Story A Day #26 As The Crow Flies

This story is inspired by this painting by Alex Coville

Feet firmly in the stirrups, helmet and gloves on Alice pushed off from the starting line to begin her first ever cycling marathon.   She knew she had no hope of winning, not her first time out, but she desperately wanted to finish.  The sky was overcast but the day was warm and she was grateful to not have to pedal in the hot sun.  As she carefully rode with the crowd she felt a bit intimidated by all the wheels around her.   Alice was a fairly new rider and she feared colliding with another rider and causing a catastrophe. Eventually, the crowd thinned out and keeping her eye on the road and her competitors, she thought back on what had brought her to this moment in her life.

It had been a long journey for Alice.   Not so long ago, she was sick and out of shape and living a very unhealthy lifestyle.  Chronic pain and fatigue were her constant companions.  When she was diagnosed with  Type 2 Diabetes it was a wake-up call and she knew she had to make some serious changes to her life.   She wanted to be able to play with her grandchildren and see them grow up.  Her volunteer work was fulfilling and she had finally found a person she could comfortably share her life with.   Even though she was not afraid of dying, she realized that her health issues would not necessarily kill her but they would make the time she had left miserable and she risked becoming a burden on those who cared about her.

Alice made the decision to get healthy.  Starting with her diet she cut out carbs and sugar and stopped eating after 7 p.m.  Her weight started to go down slowly and she was feeling a bit better but she knew she needed exercise and that was the problem.   Not only did she hate it, there were a lot of things she couldn’t do without pain and fatigue.  Walking was boring when she went alone.   She considered getting a dog and had visions of long walks together in the woods. However, thinking about having to walk the dog in all kinds of weather no matter how she was feeling put that idea out of her head.

One day when Alice was sitting in the park resting after a short walk, a woman rode by on a bicycle.  Alice remembered how much she had loved riding her bicycle as a child.   The freedom of it, the wind in her hair, the exhilaration of flying down hills.   The next day she headed out to the social bicycle rack to try and see if she could recapture that feeling from her youth.   If she could, if she loved it, she would invest in a bicycle of her own.  

As she pulled the bike out of the rack Alice felt both excited and nervous.   She was 60 years old, after all, and she knew she could easily end up flat on her face on the path and be humiliated.    But she was determined.   She got on the bike and after a few wobbly attempts, she found her balance and headed down the path.   And there it was, that old feeling.   Her spirits soared like they hadn’t in years.  It was just a short ride for the first one, but she kept at it and went further each time.   She invested in a good bike and the requisite gear for safety and comfort and enjoyed her daily bike rides as much as she had long ago.

 

And now here she was, riding a marathon.  Seven km into the 10km ride she was flagging.  Her butt, her back, her arms, her hands…everything was aching.   Her legs screamed at her to stop.  But she wouldn’t.  She couldn’t.   This was the most important thing she had done in years and quitting was not an option.     Catching a movement out of the corner of her eye she took a quick glance to her right and almost ended up in the ditch.   There was a crow flying right along beside her.   Alice had never seen a bird do that before on any of her rides.   Most of the time they flew up off the road right in front of her.   But this one definitely seemed to be keeping pace with her.   Almost like it was cheering her along.   Could it be? 

Alice had been reading about animal medicine and spiritual energy as part of her healing/get healthy regime and was fascinated, though a bit skeptical. It seemed pretty far fetched that a squirrel that crossed her path in search of nuts for the winter was actually bringing her a message of some sort.   But she learned that it wasn’t that the animal was actually bringing her the message, but rather her noticing the animal at a particular time that had meaning.   One of the books she had read had told her to be aware of her surroundings and if she noticed any animal doing something unusual or making a point of looking at her, to be aware of what it might be telling her.   This crow was definitely doing something unusual.  Instead of flying past her or above her, it was keeping pace.   

Alice was distracted from her aches and pains as she searched her memory for the meaning of the crow.  What message could it be bringing her?  She reached a checkpoint and stopped to get a drink of water and catch her breath.  She figured the crow would just fly away at that point, but when she looked up into the trees she saw it resting on a branch watching her.  Strange.   She wished she had her cell phone so she could look up the crow meaning.  It seemed it was something to do with transformation or something like that.

Suddenly Alice was struck with a thought that made her heart skip a beat.  No, it couldn’t be.   Alice’s aunt loved crows.   There was something about the mystery of them and their eerie call that drew her aunt to them.  Her apartment was filled with crow knick-knacks and paintings and pillow covers.    Or it had been.  Her aunt had died several years ago from the complications of diabetes.   Could this crow be a message from her aunt to keep on going not only in this marathon but in her quest for a healthier lifestyle?   Alice laughed at herself for her silliness and got back on her bike and headed for the home stretch.

And the crow followed.   If Alice sped up, so did the crow.  If Alice slowed down so did the crow.   Alice forgot all about how exhausted she was and she let go of any idea of quitting.   Something about this crow was giving her courage and keeping her going.  Whether it was a message from her aunt or her aunt in spirit form Alice didn’t know and didn’t really want to think too hard about it.   As she struggled along, she occasionally glanced up at the black bird as it kept its steady pace with Alice’s bicycle.  It never spoke, no it didn’t send her telepathic messages, it just maintained a calm presence for the exhausted rider.

At last, Alice saw the finish line.  Sobbing with exhaustion and relief she realized she was actually going to finish this marathon!  Her heart swelled with pride as she crossed the line and she raised her fist in the air and let out a huge whoop of victory.   Not the first rider by a long shot, but not the last one either.  It felt wonderful!    She looked up for her friend and he was gone.   Scanning the trees and power lines she could see no sign of her crow friend.  It was though he disappeared into thin air.   Logically, she knew he could have flown off anywhere when she wasn’t looking, but there was a part of her that felt he had left when he knew she okay.

Alice rode many more marathons after that day.  Each one longer than the last.  But she never again saw the crow guiding her along.