The Deer and the Creek
A deer was once in love with a creek. The creek loved him back. She enjoyed every sip the deer took from her. "It is my purpose to nourish you, my love," she said.
"But I take and take and yet have nothing to offer you," said the deer.
"Oh, but you do. You help graze the grass around me. You spread seed from the gourds and allow me to quench new plant life. You keep me beautiful. You speak of my beauty. It is my purpose."
The deer looked around his beloved and saw the gourds she spoke of. New plants would grow and she looked more beautiful each day. The deer knew he had helped her. It was his purpose.
One morning, a hawk flew over to drink from her water.
"Do you like it here?" the hawk asked the deer.
"Why, yes. I am happy," replied the deer.
"But this creek, she is so small. I know of a bigger place, one of most beauty," said the hawk.
"More beautiful than she is? More water to drink?"
"Yes, come with me. I will show you."
The deer followed the hawk to a large lake surrounded by hills of woods. The deer has never seen anything more beautiful in his young life and felt excited.
"She is so large and beautiful!" the deer said. The hawk told the deer to enjoy and flew off.
As time went on, the deer grew tired of the lake and the lake grew angry.
"You are not grazing my grasses and you do not eat all of my gourds. You are wasting food. Weeds are growing inside of me and I am becoming smaller. You are making me ugly," said the lake.
"Forgive me, I do not mean to. I think you are beautiful but you ask too much of me. It is too cold in your Winter. I am tired and worn with all of the work you need of me."
"Then you must leave. I will find another deer to love me. You are replaceable. Go now, and find your hawk."
The deer took a walk through the woods and the hawk appeared on a branch. "You look older, my friend," said the hawk.
"The lake was beautiful but awfully cruel. She was too much for a humble deer like me."
"Humble, you say? What if I told you there is a more beautiful and larger water to love?" asked the hawk.
"More beautiful?"
"Yes. She is known for her tranquility. Follow me." The deer followed the hawk to the ocean.
"What is this?" asked the deer.
"She is called the ocean and she is very powerful. She will not require any work from you. You can simply admire her beauty."
"This is like a dream! I do not see any grasses to trim or plants to seed. I can stay here and be in love with her beauty while being myself," said the deer.
The hawk flew off telling the deer to enjoy his wondrous new love.
As time went on, the deer grew older, bored and lonely.
"Why are you sad, my love," asked the ocean.
"You are so beautiful. Too beautiful for a small animal like me."
"But I serve animals much smaller than you. You see the birds and the fishes. They love me and I love them," said the ocean.
"Yes, but you cannot serve me. I cannot drink from you because you are salty. I cannot walk to see you closely because your sandy floor causes my legs to tremble. I cannot bathe in you because you knock me down and I cannot swim."
"I am sorry I have caused you sadness. You must go now and leave me with my birds and my fishes."
The deer stumbled away from the sandy shore and the hawk appeared overhead.
"You do not love the ocean?" asked the hawk.
"She is mighty and beautiful but too powerful for me. She does not have a purpose for me and I do not have a purpose for her. Take me to my creek," said the deer.
"But you are older and weak. It is a long journey to your creek."
"I will live to see her," said the deer.
The hawk led the deer to his first love and the hawk flew away.
"My love, how I have missed you," said the creek. "You have grown old and weak. Please, drink from my water."
"It is true I am old and feel weak, but I cannot drink from your water because you have but only a puddle left. Where did you go?" asked the deer.
"You were my purpose and helped keep my grasses trimmed. But I'm afraid the grass drank too much and the weeds grew to drink all but what you see left."
"I cannot drink the last of you or you will die," said the deer.
"And if you do not drink the last of me, then you will die," said the creek.
The deer did not drink the last of her water. He laid himself to sleep by her side for three days and three nights.
"You must drink and eat, my love. I cannot bare to see you die," said the creek.
The deer stayed silent until his last breath and the creek began to weep. She wept and wept until her water filled inside her bed. As time went on, a young deer approached her.
"Creek, may I have a sip from your water?" asked the young deer.
"Please, my new love, drink and eat and make me beautiful again," said the creek.
The young deer began to eat her grass and her weeds and she was beautiful as she once was. The hawk flew over and asked the young deer if he would like to see a larger water of most beauty.
"I do not wish for more. Nothing can provide me more happiness than my love, the creek. She is my purpose. She provides me thirst and I keep her beautiful."
"Then you may love the ocean. She is the most large and powerful body of water. She will protect you and amaze you."
"I do not wish for more, thank you."
The hawk flew off and the deer stayed with his love, the creek. As time went on her beauty grew. Birds began to fly over and plant new life. Soon she had flowers, trees, and nests. New life emerged all around her. The deer met other deer on their travels and they called the creek home. Together they gave their purpose to the creek and the creek to them.
The hawk flew over and asked the deer how he made her the most beautiful in the world.
"Because it is what we work on that grows and survives. When we seek more than what we were given, we begin to lose sight of our purpose."
"I see. The world can teach you many things and humble you, my friend. Do you not wish to learn how you can live a better life?" said the hawk.
"It is easy for me to travel and see the most beautiful in the world, but there is only one place I can call home.
I can’t recall exactly why I wrote this one, but I imagine it was when I lived in Hawai’i, but missed home in California. I didn’t have family with me. I craved, at that age, to wander and explore. But there was a yearning and a missing feeling. All I wanted was home and family. Even in the most beautiful place, I was unhappy because I didn’t have home.