Lily Pad Love

MY STORY

By 2021, you, assuming you’re a human, have been exposed to prejudices, protests, and violence. You, the human, may not have first-handedly endured or cared for all aforementioned movements but you have lived through them whether it was known to you or not. You could be one of those tall, white-skinned, heterosexual males who generally has nothing to worry about when it comes to pressurized times in history. I don’t want to be prejudiced myself, so I, another human, will give the tall, white-skinned, heterosexual male the benefit of the doubt and say that they are aware and care about their fellow human population’s well-being. The main question that comes to mind for all humans that don’t fit this profile is, “Why is there a caste system?” We don’t live in ancient Egypt where there were pharaohs, noblemen, and slaves. We live in a modernized world (for the most part) where there are educators, presidents, doctors, students, prisoners, and fast-food workers. The new part is that we have all types of humans in these classifications, whereas only certain families could engage in certain roles in ancient Egypt. We could have our tall, white-skinned, heterosexual male as both a prisoner and a doctor. We could have an African American, bisexual female as both a student and a president. Note: “could”, not “do”. Overall, the human population has made strides since this ancient period of time but there are still barriers to demolish. We aren’t alone.

It troubles me to say that the non-human beasts of Earth are still working on the issues that the humans are. We’ve all read or are aware of Orwell’s ground-breaking “Animal Farm” but don’t worry, the pigs have relinquished their totalitarian mentalities and formed a peace treaty with the remainder of the domesticated inhabitants of the farm (the treaty was even in Layman’s Terms for the sheep).

A little birdie, Sherman the bluebird, to be exact, shared to me the story I will soon share with you. As far as general updates, he chirped that the current members of Hannaford’s Farm live peacefully among one another. The boar and sow now have three little piglets, the bull is on his last days of life, the sheep are as confused as ever, mainly due to the sheepdog puppy recently added to the mix, and the pond is still where the animals love to graze, mingle, and wash. Sounds civil, right? All the Hannaford farm animals love conversing with the other breeds but that is where the line is drawn. No one, not a single animal, can love one another outside of the breed circles. It’s blasphemy if the rooster and cow fall in love. It’s irreverent if the raven and boar sneak behind the Big Red Barn past midnight. I asked Sherman what happens in these instances and if it has ever occurred. He squawked in fear and continued his explanation by indicating that this had happened once on the farm. Sherman screeched his memory of two animals leaving the farm, never to be heard from again. They initially were refused from Town Hall meetings, which extended to accessing the pond, and then to the blocking of their food supply. They became so hungry and desolate that they escaped. Sherman ruffled his feathers and angrily refuted these myopic rules that the farm follows. This is where he began his story, where his best friend Sully, one of the ducks on the farm, fell in love with the lamb named Luna. Sherman was afraid his friend and the little lamb would share the same fate as the two previous escapees. He couldn’t bear to lose his best friend. I explained to him that he should keep an open wing and do his best to only support Sully and Luna in their journey ahead. I also told him that humans are still working on this sort of acceptance and it will take quite a bit of patience. Once Sherman calmed down a bit, he told me that he needed to get back to the farm. There was a Big Rain coming so he needed to get back quickly or else he could be in grave danger. I waved goodbye, eager to hear the remainder of Sully and Luna’s story.

SHERMAN’S STORY

It was one of the first, warm, summer days at Hannaford’s Farm. The pond was buzzing — literally buzzing since a family of bees was also collecting pollen from the surrounding flowers in the foliage. Everyone was there; one of the pig families was showing off their three newly born piglets, the horses were all galloping after one another and stopping for water breaks once they needed to catch their breath, the birds were tweeting and fluttering all around their nests, attempting to teach the babies how to fly, the sheep were all huddled some twenty feet away from the pond, confused and unsure what exactly to do, and Pam the sheepdog barked and bashed her head into the sheep’s thick wool, attempting to get them to follow her. All in all, it was busy. There were goats, ducks, chickens, cows, and Fur-Ball the orange cat to keep everyone busy mingling and gossiping for the remainder of the day.

The ducks were particularly enjoying the feeling of the cool water on their webbed feet. The paddling was gliding one by one, ducklings not far behind, on top of the clear, refreshing water. Mrs. Quax floated up to her son, Sully, who was busy chatting with his friend Sherman. They were both perched by lily pads, saying how tired they were from their first migration back up north and how they just wanted to relax, swim, and play.

“Sherman, could you give Sully and I some time alone, please?” quacked Mrs. Quax.

