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by Joyce Brodsky, 05/14/2020, kewadin, MI

Adult Category


Once upon a time there lived a GM and GD. They lived far apart from one another so they did not often see each other. They could not walk to each others homes if they wanted to visit. The GM could drive a car but her eyesight was not great and she was often afraid of all the fast moving traffic, even though she was a safe driver and drove the speed limit, other drivers were impatient and sped past her. The GD, of course, could not drive. She was too young. So, from time to time the GD would make a phone call or send a letter or a card with a drawing to the GM. And the GM would occasionally send a “care package” with little goodies she hoped the GD would enjoy. To see each other they were dependent on someone else to drive the GD to the GM’s house- far away up north. Usually, it was the GD’s father who brought her when he had business in the area. The GM was grateful.

AND then it happened…..

A great virus called the corona or covid 19 spread throughout the world. All businesses, schools, and activities stopped. Everyone had to stay home to stay safe. The GM did not know when she would see the GD again.

One day, while the GM was raking leaves that were left over from the winter, she had a thought about a way to see the GD. She said to herself, “What if I could change myself into a butterfly? I could fly to the GD’s house.” The GM thought so hard about it that she actually turned into a butterfly.. She flew and flew and flew…until she became so tired and not nearly close to the GD’s house that she had to turn around and try to make it back to her own home. She barely made it.
The next day, while trimming trees, she thought, the flying idea was a good one but a butterfly was too small and too fragile for such a lengthy flight. Maybe a bird would be better. She thought hard about the bird and suddenly she was the bird flying south to her GD’s house. The GMbird was much stronger than the butterfly but there were still obstacles . One of the problems was traffic. Just like the GM’s dislike of fast moving cars, so too, the GMbird had difficulty keeping her balance when trucks zoomed by. There was wind too, which pushed the GMbird off course. The trip, that on an ordinary day, would take 4 hours was lasting all morning and into the night. And let’s not forget, the GMbird didn’t see any better than the GM. The GMbird had to return home. Disappointed again.When the GM finally got home she was completely exhausted and fell asleep on a lawn chair.

The next day the GM started planting trees she dug up from the free tree market across the street in the forest. She had a thought.
Flying was still a good idea. The butterfly was too fragile and the bird too weak. What the GM needed was a strong bird. A strong bird with great eyesight. As she was having this thought, guess who just happened to pass by?
Right! The resident bald eagle.
The GM thought,” if only I could be a bald eagle I could fly fast and above the traffic. I could see very well and surely make it to my GD’s house”.
“But would the GD recognize me? Would she be afraid of my size or my sharp claws?”
The GM thought hard and long about this dilemma . After much thought the GM took flight catching the thermal drifts, soaring high and fast. In no time the GMeagle arrived in the city where the GD lived. It was a well laid out pattern of buildings, shops, farms and parks. The surroundings were much different from the place the GMeagle started from up north.

There it was….the GD’s house. There was the GD too. The GD looked so small from above. The GMeagle landed quietly on the roof top to observe the GD for a moment. It looked as if the GD was busy planting seedlings in her raised flower bed. She was so preoccupied she did not notice the bald eagle standing guard above her. Without warning, and out of the blue, the GD jumped up, waving her spindly arms in the air, throwing her head to the sky and yelled, “WHERE ARE ALL THE POLLINATORS?”
At this point she did see the bald eagle and though it was majestic and beautiful the GD knew from stories she heard that bald eagles could fly off with small animals if they wanted to. Quickly she scooped her kitty up and rushed it into her house . The GMeagle knew at that moment that a closer encounter would be unsuccessful , if not dangerous.

What to do?

At this point you might wonder: Why doesn’t the GMeagle turn into the GM?

Remember the great virus? Social distancing is very important to lessen the spread of the disease. Human contact would be more dangerous than an encounter with the bald eagle ,
Plus, there is the element of magic to consider. Not everyone could or believed people changed into animals. This secret had to be protected.

While the GMeagle sat on the roof, she remembered what the GD shouted to the heavens. The pollinators, of course!
In an instant GMeagle was a honeybee.
The GD came outside and looked to the rooftop for the eagle. The eagle was gone. The GD shrugged her shoulders and went back to her garden.
And there she was, a single white-headed honey bee. The GD put a little sugar water in her palm and the GMbee alighted gently and drank. The GMbee tickled the GD and the GD giggled. A conversation took place. The GD told the bee what she had been doing in isolation , the friends she missed, and stories about her GM. The GMbee reacted enthusiastically every time the GD mentioned the GM. The GD took a close up look at the bee. It had long white hairs on top of its head. Hmm, the GD hard a fleeting feeling. She shook her head back to reality and continued talking to the bee who sat so sweetly on her fingers.
Eventually, the sun was starting to sink lower in the western sky. The GD was called in to help with dinner and the GMbee knew it was time to make the flight home. The GD put the bee on a flower pedal and ran to the house to clean up. The GMbee flew to the highest branch and changed back to GMeagle.

“Look, mom, a bald eagle in our tree!” Just as they were about to admire its beauty, it was gone.
The GD noticed long, white hair blowing in the wind from atop the eagles head.
“Could it be?” she had that funny feeling again.

The joyful flight home for GMeagle was filled with love even in the dark.
She got home with all the stars twinkling and lighting her path. The GM picked up her pruning shears and headed to her home and warm bed. She felt content.

Far away, the GD lay in bed with her black comforter and her arms folded behind her head. She thought about the eagle and the conversation she had with the bee. Was it really her GM? Or was it her imagination ?

Either way, she was going to sleep happy.