[Editor: Continued from Part 1 of the story HERE]
The Cranes were beautiful and majestic and the annoying feeling that had been inside me melted away only to be replaced with a spark of happiness and a flicker of a smile. We finished the nature loop and stopped at the last lookout point; the flight deck. This was where we would see the cranes fly into the water to rest. I had never been so excited. What would the cranes look like when they were flying?
The sun had not yet set and there was still time before the cranes came. I had time to run quickly back to the car to get my coat. It was gradually getting colder and the flight deck was slowly filling up with more people eager to see the cranes. I meandered down the platform, pulling my coat tighter around my shivering body. I noticed Emma silently counting the ripples that the ducks made as they dove underwater to feed on the plants that grew there, and my mom snapping a picture of the setting sun. Everyone was quiet, waiting for the birds.
I had made it to the end of the flight deck. I leaned against the railing and found myself mesmerized by the beauty of the sunset reflecting off the water. Lately, my life had been pretty hectic. What with 4-H meeting, school, theater, running, and Emma's soccer practice. Not only that, but I also had to worry about how I looked, acted, and dressed at school. Trying to fit in was the thing that overwhelmed me most. But as I watched a duck flap its wings and rise off the surface of the water, i felt my stress and worry rise away with it. Both the bird and my worry settled down somewhere else, leaving a few ripples and a teary-eyed Hannah behind. The cranes weren't even here yet and I was already emotional! I picked up my camera to snap a picture, but I couldn't do it. I knew there was no way I could capture this moment in a photograph. My mind was free and my heart was happy. I could not show that in a picture. I would look back at the photo and see only the ducks and the setting sun, I would not feel the peace and serenity nor would I hear the gentle lap of the water hitting the deck. I would remember this day in memory rather than a picture snapped by an electronic device that has no significance to that special moment.
Eventually, the cranes came. They flew in and landed in small groups. My tears followed. But they were tears of joy, not sadness. I had never felt this way before. The tears only lasted for a few seconds before they ceased and I directed my full attention to the magical sight before me. The birds kept coming one by one, calling out to each other in that strange and enchanting bird language. Soon my mom came and tapped me on the back and motioned for me to follow her back to the car. We had a long drive home ahead of us. I took one last look at the cranes then followed her, smiling on the inside and the outside. As we left the Bosque in that same blue minivan that got us there, I replayed the day's events in my head.
What was the point of coming to this wonderful place? It is to find a place where you are most comfortable. A place without fear, desire, hate, or discrimination. A place where no one can judge you, not even yourself. i found that place and whenever i feel stressed, overwhelmed or sad, I think of the Bosque del Apache and I find it again.
