Posted by
Sheikh 'N Beikh on Wednesday, November 01, 2006 2:55:56 AM
One day, not so very long ago, a young man was sitting alone on a beach, lost in thought. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and as he gazed at the sky, he found himself caught up in a sober reverie. "What shall I do with my life?" he thought. He had always been a good and obedient boy, and a good student. Truly, the sky was the limit for this accomplished young man. At that moment, a dark figure flew overhead. Its silhouette eclipsed the sun. Before the boy could shade his eyes, the winged creature had landed beside him on the beach and began to speak. "What are you doing here, boy?" the demloonybird asked (for that was what it was). "Demloonybird, I didn't know you guys could speak!" exclaimed the startled boy. "Most of us can," replied the aging bird. "Just not very well." The boy was amazed. "My name is Kerryon," continued the bird, "and I am wiser than anyone you will ever meet." "Wow! That's some statement! Can you back that up with anything?" "Well no, not really, you're just going to have to trust me." "Why are you here, Kerryon?" The loon answered the boy, "I have come to bring you a special message to encourage you in your quest for direction in life." "Really," asked the boy, "what is it?" The bird picked at his feathers for a moment as if in nuanced thought, then spoke. "I perceive that you are giving consideration to what you will do after your schooling is done." "I am," replied the boy, "but I haven't quite decided what I want to do yet." "Ah yes," replied the bird, "I too have thought long and hard about these questions; before I didn't, that is. You see, my mate has a tremendous store of food and other goods, so we are well off and I can do and say anything I want." The boy was astonished at the loony wisdom. "Well," the boy said, "I am actually giving a lot of thought to this idea," and he pointed to a small island out on the ocean, a great distance from the shore. "I feel a real calling to help my country in its time of trial. That stony island yonder is a battleground, and I am seriously considering joining my fellow citizens there to defend the homeland from our enemies." At this the bird's eyes grew large with fear. "Pish-posh!" he cried, "not another one! Don't you know, boy, that a rock is hardly the place for a young man such as yourself? Look at you! You are young, handsome and intelligent. Only the lazy, the downtrodden, the underprivileged, the underachieving, would go to a rock to defend their country!" At this the boy was taken aback. "Why would you say such a thing, Kerryon? You see no honour in this? Do you really believe that only fools and idiots volunteer for such service? Tell me, if you will, what would compel you to go, and what would your plan be?" "I would only go," Kerryon replied, "if the cause were just, and if I could be assured that a precise timetable for leaving the battlefield was established. Now, regarding the question of a plan, as I said before, you're just going to have to trust me." "But how can all this be?" cried the boy, feeling confused and frustrated. "I am certain that our cause is just. But how can anyone know how long a conflict will take, and what the enemy will throw against you when you are there? What assurances can any of us have? Besides, if we tell them when we plan to leave, wouldn't that just encourage them in their cause? They could just wait it out until we are gone, and victory would be theirs! I think that would be even worse than going there in the first place." At this Kerryon fumed and flapped his wings, looking at the boy with a mixture of pity and loathing. "Fool!" he cried. "Your leaders don't give a flying fish about you. They are only in it for the things they can steal and possess for themselves, and to take away your rights and increase their power over you. I know; it happened to me once." Just then, the aging bird lifted his feathers to show the boy a scar; seared, as it were, in an awkward place. The loon continued. "If you go to that battle, you will find yourself in a quagmire and you will never return, and it will all be for nothing. For nothing!" The boy was shaken by the flat tone of the loon and found himself somewhat at a loss for words. But after a long while he stood up and spoke resolutely. "I have weighed all your points carefully. I know that I am intelligent. And I know that I can do anything if I put my mind to it. I think I will put my mind to this." And he stood up and began walking toward home. "Where are you going?" asked the befuddled Kerryon. "I am going to help my country. I may perish at this very young age, never to return home again. But I cannot sit idly by and watch my homeland come to ruin because I think I'm too smart or too important to face real danger for it. I believe there are still some things worthy of sacrifice." The loon then realized that he had made a terrible mistake. "No, wait!" he cried out after the boy. "It was just a joke! I didn't really mean it! I told you before that we don't always speak very well. I was talking about, er, the Leaders! Yeah, that's it! The Leaders! THE LEADERS!" But it was too late. The young man was gone, resolved more than ever to rise to the higher calling which was inexorably drawing him. As he disappeared out of sight, Kerryon's mate came along side him. "Bad day, dear?" she asked. "Yes, another human lost to the military-industrial complex." "Oh no," Mrs. Kerryon cried. "You weren't talking to him, were you?" "Well, sure I was," said the loon. "I was just trying to help." Mrs. Kerryon looked on her mate with a calm frustration. "Dear," she said at last, "from now on, I think it's best that you don't."