Naturans | Naturata

Part 3

A dry swallow, and then David looked up to see that the elderly man was asleep. He felt a chill in that lone house now, noticing the light fading outside behind the large, draped object placed before it. He imagined he could hear a low growl then emanating from it, pathetic and desperate. Gripping the thick covering in his hands, he yanked sharply downwards. The foul-smelling hulk was strung up by rope in every direction across the dirty cage, floating as it were in the centre of it. Feathers poked out uneven, unshaped chunks of painted and unpainted clays, some wet, others overdried and heavily cracked. He could see broken stitching at the edge of an orange beak, crumbled pieces of dried clay having broken away, though no sound stirred. Stepping forward, David looked into the golden eyes Ardea, lifeless but intense and wide.

He slipped out of the cottage heading in the direction he'd come by. Any notion of following the trail he'd lost long ago seemed fruitless by now. He tarried at the fork in the stream, looking out toward the mere now the fog was fully dispersed. No colourful squirrels, no labrador-hedgehogs, no dale herons. Little, in fact, to catch the eye, to say that this place was so different to any other. Or so he'd tell anyone who asked about his trek that day.

He retraced his steps alongside the Gypsey Race back to his car. His phone buzzed into life as he fell into the driver's seat. Six missed calls, one voicemail (Hiya, love. It's mum. Just letting you know that Freya and the baby are both fine. A little surprised and tired - weren't expecting it for another three weeks yet, but that's Mother Nature for you. Ring me when you get this.) and 13 texts (Congrats on the Baby Girl!! What've you named her? Can't wait to meet her!! Freya okay? How chuffed are you? Where are you? Etc.).

"A baby girl," David mouthed wordlessly, a teary grin spreading. Almost without thought, he looked to the passenger seat at the jewel-coloured rock he'd plucked from the Gypsey Race, dragging his finger along the veins of scarlet and eyeing the speckled gold at the top end.