Among the birds, three adults had been rescued from fishing gear entanglements—the only ones among many such birds brought in that had survived. Including the pelican Heather had rescued. That was the bird Bo was standing beside. Naturally they were partial to this pelican. There had been some iffy moments in his healing process. The fishing hook had dug deep. Pelican wings were difficult to heal, and their little guy had required a lot of physical therapy to stretch out his wings fully. Heather was worried whether he’d actually be able to fly today.
Heather waited near the water. She was part of the perimeter guard for the release. Higher up on the beach by the dunes, a small group had gathered to watch the release. Heather recognized some of them, and doing so gave her a strong sense of belonging. These were her neighbors, part of her new community. It was easy to spot Cara—taller than many of the other women, wearing a crisp white shirt and a red ball cap. Beside her were Emmi in green and Flo in a turtle team shirt, even though turtle season was done. She was talking to the charming older woman Heather had met that special night at the dock. Miss Marietta. Six or seven other men and women stood waiting. They’d been lucky enough to be walking the beach at the right time. Heather smiled and waved at them, especially the three children who stood, hands clasped at their chests and hopping up and down, excited to see the “big birds.”
Prominent among them was her father. David had driven down from Charlotte after receiving her invitation to witness the release. Though they both knew he had come to check out Bo and see their cottage. He had come without Natalie.
She looked to Bo and her chest swelled at seeing him lift his hand and give her a thumbs-up sign. Nothing compared to the pride she felt in herself. She’d mastered her fears. She’d learned how to treat herself with kindness and compassion. And she believed she was worthy of being loved, just as she was. Bo proved that to her every day in many ways. She smiled broadly and returned the thumbs-up. Looking beyond, she saw Cara watching her, arms crossed and grinning, too.
Debbie, the center’s medical director, looked out at the sky, her hand over her eyes. There wasn’t a pelican in sight. They’d been waiting to spot even a small flock of pelicans for the release. There usually was a group along this beach, but not today. Debbie lifted her hands up, shrugging and mystified, as a murmur of worry spread among the volunteers that they’d have to scrub the release today.
Then Heather heard a steady, rumbling sound from the sea, put-put-put . . . She turned toward it and clapped her hands. A shrimp boat was slowly passing by on its way to Mount Pleasant, its nets lowered as it dragged the bottom of the ocean. Circling the boat, calling raucously, were dozens of gulls and pelicans looking for a free meal.
“We’re on!” Debbie called out with enthusiasm. “Let them go!”
The children began jumping up and down, openly embodying the same excitement all the adults felt rippling through them. The six men and women volunteers bent to open the crates. Heather held her breath and watched.
One by one the six brown pelicans emerged from the crates. A couple leaped forward, flapping their wings, eager to be free. Others peeked out, their long bills protruding from the crates before they ventured out. The adults had long, gorgeous chestnut-and-white necks topped with white heads and pale yellow crowns. The juveniles were not as handsome in their brown-gray plumage, but, God willing, they’d survive to grow into their adult colors. All six were out now, walking across the beach in their gangly, awkward gait, flapping their wings, looking skyward. The shrimp boat was puttering on, moving beyond their beach.
“Go on,” Heather whispered, her eye on the adult she’d rescued. He was extending his wings beautifully. But the real test would be his taking flight. “You can do this,” she urged.
As she watched, her bird suddenly called out and flapped his six-foot wingspan, picking up the pace of his gait. His excitement triggered the other birds; they, too, began to flap and run. With a few more powerful flaps, her pelican was the first to take off into the sky. Three more followed, and they climbed skyward as a group, heading out over the ocean. Everyone on the beach was cheering, Heather included. The final two, both juveniles, stared after them seemingly in wonder and confusion. Heather’s heart sank. Would they have to rescue them again? Overhead the four pelicans circled. Seeing them, something clicked in the juveniles’ heads, and in a rush they, too, took to the sky to join the others.
Now that the beach was clear, everyone hurried across the sand to stand at the shore, cheering them on. The pelicans flew across the sea in pursuit of the other pelicans circling the shrimp boat. Soon they became one with the flock, indistinguishable in the mass of flying dark bodies with sinuous necks gliding above the boat.
They’ve found their new flock, Heather thought with relief and joy. She felt Bo’s arm slide around her waist and he pulled her closer as they watched the birds soar in the sky. She looked and their eyes met. He smiled slowly, knowingly, and lowered his lips to hers. Heather looked up to see her father watching with one brow raised over a half smile. Beyond him, clustered at the shoreline were Cara, Emmi, and Flo, smiling and clapping and cheering at the success of the release.
Heather smiled and thought, And so have I.
October
A SMALL GROUP clustered at the back of the Coastal Ecotour boat as it slowly crawled along the coast of Capers Island. Cara, dressed in pure white, stood flanked by Bo and Robert. Dawn was rising over an indigo sea, her majestic rose-and-gold raiment spreading its colored light through the radiant clouds.
Dawn had always been Brett’s favorite time of the day. Looking at it now, Cara understood why. Breaking the dark shroud of night, the light was like a voice that sang out to the world with hope. No more sorrow and regret! Take heart! A new day is beginning.
Cara took a shuddering breath and looked down at the box in her hand, a small, nondescript container that carried Brett’s ashes. He wasn’t in this box, not really. She knew that. He was in the sea and the sky and on the shores of Capers Island. He was in each sunrise and sunset. He was the wind that caressed her cheeks, the moonlight that shone overhead. He was every star that twinkled down at her, watching from high in the celestial sky.
Still, he would want his ashes released in this place where once they had fallen in love. Cara could come here on days in the future when she needed to call her memories closer.