainly not in an organised straight line, and they were fast little things. “Ooh they won’t keep still” the child tried to point and keep track of which ones she had counted and which she hadn’t. “I think there is ten” was her verdict.
“Haven’t you forgotten this straggler yet to pass us?”

“No, I counted that one coz that one is easy to spot, see it has a yellow head and face. It doesn’t look like the others” and as they watched it caught up with the others and happily joined the crowd of ducklings running in disarray after the line of adults. Body felt relieved for it, the straggler, and surveyed the pond in front of her.

It was now a peaceful scene. The pond surface looked like it was showing the ripples of raindrops and Body checked the sky and put out her hand. No rain. She looked again and found the ripples created were from all manner of flying insects stooping to collect water or even land on the waters surface. How clever nature was.
“It’s the cohesive forces that create the water tension. It allows some insects to land on it.” Brain informed and was ignored.

Dragonflies were everywhere she looked, and as Body walked across the bridge and placed her hand on the rail they landed next to her hand, and also on the landing pads of the yellow pond lilies.

The pigeons and blackbirds were pecking on the grass as a passing conspirator had thrown them some seed, also seagulls too joined the feeding on the grass. Even water turtles as they plopped out on to the edge of the pond to bask in the cooler late afternoon sun. It was a peaceful and harmonic scene. Species living side by side. All had food, all had water all had offspring living peacefully.

There was a sudden movement that Body caught in the periphery vision of its eyes and as she turned her head to look, Body could not believe what they saw. A seagull, for no apparent reason directly struck a blackbird with its beak and had killed it instantly.
“Why has it done that?” screamed the child. “They all have food why has it done that?” as she wailed uncontrollably and Body tried to console her.
“I don’t know child, maybe the blackbird got too close.”

“But there’s lots of space ” the child sobbed “and they were all eating next door to each other.”
“I really don’t know, maybe the blackbird stole some its food” she tried to find a reason for the child.

“But there’s food everywhere, there’s seed all over. I saw the lady throw it down for them” she sobbed. “Why did it do it?, kill the black bird?” Body could see the child was distraught and now her eyes became wider as further horror was being seen. Another seagull had landed and they were both pecking and tearing at the blackbird.

“Stop it” the child cried inconsolably. “Why when there is all this food, all this water and all this space? Why are they tearing at the blackbird? Make it stop please” as she buried her head in Body’s chest and listened to her Heart. Her Heart and her friend.

Body moved forward to shoo away the seagulls which of course sent all the birds into the sky a visual cloud of panic and as she did so, the lady who had thrown the seed bent down to pick up the blackbird and dispose of it. It was very obviously dead.

As she turned away with it, she caught Body’s eye. There was a knowing there, an understanding between them that eyes saw even though nothing was spoken. Was it a mothers love and understanding involving care and concern? and ultimately that it was time to clear up the mess?

Was it an understanding of the natural order of the world and mother nature. and the species upon it?

Was it an understanding of the beast within us all?
The seagull had no reason to kill, should it even think, but it still did.

That even given food, water and space to survive, and we can think, we can still ‘find’ a reason to hurt another.

“Something has to change” God said.