Spirit of the Eagle

Chapter 1

Early evening, Max’s favorite time of day, the 15-year-old stood at the edge of a forested piece of land next to his family’s farm and watched as the moon crested the horizon. The orb was a source of wonder to him, its size and shape, changing with the passing of each night. Although he knew this happened because the Earth’s shadow was passing over the moon’s surface, it still fascinated him.

Max switched his focus from the moon to connecting the stars by invisible lines in his mind forming constellations when he heard the rustle of leaves several yards from his position. Moving closer to investigate, Max found the source of the noise. The Golden Eagle chick must have fallen from the nest or possibly pushed by its siblings. Sometimes, this happens to the smallest hatchling. Max felt sorry for the little creature shivering in the cool night air. He removed his sweatshirt, picked up the bird, and wrapped the eaglet in it. The eagle’s survival was now Max’s responsibility.

Chapter 2

Providing food for his new friend would be Max’s first challenge. He took out his phone and searched for information about what baby eagles eat. He lived in the country all his life, so he had seen how birds fed their chicks but was not sure what to give a baby eagle. After some research, he learned eagles are primarily carnivores, which means they eat mostly meat and fish. Armed with this new information, Max did some experimenting. He brought his friend to the family kitchen and, still wrapped in the sweatshirt, gently placed him on the table. Next, Max rummaged around the refrigerator until he located a piece of leftover fish. He placed the leftover in a blender along with some milk and breakfast cereal, creating a disgustingly smelling slurpy. Using an eyedropper, Max attempted to feed the bird. It took a few tries, but not only did the eagle eat the concoction, he appeared to like it. Once the eaglet seemed satisfied, Max brought the bird to its new home in the family barn. He created a nest of straw in the loft, out of the way of other animals. Max was sure he had made a friend for life.

Chapter 3

Time passed, and the eagle not only survived but thrived under his rescuer's care. The boy divided his time between caring for the bird and helping his father with the family business–crop dusting. He learned all aspects of the enterprise, from loading the plane with various products to be sprayed, repairing the aircraft, and even flying it. On his 16th birthday, just two months away, he would take two tests, one for his driver’s license and one for his pilot’s license.

The eagle continued to grow and mature. Feeding the bird became less of a problem for Max. Like most country barns, many rodents and other small animals called it home. The eagle is a natural predator, and once he was big enough to fly, he claimed the barn as his hunting ground. It only took a matter of months for the eagle to transform from a helpless chick to a 35-pound bird with a 7-foot wingspan. Max thought of the bird as his friend and never kept it in a cage. He also never gave his friend a name, feeling it was wrong to place a label on such a magnificent creature.

On a chilly spring morning, Max did what he knew he had to and released his friend back into the wild. The bird flapped its wings and raced into the sky, riding the wind in long swooping arcs. The boy turned to go but stopped when he heard the eagle's cry and felt a rush of wind as his friend swooped in for a landing. Once on the ground, the eagle dislodged a perfectly shaped golden feather, and placed it at Max’s feet, then flew off. Max picked up the feather and brought it home for safekeeping.

Chapter 4

Max considered receiving both his pilot and driver’s license on the same day his greatest achievement to date. That evening, just before dark, he returned to the spot where he originally found his friend. He looked into the dimming sky and saw the eagle majestically riding the wind in long, swooping arks. Eagles have amazing vision and spotted Max immediately.

The bird let out a cry and raced towards Max, landing on a branch about eye level to him. It thrilled the boy that the eagle remembered him. They spent the next hour together, Max telling his friend about the driving test and what he needed to do to get his pilot’s license. The bird appeared to understand every word. Before Max left for home, he promised his friend that one day they would ride the wind together.

Chapter 5

Max’s father paid him for helping around the farm and with the business. He saved everything he earned because he needed to buy something very special, a glider or as some people call it, a sailplane. The reason it’s called a glider is that the plane has no engine. It’s towed into the air by another plane using a cable. When the glider is high enough, the pilot pulls a lever, releasing the glider and it rides the wind much like a bird. It took him close to a year, but Max finally saved enough money and purchased a used glider. The day it arrived at the family farm, his father smiled and asked, “This is about the eagle, isn’t it?” Max shook his head yes.

Max didn’t fly the plane right away. He and his father spent several days going over the used glider, making sure it was airworthy. One of Max’s school friends was a great artist, so Max asked him to paint a golden eagle’s head on the tail section.

The morning was bright, with a few fair-weather clouds floating overhead as Max strapped himself in the pilot’s seat for the glider’s maiden voyage. He closed the canopy and waited for the tow plane to take him into the sky. The cable went taught, and Max was on his way. His aircraft rose steadily into the sky, following behind the tow plane until they reached an altitude of 2000 feet. Max tugged the release lever, and the cable fell away, leaving him on his own. He was now riding the wind, just like his friend.

Max had no idea where the eagle came from, but there he was, gliding off his right wing. The two friends stayed aloft for more than an hour before Max returned to the landing strip on the farm. This was the first of many flights the two friends shared over the next year.

Chapter 6

Max stayed busy with school and helping with the family business. His visits to their meeting place were becoming less frequent. It happened during one of their meetings. His friend swooped in to join him at their usual spot. Shortly after he landed, another eagle landed on a branch close, but not too close to the friends. The new bird was slightly smaller, with feathers less colorful than his friends. Max understood immediately. His friend had taken a mate. She kept her distance at first, but as she saw the interaction between her mate and Max, the female eagle slowly relaxed her guard. She was never as comfortable around Max as his friend, but she learned to trust him.

Life had a path for Max to follow. He finished college, joined the Air Force, won recognition for his superb flying skills, and eventually became an astronaut. He would return home occasionally for brief visits and, on clear evenings, stand where he first found his friend. The eagle, sensing his presence, would fly in next to him, and the two would silently stare into the night sky. During each reunion, Max would produce the feather to show his friend he still had it.

Humans can live to 100, but eagles have a lifespan of 35 years. During his last visit with the eagle, Max explained he was about to leave on a mission to Mars. He would be gone for several years. He could see how time had taken its toll on the bird and knew it would be the last time they would share the night sky. Max left for Mars two weeks later, carrying the feather and his friends’ spirit with him.