The Cardinal

The Cardinal

The old man sat in the shade of a pecan tree. His hands leisurely cracked some of the pecans scattered near him. As he sat, he spoke to the cardinal in the tree above him. The cardinal moved closer, and by the end of the day, the man coaxed the bird to sit on his shoulder.

"You are such a pretty bird," the man spoke softly so he would not scare the animal. "Would you like a pecan?" His hands extended the meat of a nut.

The bird accepted the offering and carried it into the limbs of the tree.

"Come back when you are ready for more."

Soon, the bird returned, expecting another treat.

"You are lucky you came when you did, it is late, and I must leave." He gave the bird a sliver of the last nut he had cracked, and again, the bird took it to the tree. "Come visit me, tomorrow, and I will give you more." And the man pushed himself from the ground, using the trunk of the tree to stabilize himself. "Sometime, I should rise without the pain and effort of age."

And the man started home.

He walked on the dirt shoulder of the road leading to his son's house. Occasionally, his shuffling feet dislodged a loose rock and skipped into the road.

"Lift up," he man's attention focused on his leges. "Before you ruin my shoes."

By the time he reached home, the moon had replaced the sun.

"Jadek, where have you been?" Maria, his daughter-in-law pulled him into the house. "Hurry and wash, your dinner is getting cold."

"Always rushing, you need to take your time."

"You are old and can talk of time, but there is a shortage of it for me."

"Humph," Jadek pushed his arms toward the floor. "I was delayed by a friend."

Maria only shook her head.

"What are we having for dinner?" Jadek eased himself into a dining chair.

"You are having sauerkraut, but there are no more potatoes."

"How can I eat it without potatoes?"
"You can eat it with bread."

"The crust is too tough and the caraway seeds hurt my gums."

"The bread is seedless, and I will trim the crust." Maria dodged into the kitchen.

"My throat is dry, I need a beer." Jadek's voice followed her.

Maria smiled and returned with a bottle of beer and a shaker of salt. "Your cabbage is heating." She placed the glass in front of him and began pouring his drink. "Not that way," he tugged on her arm. "Leave it here. It tastes better in a bottle."

Maria relinquished the bottle and allowed him to serve himself.

Soon, she served his dinner. Jadek ate slowly, neatly wiping the last pot. He walked past her and began refilling the sink with water and soap.

"Do not bother yourself about it, I can wash it, later." Maria tried to intervene before the sink was full.

Jadek shook his head, "I am able to wash a little bowl," and he sank the bowl and spoon into the basin.

After he had put away his dishes, Jadek turned the radio to a local station that played polkas early in the morning and late in the evenings, and played country-western music during the rest of the day. Satisfied with the polka chosen, he settled into his favorite stuffed chair, stretching his legs and propping them on an embroidered stool. This was his favorite time, Maria was upstairs, reading to her daughter, and Walter, his son, was enjoying a few beers in the back room of the local store.

Jadek's eyelids drew together, and his mind drifted back to the time when his wife was alive. They would sit on the porch swing, music wrapping around them, and he would ask her to dance. She would blush, even as her hair turned gray, he could make her blush. And they would dance, crickets and tree frogs sounding their approval. It was a wonderful memory, but one that was slowly escaping him. Even now, he could not remember his wife as the young woman he married, and his heart mourned the loss.

"Nadia," he called. "Why do you leave me? My dearest Nadia, am I so old?"

And he waited for the answers he had buried in his heart until he fell into a deep sleep.

In his sleep, he dreamed. He dreamed of his wife, not as a person, but as the cardinal he befriended. She spoke to him of the day they were married, of the dress she wore, the ribbons that flowed from the wreath haloing her hair, and the white lilies she carried as a bouquet. She told him about his hair, the curls, unruly; one long one falling on his forehead, about the nick on his cheek where he had been nervous shaving. In his sleep, he saw her face. She was young. Her eyes clear and blue. Her skin soft and creamy. Her dark hair braided and wrapped around the back of her head. He remembered his Nadia.

Walter returned home long past midnight. His belly filled with beer, his mind drowsied by alcohol.

"Papa, wake up." Walter's study hand shook his father. "Wake up, go to bed."

"Why do you bother me to go to bed?" Jadek mumbled, his eyes still closed.

"Time for bed," Walter persisted. When there was no response, Walter slid one hand behind and one beneath his father and lifted him.

Jadek's mind snapped awake. "Let me down, let me go. I am no feeble woman."

The words took time to penetrate Walter's hazy mind, and he stood for several moments, Jadek squirming in his arms, fussing profusely.

"You are a stubborn old mule," Jadek spoke as his feet met the ground. "Now, go to bed."

Walter's head bowed as a scolded child's. "I love you, Papa."

"Then go to bed. Your head is full of beer."

Walter minded his father.

Jadek also went to bed. There, he forced his eyes closed and directed his mind to take him back to his wife. But, all he saw was the darkness. He demanded to speak to the cardinal. Again, there was nothing but the darkness.

When the first blends of morning color arrived, Jadek stood at his window. Today, he would return to the bird. He jammed his legs into his pants and slipped a wrinkled shirt over his had and arms. He rushed through the house, passing Maria as she prepared breakfast.

"Where do you go so early?" Maria stood stuffing the breakfast cakes with their cheese fillings.

"I need to see my friend."

"You need to eat."

Jadek shook his head. "No time."

"Then take something with you."

Jadek nodded, and Maria sprinkled powdered sugar on two cakes she had filled and wrapped them in a napkin. She filled a jar with milk and placed him in a sack.

"Where can I bring your lunch?"

Jadek shrugged. "I will not be hungry."

"How do you know? Tell me where you will be, and I will bring you something. If you are not hungry, you can leave it for the animals."

