Leaving the Valley

Tomas the ranger came to the visitor centre at sunrise. He had a Thermos of coffee. He sat on a bench next to Polly.

Tomas, parkbetjenten, kom til besøgscentret ved solopgang. Han havde en termokande med kaffe. Han satte sig på en bænk ved siden af Polly.

They did not say much. Polly preened her feathers. The morning smelled of the river.

De sagde ikke meget. Polly pudsede sine fjer. Morgenen duftede af floden.

"You are leaving," Tomas said.

"Du tager afsted," sagde Tomas.

Polly tilted her head.

Polly vippede med hovedet.

He told her about the rest of the park. The high country with its lakes. Another valley to the north. A grove of tall trees.

Han fortalte hende om resten af parken. Det høje land med sine søer. En anden dal mod nord. En lund af høje træer.

"This place is too big to see in three days," he said. "You only see pieces."

"Dette sted er for stort til at se på tre dage," sagde han. "Man ser kun brudstykker."

Polly thought about her dives off the cliff. None of them were good. But each one was a little better. She could keep getting better for a lifetime.

Polly tænkte på sine dyk fra klippen. Ingen af dem var gode. Men hver gang blev det lidt bedre. Hun kunne blive ved med at forbedre sig hele livet.

The green shuttle bus came back. The same driver. Tomas stood up. "Off you go," he said.

Den grønne shuttlebus kom tilbage. Den samme chauffør. Tomas rejste sig. "Afsted med dig," sagde han.

Polly stretched her wings. She lifted off the bench. She circled the visitor centre. She climbed.

Polly strakte sine vinger. Hun løftede sig fra bænken. Hun kredsede omkring besøgscentret. Hun steg op.

The valley dropped away. El Capitan was on her left. Half Dome was on her right.

Dalen forsvandt under hende. El Capitan var til venstre. Half Dome var til højre.

At the rim, she banked west. Below her, a peregrine hunted small swifts along the cliff. Polly watched. Then she found the wind and let it carry her out of the park.

Ved kanten drejede hun mod vest. Under hende jagtede en vandrefalk små mursejlere langs klippen. Polly kiggede. Så fandt hun vinden og lod den føre hende ud af parken.