The bird was simply majestic. It had entered
the canyon unexpectedly but the people that were there couldn’t take their eyes
off of it. It’s wings were very large, so large in fact that the shadow that
the creature casted over the terrain was huge. Some of the tourists near the
river were a bit afraid of this because of the disproportionate size of the
creature. Maybe it was precisely that feature that made it seem like it was
flying very slow and close to the water. It was just like a dream.
As it passed near the group of people, the
bird let out a sound. It made all hairs stand on every human that heard it, as
it was the most metallic sound a bird could ever do. It was as if the creature
was not a biological being but that was impossible because of the eyes of the
bird. No mechanical bird would look around like that. The bird continued to fly
through the canyon until it reached a tight turn. Then it elevated it’s body
toward the sky and soon it had disappeared completely from their sight.
Every person there starting talking when the
creature went away. It was as if the volume had been turned off for a moment
and now it had made a comeback. The kids that had been playing in the water
went back to it, but with much less enthusiasm than before and all the adults
started mumbling and then openly talking about what they had just seen. It was
obvious that gigantic birds were not really the norm in the region or out of
it. They had just been in the presence of a unique event.
The group was made of family members from all
branches: grandparents, sons, daughters, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces and so
on. Every single one of them had decided to do a little picnic down in the
canyon, which was located only an hour away from the town where they were all
staying overnight. That town was the one where their family had begun so they
were essentially coming back to their roots, teaching their children all about
the region that they had known so well when younger.
As they had been cooking meat just before the
bird had made its appearance, they soon realized it had been burned by fire. So
much so, that they had to throw it away and put some new pieces of meat and
start all over again. As they ate, some time later that day, the obvious topic
was the gigantic bird and everything about it. One of the women said that she
new a biologist from the university she worked in. She would talk to him about
it as soon as they went back to the city, in order to know if that creature was
known to science or if it was a new discovery.
Weeks later, when she got to talk to the
biologist, she realized something that made her look and feel very dumb: no one
in her family had thought of taking a picture of the creature with a cellphone
or a camera and they had lots of those that day, laying around as every silly
thing they did was awarded with the taking of a picture. Her friend told her
that it would have been easier that way but that she could describe the
creature in detail and that way they could recognized it from archival footage.
It wasn’t a surprise when the biologist almost
fainted as the woman told him everything about the bird: its size, the silvery
color of its feathers, its very particular cry and all other features she could
remember. At first he was scared but then he decided his friend was not telling
him the truth. He tried to convince himself of that. But the woman was so
adamant he knew that there was something big there. After consultation of the
archive, they didn’t find any bird even remotely similar.
The woman was about to leave when she asked
the man that, if they creature was a new discovery, her family would love to
see their last name being celebrated on the bird’s scientific name. For them,
it would be an honor to serve as the people that discovered a brand new
creature, not known to mankind before it had appeared on that canyon, the day
they had decided to go for a picnic. She said goodbye and the biologist stood
there in silence, thinking what to do next.
He decided to form a group and leave for the
canyon as soon as possible. Contrary to what one may think, not many people
knew about that access the family had use to the inner side of the canyon. Most
people stayed on the higher level, in order to look into the rock formation
from above. It was a spectacular creation of nature, with the red rock
perfectly worked by the river and the wind, as well as the passage of time. It
was a wonderful place to find something great.
The scientific group was made of five people.
They decided to probe different areas of the canyon in order to look for new
form of life. At the beginning, they thought it was going to be very easy, as
the size of the bird wouldn’t make it very easy for it to hide, but they soon
realized that it was going to be much more complicated than that. The first
day, they didn’t see a thing. However, they did discover two new species of
butterflies, as well as a new type of fungus that grew near the river. It was
very exciting but not exactly what they had come for.
The second day was the same, although they did
discover a new bat and several other bugs that science didn’t know nothing
about. By the third day, they decided to move along the river and see where
they could end up. Supposedly, it wasn’t possible to that for the whole
extension of the canyon, as the river was bigger in some parts than in others.
They walked for two day in one direction but didn’t find more than some other
bugs and other minor creatures.
They turned around when a huge boulder fell
down on them, almost killing one of the scientists. They decided to go up the
river this time, which was apparently easier. But after three days, the new
animals became scarce and it was obvious they were not going to see any huge
birds soon. It started to rain soon enough and the fact that they were in a
canyon became a very dangerous thing. They didn’t even stay one whole day more.
The group had to exit the canyon in order not to be taken away by the engorged
river.
They camped in the upper area of the rock
formation and analyzed several of the specimens that they had discovered. They
could do that in an actual laboratory but the truth was they all wanted to see
the gigantic bird. But how to attract it, how to make it come to them? They
wanted to know, at least, more details about where they could find it. But
there was nothing to tell them anything new about it. They had to be patient
and realize it even may not happen for them.
They stayed for two more days but the bird
never appeared. The scientist went back to the city, as they had tons of information
to process. It hadn’t been a wasted journey because of the many discoveries
they had made but the crown jewel of the whole thing had not been found. Some
had even decided to doubt the story and they openly said the bird was probably
an illusion or something of the sort. The rest agreed, even if with all their
heart they wanted the creature to be real.
Many years later, the same family went back to
the canyon. The elders had passed away and their ashes were going to be spread
on the river, near the place where they had grown up. It was a very sentimental
moment, everyone was in silence, mourning.
Suddenly,
the bird appeared again. It looked exactly as it had look years ago. However,
this time it landed near the family, bowed and then left again. Everyone had
been taken aback by the bird except one of the youngest children, who did turn
on her cellphone just in the right moment.
