Nicole had been watching birds
professionally for about five years. Before that, she had been working in some
laboratory where she helped create many types of perfume. But after so many
years, she had grown very annoyed by the smells and also the tense environment
in the workplace. Not many people would think that working creating the world’s
most delicious scents would be tense but it was and she wanted out but didn’t
know how to do it. She couldn’t just quit because she could lose many benefits
but working there longer was not an option.
As she decided what would be her alternative
path, Nicole decided to take advantage of a two week paid vacation leave that
she hadn’t used during her time working for the lab. She thought the best place
to go was a quiet one, where people would not be all around her asking things
and talking all the time. Nicole certainly did not appreciate that at all. She
looked it up in the Internet and soon discarded going to a grand European
capital or to one of those luxurious seaside hotels. Too many people in both.
Instead, she chose a retreat in the forest, more private and adequate to her
needs.
Nicole arrived a Friday afternoon to the
retreat and realized she had chosen the right place to go and relax. Even the
staff of the hotel was gentle and not scandalous. The man in the hotel’s
reception told her that they owned almost thirty cabins all around the forest
and that they were all connected through dirt paths. A young man grabbed her
suitcase and put it in a golf cart and helped her to her assigned cabin. It was
beautiful, very small but very cozy at the same time. She had asked for a one
bedroom one and it was just perfect.
It had a small bedroom, a very modern bathroom
and a living room with a small kitchen space, which worked on electricity.
There were not television sets, radios, phones or any type of Wi-Fi connection
in any of the rooms. The only place from which a person could do any of those
things was the reception structure. As the boy left after leaving her suit case
in the cabin, Nicole checked and realized she was really disconnected from the
world: her cellphone had no signal whatsoever. She finally felt free and seemed
very excited for what may happen.
As she had arrived in the afternoon, it wasn’t
a good idea to wander around the forest, as darkness would be upon her soon.
Instead, she decided to use the bathtub and enjoy it thoroughly with hot water
and the relaxing sound of the wind among the trees. After that bath, it was
very easy for Nicole to just get into bed and fall asleep in a very short time.
She never did that back home but she felt so tired from the road trip to the
hotel that she fell asleep right away. She had a dreamless sleep that lasted
for several hours.
When she woke up, it was ten past ten. When
she saw the time in her watch, she got scared for a moment but then remembered
she was on a holiday and not working in the laboratory. She could sleep for as
many hours as she wanted and waking up at six in the morning was not mandatory
anymore. She decided to check out the kitchen and, just as the brochure said,
you could pay for it to be fully packed with things from day one of your stay.
So she decided to cook herself a scrambled egg breakfast with some orange
juice.
As she ate it all in a small table by a
window, she heard the forest: there was no silence but a magnificent amount of
sound coming from every direction. She wondered if that would help her think or
would come against her at some point. Nicole decided to take a walk after
eating and wandered around the paths for several hours until she realized she
didn’t quite now where she was. She had not been smart enough to borrow a map
from the reception and asking someone for directions didn’t seem to be a real
possibility.
It was just then when she heard a whistle and
the distinctive sound of a photography camera. There was someone near her. She
walked around trying to identify the source of the sound but she couldn’t find
anyone. Growing a bit desperate, she stepped into some rocks and her feet
glided over them ass the moss covering them was very slimy. Nicole stumbled to
the ground, hitting her behind hard against the ground and one of her legs
being seriously hurt. It wasn’t long before a bearded man, about her age,
appeared very close.
He didn’t ask her anything. He just grabbed
her as if she was weightless and carried in a jog to the reception, where they
had the infirmary. The doctor there told Nicole she had twisted her ankle but
that it wasn’t too bad. She could prevent swelling with a special cream and
should prevent movement at all costs. He offered her some crutches to use
around but she declined, saying she did feel like she needed them. She would
rather enjoy the rest of her stay by just being careful and resting a bit for
the next couple of days.
Nicole wanted to thank the man that had
carried her to the doctor but he had left in a huff. Apparently there was
something much more important he had to do than checking if the person he
carried was all right. Nicole tried not to think a lot about that, instead just
been taken to her cabin in a golf cart. There, she decided to rest in bed for a
while. When she about to fall asleep, she heard something like a whistle again.
She hadn’t solved that mystery before and she wanted to know what was it.
She stepped out of her cabin once again and
tried to hear where the sound was coming from again but there was no more
whistling. Instead, she could perfectly hear the wind passing through the
trees, which was a very soothing sound. Breathing slowly with her eyes closed,
Nicole realized how precious it was to be in a place where the sound of the
wind could take you to so many places at once. It was the best experience ever.
She had never been in any trip where she could actually distance herself from
her life but this time it seemed different.
The next day, she was lucky enough to stumble
upon the man with the beard. She found him reorganizing some things by the main
path. Nicole thanked him for his help and tried to shake his hand but he didn’t
even look at her. He seemed immersed in something she couldn’t understand. When
he finished whatever he was doing, he left the path immediately and started
walking towards the deepness of the forest. Not really understanding why,
Nicole decided to go after him, almost having to run in order to not to miss
him among the trees.
She finally reached him in a clearing where he
sat down on the floor and, with a gesture, asked Nicole to be quiet. He grabbed
a camera from his backpack and waited, apparently only hearing the sound of the
woods. She heard them too, trying not to make a sound. Then, the man whistled
in a very specific manner. When he did, it seemed to be very precise. And it
was. Out of nowhere, a flock of small birds flew over the clearing, some of
them landing among the dried leaves. The man took several pictures before the
birds left.
When she realized she could speak again,
Nicole asked the man how he knew what sound to make in order for them to come
and what was he doing in that place. He told her he was a ornithologist, a bird
expert and that he was creating a complete catalogue of every bird in the
forest. He told Nicole that it was a very difficult job but that it was very
rewarding as birds weren’t as selfish and evil as men. He confessed he didn’t
really like people. After he said that, he looked Nicole straight in the eye
and stretched her hand to hear. His name was Quentin.
That day, and all the following days in which
Nicole had decided to remain in the woods, Quentin would tell her all the
tricks to get the best pictures of the birds. He would also take pictures of
other animals and of the trees. He found nature fascinating at it most simple.
Nicole was so enthralled by all of this that she decided it was time to make
her next move. When she came back to the city she quit her job and applied to
one in the university to be Quentin’s assistant. The pay was better making
perfume but her life felt so much lighter and improved in the forest, in peace.