“Sure! See you later, Sully!” whistled Sherman, who took off to play worm games with the other birds. Sully spun around in the water, a little angered that his mother wouldn’t let him enjoy time with his best friend.

“Sully, I wanted to talk to you about something serious,” she began, with a stern look in her eyes. “You’re at the age where you need to start mating. You do not want to be left alone once we head back to the south in the winter. You need to start thinking about a family.” Sully couldn’t have been less interested. None of the ducks held his attention. He knew the rest of the ducks his age were already pairing up but he just didn’t feel that same urgency at this point. Mrs. Quax noted the careless look from her son.

“Why not Pearl?” she noted. “She had her eyes on you for the whole stretch of migration from West Virginia all the way home. She’s a nice girl.”

“Yeah, she’s fine, I guess,” Sully sighed. But I don’t want to start a family with her.” Mrs. Quax’s forehead furrowed.

“Don’t use that tone with me. If you don’t find a mate by the end of the summer, you will not join us for the migration.” With that final, heart-breaking comment, Mrs. Quax quickly floated back to the paddling. Sully was starting to get worried. If he got left behind, he wouldn’t survive the winter. Maybe he should take this more seriously.

Later that day, Sully met up with Sherman on the bank of the pond, next to some rowdy goats that were laughing about one of the goat’s horns that was completely asymmetrical.

“Sherman?” Sully asked. “Have you found a mate yet? My mom said if I don’t, I can’t come on the migration.”

Sherman looked bewildered, his eyes growing three times their normal size. “How could she not let you come? You’re my best friend! What would I do without you? Where -”

“SHERMAN! Calm down. It’ll be fine,” Sully ensured. Sherman didn’t look persuaded and Sully could swear a small tear formed in his eye but Sherman blinked it away.

“Yeah, right, you’re right. Um, well my family told me to think about mating with Wendy, you know, the one with the one brown feather on her head. We talked about it and I think we agree that it would work, I guess,” Sherman explained. He still seemed a little ruffled from Sully’s comment from before but was calming down slightly.

“That’s great, Sherman. Wendy is a sweet bird. I — “ Sully started but shot the goats a frustrated look once they got rowdier in that instant. While Sully glared at the goats, he noticed a puff of white running around in the distance behind the asymmetrically horned goat that was still being taunted. Sully extended his neck to get a better view and noticed that it was a lamb — a beautiful, little lamb. Pam was chasing them around and must have finally gotten them to move from their sedentary spot from earlier; however, this little lamb wasn’t confused and running awry. She was enjoying the breeze by herself and had a growing smile on her face as each hoof hit the grass in her gallop. Sully was entranced, eyes locked on her every move.

“SULLY!” Sherman squawked, waving his wing over his mystified gaze. “What happened? Don’t let the goats get to you. They’re really annoying, we all know,” Sherman whispered so that the goats wouldn’t start taunting him instead.

“Sorry! I, uh, need to go to the foliage. I think I lost a few feathers there yesterday,” Sully lied as he got up, shook his feathers, and waddled towards the flock of sheep. At that moment, his mission was interrupted by Farmer Hannaford’s “Oi! Dinner!” call and lost all focus once the stampede of every hungry farm animal swept him from his feet.

Over the next several weeks, the mating rituals took place. The mares and fillies, heifers and bulls, drakes and ducks, rams and ewes, and all the other breeds were beginning to pair up within their own circles. Sherman and Wendy had officially paired up and even Pearl had her eyes on another drake. Sully still was not interested in any of the ducks, considering most of his attention went to watching the little lamb. She didn’t appear to be paired up with a ram yet, which made Sully smile from time to time. He didn’t even know her name and hadn’t yet plucked up the courage to talk to her yet. But tonight, Sully decided, was the night. It was the monthly Town Hall meeting for all the animals to meet and discuss important topics surrounding farm life. Sully used to love Town Hall meetings because the children would just play outside of the Big Red Barn while the adults chatted away. But Sully was reaching adulthood now and Mrs. Quax wouldn’t have him roaming around outside with the immature little ones. So, Sully followed suit with the rest of the adults, eyeing the children rolling around some empty cans in his periphery as he waddled in. Sully looked all around for the little, white lamb but couldn’t see from all the fast-paced hooves and feet pacing every which way. He eventually gave up and found a seat next to Sherman, who was sharing his seat with Wendy.

“Hello,” quacked Sully. “Excited for our first Town Hall meeting as the big adults?”

Sherman tweeted with laughter. “I’d much rather be playing worm games outside! But I hear Ol’ Hammy might be giving one of his last Town Hall meetings. No one thinks he’ll make it past the summer.”

