Finishing the Story
"Raindrops stung like water balloons thrown from 12 storeys above. They bomb dived and smashed onto Mille's back as she ran for shelter under the line of oak trees that lined the edge of the valley that slid down the eastern side of her village.
Thunder cracked above her head and electricity in the air sizzled in her ears. The water from the nearby river was rising quickly pooling in the valley. She spied the distant old mill that towered high above the clouds on the other side of the oak forest.
Running wet and terrified climbing stone steps she caught her breath near the top of the mill tower as the rising flood waters swirled below her."
"High in a tower hiding behind an overhanging jagged rocked mountainside, in a small room at the very top, lived a young girl known as Mille. With no recollection of how long she had been there or how she was originally captured, Mille lived her days and nights quietly and without complaint.
She knew the four faces of the moon, the four colours of the leaves of the one tree outside her tower and the movement of the stars that watched with her as she waited in her small room. The only voice she ever heard had been the wind as it howled, sang, whispered and coo-ed through the seasons.
One morning she awoke in the small room at the very top of the tower and looked out her window down at the overhanging jagged rocked mountainside and over the grey barren valley at the foot of the mountain. The leaves on the trees had burnt orange and yet the morning mist still hung insistently from each one. Mille could hear the wind as it coo-ed and aah-ed its good morning. Today however the wind was almost singing.
It's not yet time for a wind song, thought Mille, the leaves have two other shades to grow before then and Mintaka was still hanging overhead in the twilight. However the wind’s song was sweet and beautiful and seemed to be coming from just outside her window. Mille went over to her window and almost expected to actually see the wind singing when all of a sudden a brilliant ball of blue and yellow moved onto the closest branch of the tree that stood steadfastly outside her window. The ball fluttered in the filtered morning sun, basking in the limelight, shook its wings triumphantly and crooned even louder. Mille’s heart missed a beat, as she looked at the most beautiful bird she had ever seen.
His chest was fluffed red and his eyes were a brilliant emerald green. In spite of her presence, the small bird continued singing and before she knew it, Mille was humming along like she had heard this song before. It was so familiar almost as if she wrote it herself. Mille and the small bird sat together lost in melody until the sun faded from the day and the deep blue crept across the horizon beckoning Mintaka back above the tower to once again stand guard.
The next day, the bird flew onto the window ledge holding a fresh sprig of rosemary in its beak. Mille held out her hand and the bird carefully dropped it in. It smelt of a long lost spring, of fields not yet explored and of a warm smile.
Every day the bird delivered a small token into Mille’s outstretched hand and then sang a new song, intimate and personal, as if especially written for her."
Now before anything further happens with Mille and the bird, I have to ask myself what would I love to see happen to Mille? Would she live forever in the old mill by herself? Does she get rescued by the standard knight on the white horse? Or is the bird represent her true love - her "soul mate"? Do I trap the it in a gilded cage so it has to sing to Mille forever – sing to her and no one else? Can Mille love the bird just for being a beautiful bird and just get over the fact that he will fly away and maybe never again return to her?
Is it possible for Mille to have a satisfying relationship with a bird – some sleazy inter species fling?
How does the daily visit of the bird affect Mille’s life of imprisonment that up until this point she has carefully managed by focusing on the external systematic and dependable beauty around her?
How does the birds’ presence in her life awaken Mille’s heart and remind her of its longing and wish and desire?
How much easier would it be for Mille if the bird just flew away and stayed away so she could just get on with life in the tower? Then she could return to her life as before instead of feeling fear of future imaginings or feeling regret for past yearnings.
What would be the best story line for Mille?
What would be the best story line for the Bird?
Perhaps these are the questions that we could ask ourselves every day when we observe our own stories? What's the next story? How would you love your story to ultimately end? What story could we write for ourselves?
Imagine if we could be the ultimate author and authority in our own lives? :-)
