In a marsh where reeds whispered secrets to the wind, a roseate spoonbill named Sable waded through dawn’s amber glow. Her pink feathers shimmered, catching the first light as she swept her spoon-shaped bill through the shallows, sifting for shrimp. Unlike her flock, who chattered and preened, Sable moved with quiet purpose, her eyes tracing ripples for signs of life.
Each morning, she returned to a lone cypress, its roots cradling a pool where minnows danced. Here, Sable had found an odd companion: a young alligator named Moss, whose emerald scales blended with the water’s edge. Moss never lunged, only watched, his eyes like polished stones. Sable, curious, began leaving shrimp at the pool’s edge. Moss, in turn, nudged smooth pebbles toward her, gifts from the marsh’s depths.
One dawn, a storm loomed, its thunder rattling the reeds. The flock fled, their wings a pink blur against charcoal clouds, but Sable lingered. The pool was still; Moss hadn’t surfaced. She dipped her bill, calling softly, her heart a flutter of worry. Then, a ripple—Moss emerged, sluggish, a gash on his flank from a poacher’s trap. Sable’s instinct was to flee, but she stayed, her bill probing the mud for healing herbs she’d seen egrets use.
With gentle nudges, she pressed the herbs to Moss’s wound, her pink wings shielding him from the rain. Moss rumbled, a low thanks, and rested. By dusk, the storm passed, and the marsh gleamed under a crescent moon. Moss stirred, stronger, and nudged a final pebble to Sable—a heart-shaped stone, glinting pink like her feathers.
Sable took flight, the stone clutched in her bill, her wings carving hope into the sky. The flock returned, awed by her tale, and the marsh buzzed with their chatter. Sable and Moss remained, their bond a quiet legend, proof that even in a wild world, trust could bloom where dawn met dusk.
Word count: 313