Wendy gave Sherman a stern look. Her single brown feather intertwined in all the white ones ruffled. “Don’t say such nonsense! And shush, it’s starting!”

Sure enough, at that moment, Ol’ Hammy, the mightiest of all bulls who ever roamed on the farm, walked in. His muzzle drooped, his fur was greyed, his gait was wobbled but he still managed to carry such poise and wisdom. Everyone fell silent. His stature was still heads, feathers, and tails above all the other Hannaford animals. No one disrespected Ol’ Hammy.

He made his way, slowly, to the podium, all eyes still locked on his figure. He cleared his raspy throat and started his speech. Sully heard it countless times before, even when he was outside playing. It was the same “What an honor it is to have the migrators back…”, the repetitive jokes on “Why did the chicken cross the road? I’m looking at you, Marv,” while Marv the chicken gave the usual wink and everyone in the crowd laughed. The agenda started with Ol’ Hammy reading out the new pairings thus far, which included a bashful Sherman and overconfident Wendy raising wings for identification. Two of the new horse pairs neighed with glee at their name calling, one pair of goats yelled with cheer, four pairs of chickens bawked with happiness, two pairs of ducks (one including Pearl) quacked with pride, and no pigs, cows, or sheep yet had any pairs. Sully was relieved at this last piece of information. The agenda continued with updates about the pond (to make sure to keep it clean), the mud holes, the food supply, the new sheepdog, Pam, recent birthdays (Marv the chicken turned 3), and closing remarks.

“Remember to put yourselves out there, little ones. You don’t want to be left without a mate at the end of the summer. Most importantly, you don’t want to end up like the Shunned Ones… But none of you have to worry about that!” Ol’ Hammy exclaimed.

He was referring to the two animals that broke the breeding circle rule. Sully was born way after their time but in his mind, he felt bad for them. He thought they were braver than anyone on the farm ever was. What was so wrong with being happily in love? Sully thought about the lamb a little more as Ol’ Hammy exited down the middle aisle, all eyes except Sully’s on his wavering figure.

After the adjournment, more mingling happened in the Big Red Barn. Sherman caught up with Sully as he was peering around for the little lamb.

“Hey, do you want to come to the pond with me and Trevor? We have a new game that you’ll be really great at!” said Sherman, noticeably excited that the meeting was behind him and all eyes weren’t on his new relationship.

Sully didn’t want to play any games and he also wasn’t too fond of Trevor the goat. He wanted to find the little lamb. He needed to get out of another conversation with Sherman.

“Sorry, I need to find my mother,” said Sully as he wobbled in the general direction of the sheep flock.

“But she’s right — “ started Sherman but Sully was already out of earshot with all the conversation happening in the surroundings.

Sully looked left, right, and upwards. Nothing. Where could she be? She wasn’t with the flock, or any other group for that matter. He waddled slowly, saddened that he missed his chance. His heart hurt and he just wanted to go for a swim. He finally reached the pond and there were way more young adults than he expected, all playing games and laughing. Sully caught Sherman’s eye as he fluttered ahead with Trevor the goat, chasing after one another with a bunch of their other animal friends trailing.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sully saw a little puff of white, and nearly knocked himself over from turning around. The little lamb was taking a drink at the pond, alone. Sully’s green head must’ve turned bright pink in that moment but he plucked up the courage to finally walk over to the edge of the pond where she was drinking. He started out waddling fast and then got very slow, trying to act as if he didn’t see her. He slowly made his way into the pond to rustle his feathers and the little lamb looked up, surprised that someone was next to her.

“Oh, you startled me!” she said, with the softest and sweetest voice you have ever heard and her eyes bugged out.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!” said Sully, about twice the normal speed that he usually spoke. The lamb went back to drinking from the pond as she slowly ducked her small, puffy head towards the cool water.

“What’s your name?” asked Sully, again at the same speed as before, overall just surprised that words were coming out of his mouth coherently.

The lamb lifted her head, surprised that conversation was directed towards her. “My name is Luna. What’s yours?”

“Sully. It’s nice to meet you Luna.”

“You too.”

The moments after that were lacking in verbiage. Luna finished drinking and Sully swam around a small surface area of the pond in case conversation ensued. She looked at him, puzzled. No fellow farm animal had ever started a conversation with her, except for some of the male sheep her age. But no one wanted to be friends with her. She enjoyed time alone. All the other animals her age liked to play games and fool around. She preferred to keep her hooves planted firmly on the ground with no one bothering her.

