Origami - within the many folds

Origami

within
the
many
folds

Dedicated to
those whose
eyes can see
within the folds...

The girl sat down on the wooden flooring on the ground. She eyed the pieces of colored paper littered around her. Origami Time, she thought. What should I fold? The girl peered fondly at the row of delicate origami pieces on the shelf. The perfect idea popped into her mind. She selected a navy blue and white piece of folding paper. And then she started folding.

The crane took shape. The girl's nimble fingers wave in and out, in and out of the folds. She finished the first crane and started on a second one. The a third. A fourth. Before long, the girl could see within the many folds...

Five cranes, flying side by side, were soaring over a large grass land. More and more cranes joined the group, and soon there was a fair amount of crimson, gray, and jade-colored cranes.. They were looking for shelter. They found it. The cranes descended into the dark forest. They ate some of the butterflies fluttering above the leaves, but found the insects distasteful. The birds settled down to rest.

The birds started traveling again the next day. They crossed a rapid river. On the other bank of the river, they saw something unexpected, a house. The door was open. The craned could feel the warmth of the house. They were tempted to go in, after many days in cold weather. The cranes explored the house, keeping close together. After all, their greatest emeries had lived here before: humans.

The cranes entered the kitchen first. The got a few bites of goldfish from the fish tank. In the living room, they found a couch. It was sewn from leather, and was good enough for some of the birds. They flew onto the sofa, closed their eyes, then fell asleep. The rest of the cranes went up the steps to a bedroom.

The leader of the group was the largest crane. He leaped onto the bed and lunged at any cranes who followed. Before long, it was clear that the bed was the leader's territory, so the remainder of cranes slept on a rug on the floor.

Night came.

The owner of the house and his daughter came back from hunting. It was so dark the cranes could not be seen, and the girl and her father slept among cranes that night. Morning came. The girl woke before her father. When she saw the cranes, she didn't make a sound. She did not want to wake her father, which might endanger the cranes.

He would shoot them. She pulled the covers closer around her. This scared the leader, and he flew off, followed by the rest of the flock. The girl looked at the cranes, their wings flapping gracefully. “Good bye,” she whispered. “ and good luck on your journey!”

The girl stopped folding cranes. She looked around her. Fifty cranes. Pretty good. The girl sighed happily, flopped onto the bed., and looked out the window. Sitting just outside on the power line, were five cranes!

The End

Written by Sam, May. 2008