https://Voice.club - “There is comfort in the calling of a bird upon the wing.”
This line comes to Miera as she heads out the door of her apartment toward vacation. But it is still spring, and it will be months before geese will be flying overhead honking their goodbyes.
The lakeside woods are where Miera draws strength. The winds gently rustle through the trees, quieting the storm building in her breast. Gently lapping waters quell negative thoughts before they even appear.
Birds regale each other with exuberant song. Their joy finds its way to Miera’s ears, subduing the wild chaos pounding in her brain. Heron soaring above the lake divebomb their watery shadows, carrying away dinner in their beaks.
Miera’s skin, sticky and dirty from city air, becomes smooth and glowing under the balmy sun.
If living in the city has advantages, Miera has forgotten what they are.
Entertainment? Watching squirrels chase each other around trees while children laugh at their antics is enjoyment enough for her. This view from her cabin’s porch never fails to bring a smile to her face and warmth to her heart.
Friends? No stress, no competition, no impossible demands such as those put upon her by so-called “friends” at work. Here at the lake everyone relaxes. Zoom meetings are held in a leisurely manner against a background of the lake whispering its secrets to the sky.
Even a seemingly unlimited supply of restaurants no longer appeals to Miera. She decides that anything, in fact everything, tastes wonderful when eaten with good friends beside a lake.
Miera is at the lake to decompress. Work has reached a new level of absurdity from which all joy has been leached.
“Just a few days,” she assures herself. “A week tops, and I’ll be rested and ready to face the grind.”
October finds Miera rocking lazily on the porch of her lakeside cabin while following the call of geese winging overhead. Smiling contentedly, she affirms, “There is comfort in the calling of a bird upon the wing.”
She has found her comfort. Miera is home.