Sully couldn’t handle the silence any longer and also figured that she did not want to talk to him so he exited the water. He fluttered his feathers to get some of the water out and paused. She was looking at him. He weakly said, “Would you like to go play with us?” pointing a wing in the direction of Sherman and company.

“No, but thank you,” she said firmly. She was still looking at him with a confused expression on her face. Sully began to walk away, feeling slightly defeated; however, a small twinge of courage popped into his feathery chest at the last second.

“Tell me about yourself, Luna.”

The lamb was startled but excited that he was showing an interest in her. She smiled and squatted down on the fertile soil at the pond while Sully plopped down a foot away. The two talked endlessly that evening, even after all the kids went back to their parents after the games. They talked about Sully’s migration, Luna’s fear of swimming, Sully’s favorite games, Luna’s love for the rain (quite the paradox for someone who hates swimming), and on and on and on until Farmer Hannaford came out and yelled his nightly, “Oi! G’Nigh’!” and every remaining meandering animal made their way back to their designated home.

“Lunaaa!” baahed one tall and very puffy sheep. “Sully!” quacked Mrs. Quax.

“Sorry, that’s my mother calling,” sighed Luna. She stood up slowly, not wanting to leave her company.

“Mine too,” responded Sully, also rising from the ground, and dusting off his feathers.

“Come find me tomorrow at my flock. I want to hear more about your migration. It sounds fascinating,” said Luna, intrigued by Sully’s southbound lifestyle. She shot him one more smile and galloped away towards her mother’s call. Sully stood there for a second, baffled at what just happened. He never had such an easy time talking to another animal. Even Sherman wasn’t that easy to talk with all the time. How could two completely different animals with two very different living styles have so much to talk about? But then again, why wouldn’t they? Sully’s heart started to beat faster and for the first time since he got back from the migration, he smiled.

Sully and Luna were inseparable since that initial meeting at the pond. It was routine for Sully to wake up and waddle over to the sheep flock. He no longer got any stares since the sheep saw him every day. “Good morning, Suuully,” baahed the usual sheep that would see him quickly waddling to his destination. Sully would wave a wing to them all but focus all his attention on finding Luna as fast as possible. She would always be waiting for him at the entrance to the Big Red Barn, with a smile to match the spring in her step. The two would wander down to the pond, side-by-side, conversation flowing. After weeks of Sully introducing Luna to the pond, they would go into the pond, very shallow so that Luna wasn’t too afraid, and have a splashing fight, blow bubbles, or play tag with just the two of them. The duck and the lamb didn’t need anyone else.

Sully noticed several glaring looks from Sherman over the weeks following. The two hadn’t really spoken since the Town Hall meeting. There was one point on this particular day, however, where Sherman broke the silence. Luna had told Sully that she’d be right back and had to show him something. Sherman swooped in at this opportunity and landed on a nearby branch just above Sully’s head.

“Sully!” exclaimed Sherman, “I haven’t talked to you in so long! Why are you avoiding me?”

Sully looked surprised and immediately felt horrible for ignoring his best friend.

“Sherman, I’m sorry. But this girl, Luna, she’s amazing. She’s interesting, and fun, and –”

“Replacing me?” inquired Sherman. His blue feathers furrowed at his brow line. “You haven’t even said hi to me. What about all the games we used to play? You and I were the best team!” Sherman looked madder than he ever was. His little body was shaking in fury.

“Sherman, I’ll make it up to you. Play with us today. I promise it’ll be more fun than hanging out with Trevor and all them,” Sully assured him.

Sherman was about to keep up his fury but then paused momentarily. He gave Sully a puzzled look and then relaxed his furrow and fury.

“Do you like her?” asked Sherman quietly, with a twinge of a whine in his voice.

Sully looked his best friend squarely in the eyes and responded with an equally soft, “Yes.”

Sherman’s fury was replaced with nerves. He hopped down from the branch and walked right up to Sully.

“Please, Sully. Please don’t get caught. If Ol’ Hammy ever found out…You’d be the next one in his story at the Town Hall. I can’t lose you!” Sherman was huffing and puffing out of sheer terror. He loved his friend and would do anything to keep his and Luna’s love a secret. But Sherman couldn’t physically protect Sully on this matter. They couldn’t tell anyone.

Sully tried calming down his friend by putting a wing around him. “Sherman, calm down. I’m keeping it a secret. I don’t even think she likes me back, so it’s not a problem. I won’t ever leave you, Sherman.”

