Lifeboat

40. Dawn Chorus

Ten weeks passed before I saw Dante again.

Erica convinced me that our absence would give him and Cristina the space they needed to set their lives in order. I had no reason to complain.

My presence had been too distracting for them. I understood. As much as I wished I didn't. I did. They had found each other after such a long break, they needed to be together, rekindle their relationship. The thought sat sourly in my mind.

I passed the weeks getting to know Erica. Our hideout in the pinewoods of the coastline took me back to the first time I had discovered Italy, that being the old name for this strip of land. We spent long, languid hours by the light of a small campfire. My head reeled with visions of Erica's stories of vivid battles and long lost technologies.

She spun webs of tangling tales, a time when families had a connection with the rest of the world. They could send messages, pictures and talk to people from the other side of the globe. Amazing lines of communication, open to one and all.

Once the second pandemic had been released though, the time had come for governments to seek control over the information. Wars over the sparse resources became commonplace. Humanity lost itself.

Leaders and great thinkers eventually found each other and joined together to form a combined World order to take the reins of a terrifying situation.

Whether for the good of the many or the gain of the few, the resulting peace allowed the population of planet Earth to take a well-earned break.

However, the rule of law had to be upheld. For this reason, the dawn purge had been created to silence any natural photosynthesis or reproductive cycles of Mother Nature's flora and fauna.

Control was all. The World Union State held the power then. Over mother nature herself.

Now, standing side by side with my fellow human beings, a swell of pride threatened to burst free from my chest. No matter what man had tried, we had proved that nature held far more power.

Dante squeezed my right hand, then he dropped it to slide the white linen shirt sleeve away from his mechanical wrist watch. The black cloth strap straddled his Lifestamp, the number seven poked out from underneath. He smirked at me and winked at his wife, standing on the other side of me.

"Not long now." His light, boyish voice gave away his excitement.

His words skipped past me, carried along by the grasp of the sea breeze. The salty air pricked my eyes, dragged in unwittingly by my eyelashes. I blinked rapidly to free my blurry vision.

The three of us stood with our bare feet sinking into the sand. The receding tide strove to unbalance us, it dragged the ground away from under our toes. I could sense the pull of the moon's gravity as it tugged at the world around us. However, the planet held her own.

I watched the darkness of the night give way to the new day. Not any other day but this day. The first of our new existence.

Across the strip of black which represented the sea, a turmeric shaded sun rose majestically up from her slumber beyond the horizon.

A subtle shift in the air twitched through the highest branches of the pine trees. One, brave bird began its song. Tentatively lilting high then dropping low, as if testing the results.

Another song replied. They danced together, freely until they were joined by a chorus of unique voices. They chattered and warbled, so ecstatic in their return to the routine of the past millennium.

Dante's eyes filled with tears. His grip tightened and his smile grew.
"This is how I remember it, Tyke." He whispered, his expression serene. "My grandfather told me stories of the dawn chorus and I imagined it exactly this way. I'm so lucky to be here to experience it. It's far more beautiful than I ever imagined."

Cristina skipped behind me to sweep up her husband in her arms. They wept together, holding on to each other.

I had never been so alone.

The sweet rendition from the world's rightful residents struck a dull note inside of me. I did not deserve to be a part of this beauty. The World Union State had finally let go of its control over nature. Where did that leave me? Could I be capable of living a life free of control? Were there underlying programs that would kick in at some point and destroy my ability to guide my own life?

The birdsong crescendo cut into my ears. A blaze of sunlight burst across the sky. An atomic explosion of warmth and light.

We cowered under the strength of nature's brilliance.

"Dante," I shook as I spoke. "Is there a place for me in the World?"

His body blocked the sun for a few seconds then moved back to let the dawn encompass me.
"I don't see why not." A strength rang through his words. It had always been there, just underneath the surface, but this morning it shone. "You have so much to learn, we can show you how beautiful the World is. You belong here. With us."

I turned back to the blistering sunrise, a stream of tears ebbed and flowed down the cool skin of my face. My breath caught in my throat as I struggled to keep my inner storm from breaking free.

"I love you, Dante."

It escaped my lips. I ground my teeth and cursed my own existence.

He grinned. The damn man actually grinned.
"I know."

Could the sand please swallow me now?

Whatever part of me that had possessed me to say that I sincerely wished would crawl away and die a very slow, very painful death.

And he still grinned.
"I love you too, Tyke."

His gaze met mine. His hands took his wife's. They closed the gap between them, stepping in front of me. I pushed around them and squatted down in a cross-legged position on the damp sand. The last thing I wanted to see was their compassion for each other. It made me feel nauseous.

I lifted my head and took in the show. Mother Nature at her very best. Creeping fingers scratched orange streaks above me. Fluffy white clouds gracefully slid across the blue sky.

The birdsong continued unrelentlessly, a joyful welcome committee to the new world. I had survived long enough to witness this change. A new chapter of humanity. With any luck, a new respect for our planet's wildlife and productivity. I wished with all my heart that it would be left to continue this way. The world knew how to heal itself. It had never needed an overseer.

Man in their arrogance had thought it the case, that nature could not continue without their intervention. How little we really are. How pathetic in the grand scheme of things.

Dante and Cristina interrupted my thoughts as they sat down close beside me. Their arms wrapped around me. Their tearful eyes twinkled while they strove to comfort me.

It was not the comfort that I sought. I had left that far behind. No, what I yearned for now was rebirth. Reboot. Reinvention. Whatever you wanted to call it. We owed the planet this much. We owed ourselves that much.