"No, this will do," and he gathered the sack and left, confident that his cardinal would remain his secret.

When he arrived at his tree, Jadek did not see the bird. His eyes stretched to the highest limbs, but there were no traces of the brilliant red feathers, so he settled beneath the tree to wait.

As Jadek ate the cakes, the bird returned, but it did not go to the old man. Instead, the cardinal hovered in the safety of the limbs.

Jadek glimpsed the red bird. Pleased with his discovery, he smiled and pretended to eat, but his sight remained in the tree.

When the sun cast its smallest shadows, Jadek's patience was rewarded, and the bird flew to his shoulder.

"So, now you are hungry?" I have saved breakfast so we could eat together. You have brought me a great treasure, you have brought me my Nadia." The old man offered pieces of his cake to his friend. "From now on, I will feed you and care for you and you will deliver my Nadia to me."

Jadek stayed with the bird until nightfall.

At his son's house, Jadek did not eat and escaped to his room. There, he spread himself across his bed and tried to sleep. Maria became concerned and went to his room.

"Jadek, how do you feel? What may I get for you?"

"I want to sleep, nothing else."

And Maria left the room.

For what seemed like hours, Jadek stayed in the bed with his eyes closed, but sleep would not come. His limbs tossed and tangled the covers around his body. His temperature rose and when a blanket was lost, it would drop too low. Jadek realized he was too anxious and tried to regulate his breaths, pulling in long, slow lengths of air. He refused his mind's attempts to unload the days' burdens, and in time, he fell asleep.
In his sleep, the cardinal returned, but this time, the bird was on his Nadia's finger. To his delight, she was as a young woman. He spoke to her, and she smiled. His hand stretched to her. Just as they touched, the cardinal was frightened and his Nadia disappeared. Jadek called to her, and his wife returned; her hair gray, her face lined. And the cardinal had gone.

Jadek looked further for his young Nadia, but for tonight, she had left him.

He awakened and was unable to return to sleep. In the darkness, he rose and went to the shed where he stored his tools. Throughout the night, he measured, sawed and hammered, creating a large cage for the cardinal. No longer would the bird fly away. He placed the cage in his granddaughter's wagon and toted it to the tree.

The dark morning hours were spent cracking the pecans and carefully placing the clean nuts in a tiny pile next to him. By the sun rise, he had enough to fill the bottom of the cage.

This day, the cardinal came early and sat directly on Jadek's shoulder, Jadek struggled to contain his excitement.

"Now we are good friends. I know, you see me and you are ready to eat." His voice was cautious and gentle. "I have spent the night preparing you a home with plenty to eat. All the pecans you desire." Carefully, Jadek gave the bird a piece of pecan, and the bird accepted without hesitation. "You will like the home. It has plenty of space, and I can put as many branches in it as you need."

The morning was used for talking to the bird, preparing it to enter the cage. When the moment came, Jadek quickly closed the door. For a moment, the bird did not notice its capture. Then it panicked; its wings catching on the side. It hissed and struggled until it could no longer and finally, it stood on the bottom, surrendering to exhaustion.

"I know it is a change, so difficult, but you will get used to it, we all do." Jadek stayed by the cage, calming the bird. When the night fell, he prepared to leave. "You will stay here. No one will know of you. This cage is sturdy, and you will be safe." And Jadek rose to leave.

When he stood, his legs lifted him without pain or struggle. His feet moved with a simple lilt, his heart beat with a new force.

Maria was surprised when Jadek entered the house; he was humming and stepping to a private dance.

"I am so hungry," these were the first words he spoke.

"The roast will be another hour, but I have some cheese and onions."

"Put it on pumpernickel, and I will have a beer."

Maria shook her head.

When she delivered his snack, Jadek stared at the plate. "Where is the crust?"

"I cut it. You tell me the crust is too tough."

Later, they ate; Jadek, Maria, and Walter. Jadek ate his meal with renewed enthusiasm. Walter and Maria watched with curious pleasure, their eyes occasionally meeting.

For many nights, Nadia came to Jadek in his dreams; there they danced and talked, laughed and remembered.

Jadek's days were spent with the cardinal. After the first days, Jadek noticed the food and water in the cage remained untouched.

"Why do you not eat? What do you want? What can I bring for you?"

The bird hissed more and kept the diameter of the cage between them.

"We are friends. I care for you, I need you. I will give you anything."

More days passed, and the bird still refused offers of sustenance.

"What can I do? If I let you go, you will leave me, and I will lose my Nadia. If you stay and do not eat, you will die." And he watched the bird with great sadness.

During the night, Jadek dreamed. But the dreams were not of his Nadia, they were of a bird flying in the sky, of it nesting with its mate, of the bird watching its young.

Jadek's stomach grew weak, his head tightened, his legs cramped.

"I will let you go, tomorrow, I will free you."

And Jadek spent his night in a restless sleep.

In the morning, his heavy legs carried him to the cardinal. "I am sorry. Forgive this foolish old man." Jadek rested on one knee and removed the bird from the cage. But it did not fly; it was too weak. He tried dropping water into its mouth with a rag, but the cardinal would not swallow. Slowly in his hands, the bird died, and Jadek stroked the beautiful red feathers as his heart filled with pain.

Night fell and Jadek did not return home. Worried, Walter and Maria began to search for him. Hours later, they found him, curled beneath a large pecan tree, his hands cradling a small dead cardinal.

"Papa, it is time to come home."

Jadek did not move, not even to look up, his eyes held only the bird. Walter tried to take the animal, but Jadek's hands clasped tightly around it.

"Let him bring it home," Maria whispered.

And Walter lifted his father and the bird and carried them home.