Sherman saw Luna returning and wanted his friend to have his time with her. He decided to give Sully one last “Please, be careful,” and soared off after Trevor and the gang.

“Come here, Sully. Look at these,” said Luna after she spat out a mouthful of green. Sully looked down at his feet and saw a bunch of browning lily pads. The same ones found by the back end of the pond, where only the two of them played.

“I collect them on days it rains. I love the green color they exude so I save them. They’re all brown now… But I know that they were once so beautiful,” said Luna proudly. The vigor in her small, black eyes deepened and Sully felt as if he was looking right into the depths of her heart. She was so beautiful. The way she picked out the most beautiful things in the most unappealing times. This didn’t just go for the lily pads. This was for everything in her life. Sully couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“I love you, Luna.” The words slipped out of Sully’s orange beak. He froze. How could he just say that out loud? There was no chance she felt the same way. He began to avert his embarrassed gaze.

“I love you too, Sully,” said Luna in her sweet and soft voice.

Sully could barely contain his excitement, also with a mix of fear and confusion, but mostly entirely excitement. His feathers fluffed, his beak raised, and his eyes gleamed. He had met the love of his life and she wasn’t a duck. How would he explain this to his mother, his siblings, and to the rest of the farm animals? Should it be kept a secret forever? He didn’t want to think about that now because he had her all to himself.

The two fawned over Luna’s lily pad collection for hours and continued talking about the future, being free of Hannaford’s farm and traveling down south in the wintertime, just the two of them.

Later in the day, the farm animals started acting strange. They all sensed what was coming, even Farmer Hannaford was getting anxious. A Big Rain was approaching. No, not just any rain. The biggest rain in years. A flood.

Ol’ Hammy called an emergency Town Hall meeting that evening. Even the children were present at this one, all huddled into their parents’ wings, wool, or fur. The crowd had their usual fixated looks on Ol’ Hammy, who appeared slower but just as statuesque as any other day. He stumbled to the podium and cleared his throat. Any jovial emotion he may have ever possessed dissipated in that moment. He scanned the crowd, disappointed and afraid. Sully was seated next to Luna and the two exchanged looks of unease.

“Today, we must talk about the looming natural frontier that approaches our land,” he started, hooves firmly planted in the wooden floor holding up wobbly legs. The animals in the crowd were now officially all worried. Parents held their children tightly, mates sat closer together, looks of sheer panic rose in uniformity across all faces. Sully held back from his yearn to comfort Luna.

“We must stick together in this perpetual disaster. Or else there will be risks.” Ol’ Hammy cleared his throat again. “Tomorrow, when Rudy calls the morning sun, everyone must report here. Small animals, take your families to the rafters,” his chin raised to gesture to the rafters surrounding the upper floors of the Big Red Barn, “and larger animals, we need to start bringing in bales of hay to cover the ground. As much as we can to give us elevation. We cannot think about rations at this time. Eat up tonight and pray tomorrow.”

The horses neighed, cows mooed, and the remainder of the animals sounded in agreement. Everyone in the crowd looked ready to go, ready to prepare for this impending danger as a team. They started getting rowdy, almost boisterous to the point where small animals needed to watch out for stray hooves.

“SILENCE!” boomed Ol’ Hammy, simultaneously stomping a hoof into the wooden floor. “I will not have this disorderly state on my farm. Speaking of which, brings me to my next point.”

Any ounce of nervousness Ol’ Hammy displayed previously was gone. It was replaced by fury.

“It has come to my attention that we have traitors in our midst,” said Ol’ Hammy in a silent but stern tone. His big, brown eyes scanned the crowd. Sully had a bad feeling boiling up inside him. The crowd looked puzzled.

“I cannot stress to you how disloyal, distrusting, and unfaithful it is to our fam, to MY farm, that there are two animals who have ‘fallen in love’,” he said in a menacingly teasing tone, “and are breaking our circle of trust. No one, not one single animal must breed outside of their circle. NO ONE!” Ol’ Hammy was furious, enraged, quaking with ferocity. “It is unacceptable, against the rules, disgusting, and satanic. Whoever you are, I urge you to turn yourselves in and leave Hannaford’s Farm. This is your one and only warning where you will be dismissed in peace. Otherwise, prepare to endure your own fate when the truth is out.”

