August
Standing on a cliff face, Reepicheep looked down and noticed how pristine the world was. How the trees mingled with themselves in conversations of the weather. The great birds of prey swooped and dove into dances- they being dauphins of the universe.
Lofty eagles and hawks and conversationalist trees aside, said the wind, I prefer singing with the robins- for they are much more keen to enjoy me.
Trufflehunter, who was with the Mouse at the moment, walked over from a small cave from which they spent the night and looked out into the forest.
"Appreciating the view?" The badger asked.
"It is beautiful, isn't it?" Reepicheep replied, turning towards Trufflehunter with an endearing, clairvoyant smile. "Nature is a beautiful observation point from which to observe how you live. If you stop and climb a cliff you'll see how ridiculous the idea of egotism really is."
A hawk, the size of fifty men emerged from the canopy, spreading its wings and calling out his voice as if to spread fear or warning upon the Earth. Flying into the sky, he searched and dove and flew up again, weaving in and out like a needle in a stewardess' hand searching and believing in a cause worthy of knitting a sweater for- lunch. The wind gave the bird a neutral pass for it said:
Don't consume any robins- for they at least appreciate my breezes.
The hawk, who gave no answer found a nest of blue jays and began Nature's wicked beauty. To say that it was undesirable to hear is an understatement but to say that it was an act of murder is ludicrous.
"Reepicheep," Trufflehunter said, "did you see that hawk?"
"I did." Reepicheep answered. "To be frank I think it just, for who am I to judge Nature and natural things. I don't understand them so I tend to keep out of it."
"But it's inhumane!" The badger cried, watching as tree branches began to move and the poor souls be consumed by the larger, aggressive and august hawk.
The hawk beat his wings against the nest, pulverizing it to bits of dust like a saw mill. The leaves shook and vibrated, pleading for the abuse and ravishing of innocence to stop- but the hawk, who once again gave no answer, continued until the deed was done. He stood erect graciously bowed his head, thanking the tree for its services and began weaving in the air again.
"Do you expect a dauphin to give up his right, his choice of whom he chooses?" Reepicheep asked.
"Well, it is-"
"Barbaric, sinister, carnivorous and immoral- to you and me. Think about morality, necessity and Nature for a moment. If we do not find food for ourselves we shall wither and die, if we do not experience Nature then we become somewhat egotistical about ourselves, and if we do not defend the right and defeat the wrong then we are simply being lazy. Put this into context of the hawk. He survives by hunting and he is a part of Nature. He does not wonder how large he is because he is aware of it- he knows by the look of his prey's eyes how large he is. He also knows one thing that we fail to remember- there is a sky above our heads. Since the hawk jurisdiction is the sky, then he is aware of who governs him. Birds are very selfless- they understand and comprehend things that we either also do or refuse to do. If he is not egotistical and is aware of his part in Nature then surely he hasn't the audacity to uphold evil. No, he does not. Hawks, dear sir are symbols of kingship, duty and protection. He did not see this as an act of malice nor as an act of mercy but merrily an act of breakfast. Well, you say, he is a selfish bird. Not so, for what selfish bird thanks the provider of the meal?"
Trufflehunter could not think of an answer. Instead he watched the dauphin go at it again for a second time on a small cardinal. The hawk did not only bow after the meal but took the feather up with him and released it into the air, letting the wind carry it into the hawk's dominion and farther into that of His. The hawk, who levitated into space, did not move until the feather could no longer be seen. He cried his voice again and left as quickly as he came.
The Mouse and Badger walked back to the small cave and packed their belongings. The fire, which was doused properly, gave a small bit of smoke, a last effort in life. To think that hours ago it was vigorous and full of life, giving warmth to the world, being a source of inspiration to someone- to think it lays dead in the dust is barbaric but to say that it is expected is also true. For fires, much like lives burn and create worth during their prime, but when they reach a point where they can longer sustain itself, it ceases to burn and dies.
Entering the forest, the two friends trekked along the river bank making their way towards their homes when the spotted the dauphin hawk again. He was circling back around, imitating a vulture when he finally landed in the same tree as the blue jay nest. For a moment, all was still, as if the trees and wind were wondering and waiting of what was to come. Reepicheep and Trufflehunter stopped too, for they both looked up and feared that a distraught mother had returned home to find a gruesome display waiting for her there.
"Please!" The mother blue jay said, "I don't want any trouble!"
"I am not here for trouble," the hawk replied, "I simply wish to beseech you."
"Beseech me?" She said, tears pouring and heart breaking. She dropped her findings of worms and grubs onto the branch and desperately tried to pick up nest remnants. The hawk said nothing and watched as this mother wailed as the weights of grief and depression slowly began to rest on her shoulders. She submitted herself to sadness and the sheer size of it forced her to hug the branch and remain there in a grief stricken shell shocked state of silence.
"I came to tell you that I am sincerely sorry." The hawk said after respecting her notion of stillness. "I know that the words are inadequate and very inappropriate but I cannot imagine what grief is- I've never experienced it. My job demands of me to police the air and go about my Nature as if it were a secondary requirement. I have learned over the years that it is best to consul the reasoning of why with the people I can. For I do not wish to be someone who is malevolent, that is not the qualities of a Dauphin but rather those of a boa constrictor. I know you must be thinking ill of me or wish it upon me and frankly I wouldn't blame you. If you were to strike at me now I would give no offence or reprimands against it- it is justified. It is proper and it is honorable to do so. You loved them- your family; and if it is any consolation, they went knowing where they would be going."
