The Haven

This is a short story I wrote today. It’s a story of loss, learning, and recovery.

Somewhere, in an unknown area, there was a place that lay deep within the depths of a forest. It was called the haven. Surrounding it was an abundance of pink blossoms and lilies that were as white as snow. The grass that nurtured them was bright green and lightly blowing as the comforting breeze gave life to the area. Not once had humans touched it, for no person had ever discovered a place as beautiful and vivid as this. It was much too far away for even the best explorers to find. Every morning began with the frantic chirping of baby robins awaiting their mother, Lilly’s, return with their food. She had four babies, and they lived together in the biggest tree in the haven. She had built their nest to the best of her ability, in order to protect and nurture them. Predators never disturbed the robins, so they were quite content with this peaceful little place to call home. The winds remained calm and the plants remained whole and alive. Always, there was peace within the haven.

Suddenly, as a result of some sort of change in the Earth’s climate, winter hit the haven for the first time, and did so with immense brutality. Caught in a terrible storm consisting of rain, thunder, lightning, and even a little hail, the mother robin struggled to keep her nest intact and her babies safe. As she did her best to shield them from the pounding rain with her wings, she watched in horror as the haven was battered and mangled. Water flooded the ground, reducing the grass and flowers to a soggy mass of death. A huge bolt of lightning eventually struck the tree in which the robins lived, and down it went, taking them with it. The tree landed with a crash, and Lilly was knocked unconscious.

The storm passed within the next hour, and by the next day, there was not a cloud in the sky, but there was also not a trace of the haven left in sight. When Lilly finally came to, she took one look at her former home, and was overcome with shock. Everything was gone. Just like that. How could this have happened? She soon realized that her babies were nowhere to be found. For hours, she searched frantically for them, calling them out name by name:

“Bailey! Nellie! Jacob! Eliza!”

But she never received an answer from a single one of them. Then, it hit her. Her babies were dead. Their nest had been crushed when the tree fell to the ground. No, she thought. Not my home, and my entire family! Lilly had lost everything. All her hopes and beliefs in the world had been shattered, and there was no going back. Never, in her life, had she experienced anything like this. Lilly had been raised to believe that life treated you kindly as long as you were kind in return. But now she knew better than to think that way, and it was too late. Her parents had failed her. Inside, her mind was tangled in a mass of intense grief as well as betrayal. She was all alone in this great big world, which, outside of the haven, was a complete stranger to her. Where was she to go? How would she ever move on after all of this? Everything had been destroyed by the intense winter weather.

So she sat on a rock and cried. For hours and hours, she cried. She didn’t feel like eating or flying anywhere. All she could do was cry. She missed her babies, and she missed her home, and she missed the bird she used to be. What had she done to deserve this? What reason do I have to feel whole? She wondered. Nothing, that’s what. As far as she was concerned, there was nowhere for her to go. Her parents were long gone, and her so-called “soul mate” had left her soon after the babies were born. Lilly had done her best to provide for them, and now they were gone.

When Lilly finally finished crying, she sat up, as though she expected it all to have been just a bad dream, but it wasn’t. Everything was still gone, yes, but she noticed something different. Behind her former home was a small baby tree, still in the long process of growing up. The strangest thing was, despite all the wreckage surrounding it, two little bright green leaves stuck out from one of its branches. It was alive. The best part was that it had two decent-sized branches large enough to hold a nest! But what I could I build one out of? Lilly suddenly thought, bringing herself back to reality. What was left? She looked around for a long time, until she finally came across a standing tree somewhat outside of the haven. It held up well, for it still had bark and leaves. Using her nest-making skills, Lilly carefully took strips of bark from the tree that were big enough to sustain her weight. She worked for days. As she was building her nest, she thought about her babies, letting the tears fall as they would. She longed to hug them all, to see them again. After over a week of construction, the nest was complete. It looked great, but Lilly felt as though she was not quite ready to settle into her new home yet. Awful memories came back to her, causing her to cry uncontrollably. It always happened when she least expected it, so she decided it was best to leave the haven for a while in order to search for that reason to feel whole again. She didn’t have a particular destination in mind, for she was not familiar with the outside world.

So she just flew. She flew higher than she ever had in her life. Days turned into weeks, and then into months. Over that time, Lilly took herself on the most amazing journey she had ever been on, over mountains, through prairies, and down seemingly endless valleys. She was stunned at the sight of the oceans. Eventually, she found herself making brand new observations, like how small she was compared to everything else she saw. It overwhelmed her, how huge the world was, but she loved it.

Finally, after over eighteen months, she was ready. Ready to return to the haven, as a brand new bird. She had seen so much in all that time, and she was glad of it. The journey home was about four days, but she was surprised that, when she finally reached it, it had changed completely. It was no longer damp and wet. The trees now stood taller than they ever had, and the flowers were once again blooming with life. But the best part was that new animals now inhabited the haven. Lilly saw rabbits, squirrels, and robins. Robins! Just like her! They were thrilled to find another robin in the haven, and happily invited her to join them in their little community within the trees, and even helped add extra parts to her new nest, which they had cared for in her absence. She never thought she’d think it, but she knew that she had found peace. She felt whole again.

Lilly spent the rest of her life making new friends and finding a new group to call her family. She realized that the pain of losing her babies is what ultimately made her into a stronger person. She would always miss them, but she would also be glad she learned what she did.

And once again, there was peace.