PLIGHT OF A CURIOUS BIRD!

          IN A NOT SO THICK FOREST NEAR THE PEACEFUL TOWN OF SAN RAFAEL, THERE LIVED A FAMILY OF BIRDS. THE FAMILY CONSISTS OF OLEB, THE FATHER; EMADIA, THE MOTHER; JOSEC THE ELDEST BROTHER; NAJUMIG, THE SECOND AND ANIJAN THE YOUNGEST.

          ANIJAN, THE ONLY DAUGHTER AND THE YOUNGEST COULD NOT FLY YET BUT HAVE FEATHERS NOT ENOUGH TO LIFT HER TENDER BODY. SHE REMAINS WITH HER MOTHER PREPARING FOODS FOR THE FAMILY, ENJOYS LAUGHING A WHILE AND SINGING MELODIOUS BIRDS HYMNS.

          KUYA JOSEC, THE ELDEST CAN FLY WHEREVER HE WANTS TO GO AND HAVE PEER BIRDS OF HIS OWN.  HE CAN GO WITH HIS PEERS FOR AS DISTANT FOREST WHERE FATHER OLEB HAS LED HIM TO FIND FOOD FOR THE FAMILY. HE CAN ROAM THROUGH HILLS AND PLAINS AND FIELDS AND REACH AS FAR AS HIGH A MAGNITUDE HE COULD WITH HIS FRIENDS SINGING AND LAUGHING AND WANDERING THROUGH THE SKIES.

NAJUMIG, THE SECOND SON COULD ONLY REACH A MILE.  HE HAS ALREADY GROWN HIS WINGS BUT NOT READY TO FLY FOR HE HAS NOT YET LEARNED THE PROPER WAY AND DISCIPLINE OF FLYING.                                                                                                                                                                                                      

       
   HE COULD ONLY HEAR THE TOLLS OF THE BELLS AT THE SAN RAFAEL CHURCH DURING MASS. HE COULD ONLY FEEL THE COOLNESS OF GENTLE BREEZE OF MORNING. HE COULD ONLY SEE THE GOLDEN PALAY ON THE FIELDS AND THE SERENITY AND COOLNESS OF THE SHADES OF TREES AT THE SAN RAFAEL CEMETERY, AND HE LONGED TO WIDEN HIS HORIZON IN FLYING.

          ON A ONE CLEAR DAY, HESITANT WITH THE REQUEST OF HIS SON, HIS FATHER OLEB ALLOWED NAJUMIG TO GO WITH HIM AT THE NEARBY FOREST TO SEARCH FOR FOOD.  THERE WERE SO MANY DISCUSSIONS WHILE THEY WERE IN THE AIR. NAJUMIG WANTED TO PROVE HE CAN FLY BY HIMSELF BUT FATHER WANTED HIM TO LEARN MORE THE DISCIPLINE OF FLYING.  HE THOUGHT OF GIVING HIM INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PROPER WAY OF FLYING, THE POSITIONS OF THE WINGS, THE ART OF DIVING, THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF FLYING WITH DIFFERENT KINDS OF WEATHER AND WITH THE VELOCITY OF THE WIND.  

          NAJUMIG FOUND IT REFRESHING TO FLOAT ON A HIGH LEVEL OF AIR AND NEVER HEARD OF THE ADVICE OF HIS FATHER NOT TO EXERT ALL HIS EFFORTS THAT HE COULD EASILY BE EXHAUSTED. DEAFENED BY ENTHUSIASM, ON HE FREELY FLEW THROUGH THE AIR AT UNPRECEDENTED SPEED, WITH ALL MIGHT, TASTED THE FREE SPIRIT OF FLYING, UNMINDFUL OF THE DISCIPLINE, EXHAUSTED AND ABOUT TO FALL ON THE GROUND. FATHER MOVED OVER TO HELP HIM.

  
“THERE YOU ARE,” THE FATHER SAID. “YOU COULD LOSE YOUR LIFE WITHOUT LEANING TO YOUR FATHER’S ADVICE.”