The crowd at this point looked like a sea of statues. No one blinked, not even a single feather waved in the slight breeze. Sully’s heart dropped. How had Ol’ Hammy found out? It wasn’t Sherman. Well if it was Sherman, it was by pure accident. Maybe his fear showed when he and the others played games. Sully peered over at Trevor, who shot him a menacing smile. Sully immediately returned his eyes to the straightforward position. Trevor might know and he was not a quiet nor a merciful kid. Sully peered in the opposite direction at Luna, who was peacefully seated next to him. She didn’t look afraid. She looked proud if anything. Sully felt so much love for her in this moment and instead tried to develop the hubris she exuded. He was proud to love someone he wasn’t societally allowed to. He internally decided that after the Big Rain, he and Luna would leave the farm and start their trek down south together. They would stay there and have adventures. They would collect lily pads and swim under the hot sun.

Sully’s daydream was interrupted by the stampede of animals exiting the Big Red Barn. Bales of hay were already being brought in, food was being chowed down, Farmer Hannaford was boarding up the windows and doors, and children were crying for attention. Sully looked everywhere for Luna and finally caught sight of her buzzing by with the other sheep. She was busy baling hay in the Big Red Barn, back and forth from the sheep pen. It was utter chaos. Sully was too small to help with hay so he went to the pond with his family and started collecting twigs and leaves to make small nests for the rafters.

MY STORY

I hadn’t heard from Sherman in a while. I started to get worried about the inhabitants of Hannaford’s Farm. Indeed, it was quite a flood that resulted the day after Sherman’s visit. I watched the news as the horror unfolded. Crops were washed away, cars were destroyed, homes had a foot of water in the living areas. It was truly heart-breaking. It was named “The Flood of the Century”, the worst since the 1950s. I was safe in my third-floor apartment but I knew I was one of the lucky ones.

Sherman came back around two months later. He wanted to say goodbye before he migrated down south with the usual pack from Hannaford’s Farm. He had a saddened look in his small, beady eyes. I let him in and closed the window since it was getting rather chilly outside. He perched on a bowl on my table and caught me up on recent events on the farm. There were a few times I had to tell him to calm down and take a few breaths. He quaked with sadness but after giving him a few breadcrumbs, he was able to speak coherently.

His story broke my heart in a way that I wasn’t aware it could be. Societal reactions for humans in the whole “breaking the breed circles” aspect was essentially the rage that occurs from small-minded individuals where women being with women, men being with men, non-binary individuals with a trans woman, and endless other pairings, causes them to retaliate. But at least people can go outside and express themselves rather than be forced into starvation or isolation. I patted Sherman with assurance that Sully and Luna’s story would be just an ordinary love story one day. It wouldn’t be an unspeakable, demonic escapade. It would be the beginning of a new generation.

SHERMAN’S STORY

The morning of the flood, Rudy the rooster didn’t even need to make his daily cock-a-doodle-doo. The animals were already up and about, eating and putting last minute touches in the Big Red Barn for their barricade and safety precautions. Sully could see Farmer Hannaford peeking out the door at his farm and doing a quick sign-of-the-cross in hopes that they would all be safe. He then called Pam and Fur-Ball inside and shut the door with a big wooden board on the outside.

Sully couldn’t find Luna in the rush of entering the Big Red Barn that morning. Families unsystematically filed in and were climbing rafters, hoisting their skittish children, hopping on bales of hay, and nestling against the prickly twigs. Mrs. Quax ordered Sully to follow her in with his siblings. It was starting to rain at this point, just a light sprinkle but thunder boomed in the distance.

“EVERYBODY IN, NOW!” bellowed Ol’ Hammy. He was marching himself in the barn and had his own bale stack where he could rest comfortably with plenty of space compared to the cramped remainder of the animals.

After a little while, everyone appeared to be inside since no one else was scurrying in or looking for a missing family member. It was downpouring at this point, the thunder amplifying with every boom and lightning flashing before everyone’s eyes. Sully was getting worried. He couldn’t see everyone crammed into the barn but he thought he would at least get a glimpse of Luna amongst the woolly clouds of sheep huddled in the back corner. It was difficult to see from the highest rafter but he still felt uneasy. He just wanted to be next to her.

Sully decided to look away from the terrified families and crying children, and instead chose to look out the small window closest to him at the storm approaching. Sheets of rain were coming down at this point. Sully watched the crops in the distance being destroyed before his eyes, he watched the pond overflowing, trees rocking back and forth, and debris flying in every direction. There was also something moving by the pond. It was a small, white puff. It was running full-speed toward the barn. It was Luna. Sully immediately jumped up from his twig and leaf nest that he created and leaped from that highest rafter, barely catching any drag from his wings. He screamed at the top of his lungs, “KEEP THE DOORS OPEN! LUNA’S COMING!”

