Turtle Dove Winter Love - a very short flash microfiction story about bird migration by Rob Hopcott

I still remember how sad I felt when my friends took off for the long flight away. They soared and wheeled around the tree where I was perched and they looked so fine. My children were among them and their wings were beating so strongly that I was full of pride.

For a moment I almost took off with them but I'd made my decision and knew that the flight was too far for me now and I didn't want to hold my friends back or force them to land in mountains or cities where there was danger.

Also, I'd not seen my love for some time and needed to find her.

I still remember how her feathers were so glossy and how she bowed and cooed when we first met. The sun was high in the sky and there were places to fly and hide in together. We danced and kissed and I followed her all day, from tree to tree and hedge to hedge, until she crouched low for me to come to her.

Since then we have never been apart.

Each time we became restless and took the long flight to our other home we would stay side by side as we soared over the mountains and through the valleys.

I still remember how proud I was when our children first took the flight with us and how we feared for the youngest and smallest. But he made the journey and even returned to find a fine lover of his own and reared young ones who also made the flight to our other home.

Staying here in this place will be an adventure and I am looking forward to finding what it will be like. I have never seen it here when the sun is so low in the sky and the trees are dropping their leaves.

I've noticed that the light has a new, strange way of glinting off the ground which is very beautiful. It looks good to drink but is hard to my bill. The wind is cold too and I have to ruffle my feathers up to keep warm. I wish I could find my love so we could share the light glinting.

We could snuggle together and keep warm.

We could look at the soft white leaves that have been falling from the sky and are now lying on the hedges all around. The leaves taste wet. I knew staying in this home would be an adventure. I wish my love could be here to taste the white leaves.

The darkness is coming early today, although the sun is still high in the sky.

Perhaps my love will come home to me when the sun rises again.


The End


(Rob Hopcott - online author - fiction - news)

Copyright Rob Hopcott 2007. All characters in this short love story about birds who migrate for the winter and other short story romances, romance short stories, free on-line humor, short stories, flash fictions, micro-fictions, sudden fictions, post card fictions or very short stories on this site are fictitious and no reference is intended to any person living or otherwise.