WITHOUT A WORD, THEY WENT BACK ON THE TREE THEY CALLED HOME.  EMIDIA LEARNED OF THE INCIDENT BUT THERE WAS NO SCOLDING MADE WHATSOEVER.  SHE JUST PREPARED MEALS FOR HER HUNGRY AND TIRED  FAMILY.

NAJUMIG SEEMED LONELY FROM WHAT HAPPENED, HE JUST LAID ON A BRANCH OF THE TREE THE WHOLE DAY.  THE FOLLOWING MORNING, HE SAW HIS COUSINS FLYING ON FREELY AND HAPPILY TOWARDS THE FOREST. AMAZINGLY, HE THOUGHT OF FLYING AGAIN BECAUSE HIS COUSINS PROVOKED HIM TO FLY THE WAY TOWARD THE  RIVER.

          NAJUMIG THOUGHT OF FLYING AWAY WITH THEM KNOWING HE WOULD BE SAFE WITH HIS COUSINS. THE WAY OF THE RIVER SEEMED TO BE A BELL THAT RINGS ON HIS EARS. THE PLACE HE LONGED TO SEE BUT WAS PROHIBITED OF UNKNOWN CAUSE BY HIS FATHER.THEN NAJUMIG WITH THE FLOCK OF BIRDS FLEW AS THEY COULD ON THE WAY TOWARDS THE FOREST. THE GENTLE BREEZE OF THE MORNING SOOTHED HIS WINGS THAT FLY’ ON TO THE SERENE CEMETERY, ON TO THE CHURCH, ON TO THE FIELDS OF PALAY AND GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES UNTIL THEY REACHED THE RIVER.

          WHAT A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT TO SEE THE WHITE LONG ROPE-LIKE WATER ON THE RIVER. HIS COUSINS NEVER MIND IT AT ALL BECAUSE THEY WERE USED TO SEEING THAT FANTASTIC VIEW FROM ABOVE. BUT, IN SPITE OF ITS BEAUTY, HE ASKED HIS COUSINS WHY THEY PASS THE RIVER ON SUCH THAT DISTANCE WHEN HE THOUGHT THEY COULD SEE ITS BEAUTY VERY WELL BY LOWERING THEIR FLYING.

“NEVER THINK OF FLYING JUST ABOVE THE RIVER, IT MIGHT HAVE CAUSED YOU TROUBLE.

“THERE IS NO TROUBLE FOR SUCH A BEAUTIFUL PLACE”, NAJUMIG SAID.


“JUST DON’T GO AS WE SAY TO YOU.” HIS COUSINS INSISTED. WITHOUT FURTHER MEETING OF THE MINDS HE FLEW DOWN BY THE RIVER DESPITE HIS COUSINS’ DISAPPROVAL.


NAJUMIG FLEW ABOVE THE RIVER AND FOUND BEAUTIFUL THINGS TO SEE FROM WAY UP.  THE “TALAHIB” FLOWERS THAT FLOAT WHEN THE WIND BLOWS, THE COWS CROSSING THE RIVER FOR A GREEN PASTURE, COUPLES WASH THEIR CLOTHES, PEOPLE TRIED TO CATCH FISH ON WITH THEIR BANCA, THE FATHER HOLDING HIS FISHING NET WHILE HIS SON DO THE PADDLE.

“COME UP WITH THE SKY AGAIN, PLEASE?” SAID HIS COUSINS; WE ARE PROHIBITED TO FLY BY THE RIVER. “WE JUST WANTED YOU TO SEE THE RIVER BY THE DISTANCE.”

          UP AND DOWN NAJUMIG FLEW AS HE MIGHT. ENCHANTED BY THE BEAUTY OF THE RIVER HE FLEW JUST A LITTLE DISTANCE FROM ITS WATER. A MAN WAS HOLDING AN AIR GUN WAITING FOR FISH TO EMERGE, HE SAW NAJUMIG FLYING LOW AND HE POINTED THE GUN AT HIM. A GUNSHOT WAS HEARD, HIS RIGHT WING BLED A LITTLE, THE RAYS OF THE MORNING SUN BOUNCED TO HIS FACE AND FELT THE BLINDING LIGHT. HE FLEW A LITTLE, HE HEARD NOTHING, AND THEN IT WAS DARK.