He stopped, watched and saw that the mother had not moved. Her eyes were fixed out into space and her body was motionless. It was as if she were trying her best to kill herself via suffocation than to listen to this hawk's remorse. The Dauphin moved a wing over her and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a pulse.
"You can speak you know," he said, "you have permission and the right."
The mother nodded slowly. The hawk removed his wing and assisted her up.
"Why did you spare me?" She asked. "Why did you cruelly spare me?"
The Dauphin sighed, for he really had no answer. He looked in the tree canopy for an escape route, but all he found was a woodpecker diligently working and a squirrel scurrying to a nowhere in particular.
"Hello," the blue jay said, "did you hear me, I said why did you cruelly spare me?"
The hawk nodded and rubbed his talons together. Nervousness was setting in and although in his mind he had justification for all this, he knew that it is best to leave your justification alone and say what the person desires to hear.
"I spared you because you weren't home at the time." The hawk said, thinking to himself what a petty excuse it was. "I apologize," he said rather quickly, "that was a petty and unacceptable excuse."
He sighed and looked at her eyes, the last resort escape plan for the eyes tell more about emotion than facial expression and the hawk could tell that this mother blue jay wanted a reason as to why.
"I spared you," the hawk said, "because if I didn't then I would lose brethren. I know it is odd for me to kill and then for me say I respect and need them but really, it isn't that odd if you think about it."
"Did you think about me?" The blue jay said, crying again, "Did you think of me coming home to this?"
The hawk nodded. "I did, and I thought of how heartbroken, grief stricken and miserable you were going to be. I pictured you angry, wanting to kill me at first sight, seek vendetta against my kin, which I'm sorry to say that I have none. I do not know what grief is like as I've said before, but I cannot imagine the pain- which is an emotion that I feel every time I need to eat something. If pain is similar to grief, then I am grieving with you now. If it be something different, then I lay broken on the floor like bits of glass in a shattered window. All you have to do is scoop me up and toss me into the trash."
"My husband was a good man." She said, "I hope you realize that. My children were three days old, I hope you realize that too."
When the hawk gave no response the blue jay dug at him with her talons letting all the rage and all the sorrow ventilate and stick onto the hawk's feathers. The Dauphin said nothing and took the beating. He let her scar his flesh and rip beautiful feathers from him. He let her claw at his talons and shred his wings to pieces. He let her abuse and ravish him.
When the rage and sorrow were done, the Dauphin, who now lay scarred, bruised and beaten, bowed before her. He did so low, slow and with full exposure to further rampage if the blue jay so desired.
"You forgot the eyes." He said.
The blue jay looked at him and saw that in his eyes lay a sea of remorse and a storm of grief. "Why would I do that?" She asked.
"I have looked up the skies, I have gazed at the hearts of men, I have seen the Law and wrote it. I have been through the storm and above it. I have never been Oedipus- to look upon the lover of a soldier and be a hypocrite. My justification is nothing compared to yours. Destroy my sight and vengeance shall be yours."
The blue jay looked upon him and felt pity. She saw a bird from lofty position come down and beg forgiveness. She saw a bird who once governed the domain of the wind and give up his title just to have a chance of redemption. She saw a bird who was giving his dignity for justice- a quality she now understood was something he held more dear than his own desire to live.
The blue jay said nothing. Instead, she placed a wing on his head.
The hawk stood, smiled and placed a wing on the mother's head. "I, August, Dauphin of the Air, salute and pray for you. This mother of the martyred has shown mercy to wickedness."
He removed his wing and held his smile. "I do not expect you to forgive me, I do not expect you to salute back, but you gave me justification for my belief on why I do my duties."
"Which is what exactly?" The blue jay asked.
"That I make people understand a seemingly impossible option. Forgiveness. The most beautiful and most difficult task to undergo- but once you forgive- you have taken a few steps closer to Him. The world becomes brighter with each occurrence of justice, forgiveness and mercy."
"What did you say your name was?"
"August." The hawk said bowing sincerely.
The mother nodded, "I don't think I can forgive you yet August, but I can at least respect you to some degree."
August smiled a bit, "A small degree is better than none at all."
The forest and wind slowly resumed their conversations. Reepicheep and Trufflehunter continued their route silently- not speaking a word until they reached their doorsteps. When the evening came and the sun touched the horizon, August left the mother blue jay with a remorseful heart still but a gained understanding of what grief and pain where as he made his way home to his perch. When he arrived there he bid his mate goodnight and fell asleep thinking to himself how beautiful the sunrise would be.
"To err is human; to forgive, divine." -Alexander Pope
"The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world." -Marianne Williamson
"I learned a long time ago that some people would rather die than forgive. It's a strange truth, but forgiveness is a painful and difficult process. It's not something that happens overnight. It's an evolution of the heart." -Sue Monk Kidd
"Humanity is never so beautiful as when praying for forgiveness, or else forgiving another." -Jean Paul
"Acceptance and tolerance and forgiveness, those are life-altering lessons." -Jessica Lange
"Because forgiveness is like this: a room can be dank because you have closed the windows, you've closed the curtains. But the sun is shining outside, and the air is fresh outside. In order to get that fresh air, you have to get up and open the window and draw the curtains apart."- Desmond Tutu