
The scene is in the future.
There are the leaders, and there are the devastated.
The streets are ruled by scavengers and behind tall security gates and walls are
the politicians or the rich, who rule basics that are left. A coveted patch of
grass is considered an oasis. There is not much remaining vegetation, very
little woods and most of it was buried long ago under pavement.
A struggling couple notices two deer running from the burned and ravaged dead
woods into the edge of the city, and foraging. The doe is about to give birth.
It is, “The Flight Of The Burnt out Deer”. They notice a strange parallel. The
affection, the love, and the struggle to survive. The human female is also with
child. Babies now are rarely born alive in this world. Her husband looks to a
better future, and declares, “I Need You”. In the light of a moon all four lives
take refuge in the alley . The husband prays for a time of safety, shelter,
heat, and security. He falls asleep. When he awakes he tells his wife, I am
having, “My Reoccurring Dreams” again and they are somehow leading me.
Early in the morning hours his wife goes into early labor, and as she is losing
their baby, he notices the deer lying by their dead mutated fawn. He thinks
about how, “They Are Like Us”. After grieving, they all move on. As they move
about the city, they must be very careful. Between the security forces, psychos,
and scavengers, there is a lot of propaganda posted and laying out in each main
area. They are still telling everyone that everything is OK, and that the
leaders know what they are doing. There is rarely a moment that sirens don't
fill the air. At each news outlet people enquire, “What’s The Story”? If
anything is questioned they are herded into paddy wagons and never seen again.
They hang onto their tattered Bible and protect it with their lives.
Months later at one of the city’s many citizen camps, the husband remembers how
he met, fell in love and courted his wife at such a camp. She was a “Gypsy“.
What little food they have is shared and spirited music fills the air. As they
move on, they find hoof prints and follow, “Deer Trails” while thinking that an
animal’s raw instincts may lead them to food or cleaner water. His wife is
pregnant again. They are hoping for a miracle this time in a world that seemed,
“Too Polluted To Care“. They notice old voting signs from the last attempt at
some kind of an election. The voting boxes are still used. It is a hollow
attempt to have everything appear correct. He recalls a time when there were
choices. He reminds himself, “It’s in the Box” when people get involved, and
it’s done right. Across the street his beautiful woman is raiding a dumpster.
She still has the light in her eyes and the look of a child. He yells proudly
across the street, “She’s My Love”!
They are following the deer at a distance. They come to a place called, “The Why
Bridge”. During the day it is a place where believers still pray. The faithful
believe prayers will be answered there. The couple believes prayers can be
answered anywhere, but pray with others at the site. At night the weak and
devastated throw their lives into the polluted river below. While on the highest
point of the bridge, the couple pray again to their Savior. “Without Hope” they
would have no future. She is ready for childbirth again. Can anything live, when
not even a blade of grass can break the pavement? It was then that the man
noticed the deer. The doe was ready to give birth anytime, also. As he looked
down, he saw one plant pushing it’s way up from a water pipe in the tarmac. Both
humans and deer, yards apart, were experiencing a perfect, and, “Amazing Birth”!
As the babies took in their first breaths, the man and the buck stood looking
into each others eyes with a peaceful strength and respect.
“The Ending” is positive, and renewal is lasting. Faith was their future to
hold.
…as it was the same for the couple…as it was the same for the deer.







COPYRIGHT © 2012
By NED ALLEN ROUSE
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