In the bigger picture, perhaps we
might take comfort in the simple misery of knowing we all—man, fish, beast, and
bird—are little more than a compendium of dust particles swept across unfathomable
space. Time eventually smears all of us
into a singular, meaningless, impenetrable event. Who, then, in a half-billion years, will
recall the sad tale of Nigel the gannet?
Nigel lived his last five years on the
small, otherwise uninhabited island of Mana, just off the coast of mainland New
Zealand. The “otherwise uninhabited”
part of this story is a bit tricky.
Years ago, conservation rangers from New Zealand placed some eighty immobile,
painted concrete replicas of gannets on the eastern cliffs of the island. The same rangers also broadcast gannet calls
from speakers powered by a small solar photovoltaic system. The hope was to attract nesting gannets back
to the island after forty years of absence.
Nigel landed on the island in 2013 and
soon began courting a particular concrete bird.
Who can say why that bird?
Something about the curve of her sleek neck? Her colors a bit brighter? A certain flaw that made her seem approachable
for a regular bird like Nigel?
Nigel made his choice and did not look
back again. He lived alone with his
concrete love and her inanimate concrete companions.
Nigel groomed her concrete flanks, her
cold neck. He carefully constructed a
nest for her. For five years, devoted
his time to his concrete mate.
Recently, Nigel was found dead
alongside the cold mate he chose. He had
never wavered in his dedication to her.
Of course, to be a true tale of
sadness, there must be one more insult to add to injury. In the story of Nigel the gannet it is
this: Nigel died only a few weeks after another
three living gannets settled into another part of the concrete colony alongside
him.
Nigel ignored the other living
gannets, of course. His love for his concrete
mate remained steadfast until the end, until he was swept against the great
unknown.
-- Mitchell
Hegman
The details of
this story are from an article that appeared in The Guardian.
I find beauty even in unexpected places like -- pathos.
ReplyDeleteThis story really touched me when I found it.
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