Lessons from a friend

It had been three months since Seema's divorce. Over a year since her then husband had told her that he was leaving her for another woman. She had suspected for some time that he was unfaithful. But hearing those words still drove a dagger through her heart.

The divorce wasn't messy. Not financially at least. Seema had no interest in, nor need for his money. She simply kept what was hers, and no more.

She was as stoic as ever, she let neither friends nor family know how hurt and heartbroken she was. She simply threw herself into her work and buried her pain deep in her heart.

However, doing so caused her to feel utterly exhausted and burned out. Her work just didn't bring her the joy that it used to.

Ultimately, it was her boss who convinced her to take some time off. Seema agreed to go on a two weak long vacation to clear her head.

She found a charming lakeside cabin on AirBnB and booked it for a week. She figured solitude was what she needed to heal her heart.

She arrived at the cabin at about nine in the morning, and after a shower and a delicious breakfast, decided to take a long nap. Being both physically and mentally tired, she soon fell into a deep slumber.

About an hour later however, she was awoken by loud noises from outside the bedroom window. It sounded like some kind of animal.

Seema went outside to find that it was a duck. White, full grown. And it's wing had been injured. It looked as though the cut, which was bleeding, had been caused by some kind of predator. Possibly a cat.

The injury didn't look too bad. But it did look as though the poor bird might need some help.

Seema approached the duck, and although at first it did seem scared, it calmed down when she spoke to it in a gentle tone.

She cleaned his wounds and fed it some seeds she had ordered. The duck seemed a bit relaxed now.

Seema named him Cory.

For the next four days, Seema fed her new friend and even created a makeshift home for him out of a cardboard box.

Cory loved the fish Seema bought for him and would often reject the seeds she offered. She would laugh as it felt as though she was dealing with a small child who was a picky eater.

Cory also had lots of personality. As after getting his wound dressed and eating his meals, he would often sit next to seema and would make adorable little duck noises. She felt as though he was talking to her, and she would talk to him in turn.

Comforting and taking care of her new friend had a surprising effect on Seema. Her own heart seemed to hurt less and less each day.

On the fourth day, Cory was able to catch fish from the lake all by himself. He had evidently made a full recovery.

On the fifth day, Seema's friend did not come to her. She had served her purpose in his life, and he had moved on. He belonged out there in the wild, not being hand fed by a human.

Seema waited for him for hours before she was forced to accept that her Cory was gone. It seemed her heart was being pulled in two different directions. On the one hand she was happy that her friend had recovered and was now living his life as he should. But on the other, she felt a sense of loss.

She couldn't help but think of how, in spite of being a wild duck, Cory had allowed her to help him. He had opened himself up to her and accepted her kindness. While giving her companionship in return. He had also shown amazing resilience and found the strength to recover from an adverse event. Perhaps she too needed to move on, and actually confront her pain instead of burying it.

That sweet innocent bird had taught Seema so much.

She decided to stop avoiding her friends and reach out to them. She still had another week of her vacation left, and she would not be spending it alone.

Seema called up her closest friends and they made plans for a week long getaway to Andaman and Nicobar. It was time for Seema to let those who loved her into her heart, and accept their help in healing her wounds.