BIRDS ON A WIRE

The lake looked different from the summer and fall months, as William walked around it. There had been snow and the landscape had magically turned into a winter wonderland. He had not been to Memorial Park in quite a while. It had always been a special place for William to get back to nature. He liked watching. He watched the people, the dogs being walked, the homeless huddled under blankets, trying to stay warm and all the creatures. He saw squirrels, geese, ducks, crows, pigeons, and other birds. On this day he was intrigued by the birds on the wire. He found a bench and sat down, observing the birds. The birds he thought, are they cold? Do they lose their balance? What do they think of us humans down here, on the ground? It was nice to just sit and see the beautiful landscape, with Pike’s Peak, America’s Mountain as the canvas behind the lake. How simple it all was, nature and the land. He envied the creatures. They too, could just watch. It was time for him to leave this beautiful spot and go about his day.

As he strolled back to his car in the parking lot, something told him to walk over to the playground. Strange. He had no small children and the playground had been taped off for a while to the public because of the Pandemic. Something was pulling him towards the area. He walked over and under the slide, half buried in the woodchips was a little black book. He bent over and picked it up. He dusted it off with his hand and opened the book. On the first page, in beautiful calligraphy, there were directions to something. What was the something? Was this little black book meant for him to find? His wife had passed a few months prior and the children were long gone; grown with families of their own. He was all by himself. He was retired, lonely and looking for purpose. Perhaps, that is why he enjoyed coming to the park. He liked to see the beautiful outdoors, he liked watching the people and imagining their lives. He especially loved watching the birds on the wire. At that moment, he decided to do something spontaneous, (highly irregular for him). He would take the little black book and follow the words on the pages and see where it would lead him. First, however, he wanted to grab a bite for lunch.

William had lived at the same address for nearly 40 years. He walked into the kitchen and opened the cupboard. He pulled out a can of soup and some crackers. He sat down with his bowl of soup, crackers and a glass of iced tea. He began combing the pages of the little black book. There was a list of numbers in the book. The numbers looked like a code or combination for something. As he threaded his fingers through the pages, he found lots of interesting little tidbits -places and dates were mentioned that meant something special to someone, along with memories and feelings associated with those places and dates that were described in detail. It was as if someone had left a little piece of themselves for William to find. Like a captain, charting his course, he set out on his journey. He would start in the morning, visiting the places, mentioned in the little black book.

William got up at 6:00 a.m. every morning, as he had done every morning for many years. He made himself a strong cup of black coffee and a hard-boiled egg with two pieces of toast, dry of course. He could here Emmie’s voice in his head, reminding him about watching his calories and fat.

His first stop would be the famed Tuberculosis hut. The “cure” for tuberculosis, way back when, (before antibiotics), was a belief in dry air and lots of sunshine. Sanatoriums popped up all over Colorado Springs and each of these facilities was accompanied by many small huts for the patient to live in. William got in his little car and started driving to the first location listed in the book. He reached “the hut.” As he walked up the path, he looked under the rock next to the door of the quaint little shelter and there was a note, in a plastic bag that said, “Continue the journey.” The writing was in the same beautiful calligraphy as the writing found in The Little Black Book. William quickly put the note back in the plastic bag and back under the rock. He sat for a moment in his car and reflected on the many people who had come to The Springs to feel better and heal from tuberculosis. It was well known that Colorado Springs was a unique place on the planet, with over 300 days of sunshine yearly.

The next address listed in The Little Black Book was a location he knew well. The St. Mary’s Inn Bed & Breakfast had been a favorite place William and Emmie would frequently visit for special occasions. As he pulled up to the turn of the century Victorian Mansion, he reminisced about all the joyful moments they had shared over the many years they were married. As he got out of his car to walk up to the front door, the proprietor walked out to greet William. Michael had known William and Emmie for many years. Michael said hello to William and after a bit of chit chat and catching up, Michael handed William a sealed envelope. Completely baffled, William took the envelope from Michael, said thank you and goodbye. He got back into his vehicle and what should he find but a handwritten letter in beautiful cursive. The writing was all too familiar. It was a letter from his beautiful wife, Emmie. His hands trembled while reading the letter. My dearest William, I am sure that time has stood still for you since my passing. As he read the letter Emmie talked about how they met, their life together and of course her final letting go of the earthly life and crossing over. She had created this scavenger hunt of sorts. She explained in the letter that even though she was no longer on Earth, with William, she would always be with him in his heart and he would always have their memories. His mind wandered to some of those beautiful memories. William did not think about the places they had traveled or the fancy dinners for special holidays and occasions they enjoyed, but the little moments. He thought about Emmie making him breakfast, the two of them eating dinner together, lazy weekends together and of course, their time at Memorial Park, enjoying the beauty together. It was time to go to the next location. The little black book took William to the Bus Station downtown. In the letter, Emmie explained that she had saved money for several years, unbeknownst to William and that if he opened the designated locker and used the numbers listed in the little black book to open the locker, there he would find quite a large sum of money. William walked to the locker and nervously turned the lock right, then left then right again, following the code of numbers. He opened the locker and there was a sealed, Moleskine journey pouch. It was red in color, (red was Emmie’s favorite color). William unzipped the pouch and there, in front of him, was cash - a lot of cash. He put the pouch under his overcoat and quickly walked back to his car. William sat in his car counting the large bills and there was $20,000 in cash. He could not believe it. How long had it taken Emmie to save this kind of money?

The last address listed in the book was his park. It was their park, Memorial Park, that he was being sent back to. William parked the car and read the note that had accompanied the money. My Dearest William, I saved the money over the years, not with any real purpose, but just to save for something special. That something special ended up being you. I knew once I got sick, there were things, unfinished things that you and I wanted to do but my time was running out. I want you to take the money and do some of those things on our wish list. I had Michael help me with this little scavenger hunt and placing the little black book in just the right area, knowing you would find it. (Now it all made sense. Michael knew that William went to Memorial Park every Saturday at precisely 7:00 a.m. Michael had gone to Memorial Park just prior to William and placed The Little Black Book in just the area that William would pass on the way back to his car. William continued reading Emmie’s words in the letter. I want you to enjoy your time. I want you to find purpose again and now you have some extra funds to do some of those wonderful things we had on our wish list. I want you to continue to explore beautiful Colorado and finish our wish list! I also want you to continue to come to our special place, Memorial Park and enjoy the simplicity of beautiful nature, watching the people, the creatures, and of course the birds on the wire.