61 HAVING BECOME

61

HAVING BECOME

Inside the torqued and cracked shell of the airplane that came to violent rest in the pine trees, the blood of pilot and passenger is so old that it has no attraction for the wild animals that were once drawn to the smell of it. Perhaps the raccoon, which was here when she arrived, has climbed to this aerie because it's preparing to give birth to a litter of cubs in the days ahead; the height of this retreat and the fact that it is a human construct ensure that many predators will avoid the place.

The animal hasn't come here in search of food. Its kind eat frogs, shellfish, crayfish, worms, mice, insects, fruit, nuts, and vegetables. The most it might find here are insects and not many of those.

The sharp claws of a raccoon and its characteristic courage make it a formidable adversary in a fight, so much so that its kind keep their distance even from one another unless they are mother and cubs of the same family. The individual that shares the ruined plane with Vida exhibits no aggression, but sits with its forepaws crossed on its breast and observes her with curiosity, eyes glittering in its bandit mask.

The raccoon doesn't hiss at her or growl or twitter, as its kind do. It sits mostly in contented silence and occasionally purrs, as it watches while she cautiously barbers herself with the sharp combat knife. Vida's little ring-tailed companion reminds her of a photograph of a contemplative monk that she once saw in a magazine.

She is certain that if she took the animal into her lap and stroked its belly as if it were a house cat that had been in her company for years, it would not resist. It isn't fear but respect for the raccoon's dignity that prevents her from testing that belief.

Earlier, she sensed that she was Becoming. Now, because of the raccoon, she believes that she has Become. She is whatever the seer foresaw.

Your future will be full of strife and struggle, loss and grief, doubt and fear, and pain.

Your future will be full of peace and comfort, love and joy, hope and fortitude, solace and delight.

You'll be a champion of the natural world and all its beauty, because you will neither wish to dominate it nor confuse it with what is truly sacred.

More than twenty-eight years of life have brought her to this moment, this place, have brought her out of the past and at last to the future foreseen. She might have many years ahead of her or only a few minutes. She can be a champion of nature either by standing fast as a protector of it or being murdered as José Nochelobo was murdered and becoming a martyr who inspires others. Her fate is not her choice. Her only choice is to resist or run forever, and she will not run.