The Orchard
A user named Detaremu was sitting on a beach, watching the sunset. Azure rays of the setting sun were still comfortably warm and the crimson sky reflected on the surface of the purple sea, which was gently washing the sand from bellow his feet. Birds were flocking together above the sea so that they could flee from the winter into the warmer lands. Just as Detaremu was taught at school when he was young. One of the birds flew closer and sat on a nearby rock. Detaremu could not tell its name, but he was sure that it had been living in these lands from time immemorial. He remembered the loud “Aaaaaaan—“, a sound, which was typical for these birds and which they made mostly during their flocking.
As if the bird wanted to confirm his thought, a loud “Aaaaaaan—“ came from its beak. Detaremu glanced towards the west where the flocks were slowly beginning to leave. “Aaaaaaan—“. The bird was cleaning its feathers for a while, then waved its wings and as if it was about to fly away. Detaremu looked at his companion and a thought flashed through his head for the first time after a long while: where are other people? Why am I sitting on a beach in the company of a bird whose name I do not know? “Aaaaaaan—“ sounded again, the bird straightened its feathers and waved its wings for the second time. Still, it didn’t leave. Detaremu stood up, cleaned himself off the sand and made two steps towards the bird. It screamed “Aaaaaan–“, preened its feathers, flapped its wings and… “Why don’t you just take off?”, thought Detaremu: “Why don’t you join your winged companions and fly to the warmer lands, so that you don’t freeze here?”. “Aaaaaan–“.
Detaremu looked with unease at the bird, which was still cleaning its feathers within arm’s reach, only to finally flap its wings for one last time. Suddenly, a new unknown, long and mechanically unnatural sound came from the bird’s throat “Zuuuuu—“. Detaremu silently looked the bird in the eye, which was not to fly or move ever again. The sunset and the leaving flock were mirroring in its round black eye. Why do they fly away, when they live on a beach where there is always warm? Why do they flee the winter when there is no winter here? Who or what told them to leave every autumn? Why is the sea purple? Why is the sky red and the Sun blue? Why doesn’t he know the name of the bird standing in front of him like a marble statue and why is there no one around to explain to him what is going on? This is not right. And so Detaremu saw the truth thanks to the bird, which opened his eyes with one glance and two sounds. One bird that did not want to follow its flock. One bird which decided to proudly spread its wings and stay free. And so that evening, because of his bird companion, Detaremu grew wiser.