          “AWAKE, NAJUMIG, AWAKE, PLEASE!”  THESE WERE THE WORDS HE HEARD FROM HIS COUSINS WHO WERE VERY NERVOUS. HE COULD NOT OPEN HIS EYES. HE COULD HARDLY MOVE.  AFTER A WHILE, EVERYTHING SEEMED TO BE NORMAL. THERE WAS A SLIGHT BULLET WOUND AND THAT BLED A LITTLE THAT SHOCKED HIM. ON THEY FLEW BACK HOME WITHOUT A WORD.

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, MY SON?, WE WERE LOOKING FOR YOU”, HIS MOTHER SAID. “YOU MUST HAVE ALREADY BEEN HERE BEFORE LONG.”


          “YES, MY BROTHER, YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HERE AT LUNCH, LOOK, THE FOOD IS REALLY COLD NOW.” SAID ANIJAN.

          “THERE YOU ARE MY BROTHER! SAID KUYA JOSEC. “FATHER AND I WERE DESPERATELY LOOKING FOR YOU. SOMEONE SAW YOU WITH YOUR COUSINS FLEW AWAY BUT WE WERE EVEN ALARMED FOR WE KNOW YOU COULD NOT FLY ON YOUR OWN AND THAT WE WERE CONCERNED WITH YOUR FATE.!

          WITH TEARS IN HIS EYES, NAJUMIG SAID, “FATHER, MOTHER, KUYA AND ANIJAN, I AM VERY SORRY! IT COULD NOT HAPPEN AGAIN FOR I WILL BE MORE CAREFUL THE NEXT TIME.

“YOU’RE BLEEDING,” KUYA JOSEC NOTICED.

“YES, I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE MY LAST DAY ON EARTH.”

“IT WAS A SLIGHT INJURY,” THE COUSINS CHORUSED.

           “HE WAS IN THE STATE OF SHOCK WHEN HE SAW HIS WING BLED, WE NOTICED HIS UNEVEN PLIGHT SO WE GUIDED HIM TO A PLACE FAR FROM THE MAN WHO SHOT HIM. THANK GOD HE MADE IT.” ONE OF HIS COUSINS SAID.

          SON,” FATHER CHUCKLED, “THIS WAS NOT THE FIRST TIME YOU ALMOST LOST YOUR LIFE BY NOT OBEYING MY ADVICE.” “YOU KNOW, ALL THAT I WAS TELLING YOU WERE JUST FOR YOUR OWN SAKE. I WAS WARNING YOU ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT CAN DO YOU NO GOOD.  REMEMBER, WHEN I TOLD YOU THE DISCIPLINE OF FLYING YOU IGNORED, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU? YOU ALMOST FELL TO THE GROUND, NOW I TOLD YOU, BEWARE NOT TO FLY LOW TOWARDS THE RIVER, WHAT DID YOU DO?”

“MY SON, I JUST DON’T WANT YOU TO DO THINGS YOU WILL FEEL SORRY ABOUT LATER ON. EVERY LITTLE THING THAT YOU DO WOULD LEAD YOU TO YOUR FATE AND DESTINY. I WAS GLAD YOU CAME BACK, BUT, REMEMBER, WORST THINGS MIGHT HAPPEN IF YOU WILL NOT BE CAUTIOUS AND IT WOULD COST YOU YOUR LIFE, YOU SHOULD BE CAREFUL ENOUGH THE NEXT TIME.”

“THANK YOU, FATHER, I WILL ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOUR ADVICE FROM NOW ON. I WILL BE MORE CAREFUL THE NEXT TIME, I AM SORRY, AND I LOVE YOU.”