The horses that had been ordered by Ol’ Hammy to lock the barn doors looked confused as they stopped mid-close.

“CLOSE THE DOORS!” bellowed Ol’ Hammy, starting to stand upright, having a difficult time in the process. He was enraged but a twinge of satisfaction was present in his voice.

The horses obeyed and closed the door. Sully slammed into the door trying to push his weight against it to offset the horses’ strength. It wouldn’t budge.

“What’re you doing? There’s a lamb locked outside!” yelled Sully, directly facing Ol’ Hammy. “She’ll die!” As Sully uttered those last two words, he started to tear up. Ol’ Hammy officially knew about them. This was his retaliation against them.

“That young lamb is a traitor. As are you, young duck,” said Ol’ Hammy with the most menacing and devious smile you could ever imagine.

The barn was shaking from the thunder and the sounds were deafening. The sheets of rain were banging against the walls and rain was starting to come in from under the door. The larger animals on the bales of hay started to really panic now. A muffled scream from the opposite side of the barn door sounded.

“Hello? Please, let me in! Please!” It was Luna. At this rate, Sully imagined that the rainwater must have covered her hooves. She couldn’t swim, so it was getting increasingly worse for her to stand amidst the freezing cold.

“HOW COULD YOU?” cried Sully, tears streaming all over his orange beak.

Ol’ Hammy erupted with maniacal laughter. “That’s what happens when you break the circle of trust! I was going to throw you outside but this will be your lesson — to watch her suffer before your eyes!”

Sully didn’t even think before he ran towards Ol’ Hammy. He leaped just a few feet before his giant, grey stature and aimed his attack towards the bull’s chest. Ol’ Hammy just lifted a hoof and kicked Sully down with great force. Not one animal moved. All eyes were on this rift. Once Sully regained consciousness a few seconds later, he saw a small, blue blur come flying out of one of the top rafters and smack Ol’ Hammy right on the top of the head. The old bull was distracted for a moment and Sherman raced to Sully and started to help him up the rafters. Sully’s head ached with such pain from the hoof impact but he needed to get out of Ol’ Hammy’s range before it happened again. Sherman led him up to the small window that he was looking out of before and said, “Let’s go get her.”

The two started banging on the window, beaks and wings thrashing to find a sweet spot to break it in order to escape. No one was willing to help. All of them were still afraid of Ol’ Hammy, who was bellowing and stomping around the bales of hay on the wooden floor, calling out profanities and phrases, such as, “Traitor!” and “Get him!”

Sully and Sherman began to lose hope but Rudy the rooster came up behind them, pushed them out of the way, and with one large peck, the window shattered. The two thanked him and edged their way out. They both leaped into the air and were able to make it safely to the ground even with the seemingly unending panes of rain before them. They couldn’t see very well but managed to find the white puff off in the distance running towards the pond.

“LUNA!” yelled Sully. She couldn’t hear him but they both saw her struggling through the rising rain. Thunder boomed. Lightning blinded them. Leaves flew every which way. Loose trash was rolling around. It was chaos.

“COME TOWARDS US!” shouted Sherman but his voice was lost in the rain even more so than Sully’s.

They started chasing her, Sully by paddling through the water and Sherman by flying in zig-zags from being pounded by the rain. She was struggling and Sully wouldn’t lose his fixation on her.

Lightning. Thunder. It was the most blinding and loudest CRAAAACK that the two friends had ever heard in their lives. They both screamed in terror. The wind was pushing them both back, almost to the point where they didn’t appear to be moving. From the corner of his fixated gaze, Sully saw the unthinkable happen. It was so fast but it happened so slow in how he remembers it. One of the farmer’s wooden boards from the window unhatched and flew off in the wind. It projected upwards until it plummeted at its terminal trajectory. Sully and Sherman watched the wooden board land on top of Luna’s head and she fell directly into the pond. Sully’s world stopped in that moment. He stopped paddling. He couldn’t bear to go over there.

“We can’t stop now!” tweeted a brave Sherman. “We’re almost there!”

Sherman led the way and Sully watched him so he could focus. He couldn’t look at the board by the pond’s edge. He couldn’t. They finally reached the board and Sherman came down from his flying position. The two raced up to the board and pulled it off Luna.

