Friday, December 2, 2022 The Gilded Geese

Ben picked up a small piece of parchment paper off the floor at the library and wondered who may have dropped it. Some words were written on it in beautiful, precise script. “Look for the gilded geese at the close of the day.” He looked around. Was this a joke? He wasn’t in the mood for jokes. Life had taken a very hard turn for Ben and though he continued to walk, breathe and eat, his heart was heavy with loss and dread. He looked at the note again and as he was walking by the wastebasket, he threw it away. At least that’s what he intended to do. His mind had clearly issued the command to his fingers, but his fingers were taking their orders elsewhere, apparently. He folded the paper carefully and put it in his pocket.

He went mechanically through the rest of his day, marveling that he could so efficiently work and interact with people where he was visible, and yet be so despondent in the hidden parts where he couldn’t be seen. Every once in a while, his fingers would find the note, unfold it, and he’d read it again. “Look for the gilded geese at the close of the day.” The more Ben read it, the more he needed to know what it meant. It wasn’t just idle curiosity anymore. “What does it mean?” he asked aloud. But no one heard him and no one answered.

He left the library late in the afternoon, shivering on his way to the car. December had arrived with snow and cold, and darkness was encroaching more and more on the day. Even now, the sun was low in the sky and that peculiar molten light of winter with no warmth in it was infiltrating the horizon. Walking with his head down, lost in thought, Ben didn’t hear it right away. As the sound drew nearer, though, it caught his attention. Geese. Lots of geese, flying overhead, heading south. He stood still, hands in his pockets, gazing upward, realizing that it had been a long time since he had looked up to the heavens. He watched as the geese moved in beautiful, precise script, writing across the sky. Four stragglers broke formation, the setting sun reflecting gold from the underside of their wings.

Ah, so the question had been heard, Ben thought. Heard and answered. And as the geese continued on the path laid out for them from the beginning of time, Ben heard something else, words that he’d always known but had forgotten. “Be of good cheer. I will never fail you, nor forsake you.” He stood watching the sky for a long time, until stars began their nightly dance. The healing had begun.