Sully’s world was silent. There was no rain, no thunder. There was no lightning. There was no Sherman yelling at him to keep moving. There was only Luna. Sully lifted her head out of the water and let it rest on his outstretched wings. He brought his wings close to his chest. He saw, clenched in her mouth, a small, beautifully green object. A lily pad. Luna had picked it while everyone was safe in the Big Red Barn and was running back to show it to Sully. Sully looked at her. Her eyes were closed. Sherman wrapped his wings around her hoof and the three of them just held each other for as long as they could.

The next morning, Rudy the rooster resumed his cock-a-doodle-doo call. The sun was shining, the farmer took his boards off the windows and doors, Pam and Fur-Ball were released from the house, and the animals started to emerge.

Sully and Sherman were still wrapped around Luna. The pond began to congregate with farm inhabitants shortly after they all exited the Big Red Barn. From the conversations that ensued, the two learned that Ol’ Hammy didn’t make it through the night. There were some relieved looks and jovial conversations but as soon as Sherman walked away and told them all to be quiet, the sight of Sully holding Luna captured their attention. Sully never looked up. He didn’t want anyone else in his little bubble.

The farm animals were devastated. None of them, except for Rudy the rooster’s window break-out, helped Sully and Sherman at all last night and could have put a stop to the madness. They felt ashamed, unworthy, and useless, and might have well been a version of Ol’ Hammy themselves. They quietly formed a circle around the pond’s edge where Sully and Luna were stationed. They all bowed their heads in silence and mourned the loss of Luna.

As the sun blazed on into the afternoon, the farmer came out to the pond area and parted the circle. He stood there, in-between one of the horses and the chickens and took his hat off in respect.

“Not the lamb too…” he recited in a sad silence and stood there with them, his head also bowed.

That same day, Farmer Hannaford buried Luna and Ol’ Hammy by the pond. Each animal paid their respects one at a time while Sully perched himself next to Luna’s grave. He felt lost. There was no happiness that he’d ever regain. He heard a sweet little tweet from behind and looked around to find Sherman flying by carrying the lily pad that Luna picked last night, tightly grasped in his clawed feet. Sherman flew down towards the fresh soil and set the still beautifully green lily pad where she lay. The two friends smiled at each other and for the first time since he last saw Luna at the Town Hall meeting baling hay, Sully felt this was a beautiful moment.

The next morning, Sully left Hannaford’s farm. His migration needed to start now so that he could find his way by himself. He absolutely could not go with his siblings, fellow ducks, and the other birds. His only direction in life was geared towards Luna so he would only stop when he felt the need to stop. Before he left, Sully said goodbye to his mother.

“I’m sorry, mother,” said Sully with a cracked throat and no tears left to spare. “I just need to find my happiness somewhere else.”

Mrs. Quax looked at her son and wrapped her brown feathers around him.

“You’ve made me prouder than any animal I’ve ever known. Spread your wings and fly,” she responded through a sad smile.

Sully and Sherman also met to say goodbye to one another before he left. They hugged, wings wrapped tightly, knowing that they would never see each other again.

“Thank you, Sherman,” said Sully through teary eyes. “I’ll never forget you.”

Sherman could barely hold himself together. His little, blue body was quivering again.

“Thank you, Sully. You changed my life. I’ll never forget you.”

MY STORY

The cold winter turned into a dreary spring. The dreary spring turned into a fruitful summer. Sherman returned to my cozy third-floor apartment one day in May with a spring in his step. He looked tired but refreshed. It looked like he had a lot of time to think and recover from his former tragic summer. He updated me on all the new-borns of the farm, how Pam was finally wrangling the sheep into their senses, and how there wasn’t much of a dictatorship in the Town Hall meetings anymore. He told me how flowers had sprouted around the lily pad on Luna’s grave.

I asked him if he ever heard from Sully. He sighed and shook his head. He had not. But throughout his travels in the south, he told me that he ventured off from his family one day early on. He decided to explore and enjoy the warm sun. He found his way to a pond nearby and he said that he nearly knocked himself over from what he saw. It was a duck pond, completely filled to the brim with lily pads. It was Sherman’s sign that Sully and Luna’s love lived on past Hannaford’s Farm and that it was unbreakable.

He chirped that instead of viewing Sully and Luna’s story as a traitorous exploit, the farm inhabitants recall it now as an epic love story. The view on love wasn’t completely turned around, he expressed to me, but it was certainly nearing the right direction.

He turned to leave since he needed to get back to Wendy and the children. I sent Sherman on his way with some breadcrumbs and wished him well on his travels. As he flew away, I watched a frightful but loyal friend disappear into the trees. Small beasts like Sherman would eventually pave the way into a brighter future for those who couldn’t express themselves. He proved to me that in the end, love always overpowers fear.