Greshmere

by Scott Wittenburg

  He came out of the Park at West 75th and decided to head south along Central Park West in search of the group. Although it was doubtful he would be able to find them, he would at least give it a shot. Searching from the rooftops would give him a better vantage point so he flew directly toward the roof of a high rise at the corner of West 74th to commence his search.

  He flew up sixteen stories to where the building suddenly split into two towers and continued scaling it another ten stories until finally landing on top of the southernmost tower. There was a wonderful unobstructed view of the park and several of the lower lying buildings running along Central Park West.

  Greshmere immediately saw that he wasn’t the only bird enjoying the view. There were several pigeons and a few other species lining the gables of the tower. Seeing the others suddenly gave him an idea. He picked out one of the pigeons, flew over and concentrated on communicating with him.

  “I’m wondering if you could help me—I’m trying to find some friends,” he said.

  The pigeon did not respond. He tried a couple more birds but had no luck. There was a lone gray and brown bird that he couldn’t identify standing around the other side so he flitted over and tried again.

  “Excuse me, I’m wondering if you could help me,” Greshmere said.

  At first the bird simply turned his head and stared at him a moment. He seemed standoffish, for lack of a better word—as though he was deciding whether to reply or ignore him altogether. He looked away for a moment and then returned his gaze to Greshmere.

  “What can I do for you?” the bird said.

  The bird spoke in an English accent that sounded oddly familiar, although Greshmere had no idea why.

  “I’m looking for a group of friends who hang out around here. I’m wondering if you have by chance seen them recently.”

  “I’ve seen a bloody million birds today—countless birds in countless groups. So many, that I can’t tell one from the other. Sorry.”

  The bird’s sarcasm was not lost on Greshmere. “Maybe I can narrow it down some. This group would consist of a pair of starlings, a red-wing blackbird, a pair of pigeons and a finch. They are a pretty tight.”

  “Oh, that bloody group! No, I’ve not seen them today but I know the outfit you’re talking about. Real talkers, that lot! Won’t give a soul any peace.”

  “So you’ve spoken to them,” Greshmere said.

  “I didn’t say that. They have spoken to me on a few occasions but I’ve never replied. No offense, but they are a nosey, snooty bunch and not the sort I wish to communicate with. So rather than getting into some sort of lame discussion with them, I just give them the silent treatment.”

  This was beginning to sound familiar. He must be the same bird that Shike said had flown from roof to roof one day and never spoke to anybody.

  “Are you by any chance a lark?”

  “Yeah, man. Happy as a lark, as they say. And let me guess—you would be a sparrow, right?”

  “I am. My name is Greshmere. You can call me Gresh.”

  “Greshmere, eh? You know, I like your look, Gresh. I’m Kloob.”

  “Nice to meet you, Kloob.”

  “So why are you looking for the others?”

  “Well, I just met them yesterday and they were kind enough to help me out a bit. I’ve not been here but a couple of days, you see.”

  “Aha, a newbie! I feel for ya, mate; it’s not an easy transition.”

  “No, it’s certainly not. Sometimes I feel like I’m doing okay then I start getting weirded out by things. That ever happen to you?”

  “Oh, yeah, all the time. That’s because this place is weird, man! And it doesn’t get any less weird, I hate to say. Ya just have to try and adjust—that’s your best means of survival.”

  Like Dreena, Kloob seemed negative. Like he had a chip on his shoulder.

  “How long have you been here, if you don’t mind saying?” Greshmere said.

  “That would be long enough to know a bit more than I knew when I first got here.”

  “Can you tell me where you’re from? I don’t mean to pry, Kloob, I’m just curious. Your accent makes me think you’re from England, right?”

  “I thought I was from England except for one minor detail. When I first arrived in this place, I was in Canada. Bloody Canada! So the Canucks also told me I sounded English and suggested that maybe I was English/Canadian in me other life. So to answer your question, I’m not sure exactly where I’m from. Yet.”

  “Yet? What do you mean by that, Kloob? Are you trying to rediscover yourself?”

  “You could say that. Okay, I can’t tell a lie—I am indeed.”

  “You are the first one I’ve met! So why have you chosen to do it?”

  “I’ll tell ya, Gresh, it’s a bit hard to put into words. Especially since you haven’t been here all that long. All I can say is that it didn’t happen over night. I went for quite a while trying to fit into this place but there was always something tugging at me, telling me that I needed to be doing something rather than just hanging out and living this life. One day, I realized that I had to move—and keep moving until I found whatever it was I was looking for. That’s when I knew for sure there was something I was seeking—something concrete, not ideal or spiritual. As I tell you this, I realize how crazy it must sound to you. But like I said, it’s hard to explain.”

  “I actually sort of get it, Kloob—really! I mean, I get the same sort of feeling that something’s missing myself—already—and I’ve only been here two days. But I have absolutely no idea what it is. It’s just a feeling.”

  “That’s wild, man. Maybe you’re in the same boat I’ve been on but you’re hopping aboard sooner.”

  “Hmm. I don’t know. So tell me, have you made any progress? I mean, what have you found out so far?”

  “I know that whatever I’m looking for, it is in this city. I’ve been all over the place, Gresh, through the years. I went from Montreal to San Francisco to Denver, to Tallahassee, and about a million other towns in this country. Then I went over to England, hoping to pick up on something meaningful there. In fact, I spent no less than ten bloody years in every English speaking country in Europe. But I never got any real vibes there. Not anything that really seemed to jump out at me and say, ‘This is it, man! This is what you’ve been looking for!’

  “So I returned to the States and the moment I landed, I knew that I was in the right country. It just felt right, you know? So I resumed traveling all over the place, picking up where I’d left off. I spent a lot of time in the Midwest and the South, hoping that something would feel ‘right.’ That didn’t pan out so I decided I’d just start in Maine and work down the coast, searching and hoping for something to jump out and tell me that I’ve finally arrived. All to no avail.

  “Then one morning about a month ago I got a break. I was flying over Cape Cod at around a thousand feet when all of a sudden I blacked out! It was as though somebody had suddenly turned the lights out. For a moment I could feel myself falling to earth, paralyzed, unable to move a wing. In that brief moment, a scene flashed before my eyes. It only lasted a couple of seconds before I regained my sight and pulled out of the fall. It was a scene with this huge range of lakes, rocks and trees, all bare and shrouded in snow. The range extended for quite a distance before giving way to a wall of skyscrapers as far as you could see from right to left.”

  “Sounds like Central Park,” Greshmere said, nodding in the direction of the park.

  “Exactly! I’d been to Manhattan years before and had of course seen the park, but never in the wintertime. The park looked much like it does now with most of the trees obstructing the view. Plus I’d only viewed the park from the south; therefore the place never registered.

  “So after having this vision while flying over Cape Cod, I flew directly to New York and started searching for that exact same scene. Somehow I knew that this particular view had great significance in my former life. If only I could find out where I’d been
when I’d seen it. So I flew all around the park and came to the conclusion that the view had to have been realized from the west side. After much flying around from roof to roof, I have decided that the view must have been from this building, where we are sitting now, or from another one very close by. The only thing keeping me from finding the exact spot are these bloody leaves on the trees. I need a clear view of the landscape within the park to be certain. It looks like I may have to wait until fall to get the final bead on it.”

  “That’s great, Kloob. But what good will finding the place do you? I mean, how will that help you rediscover yourself? You have lost me there.”

  “I’ve left the best part out, Gresh. What I haven’t told you is what’s been driving me to do this all of this craziness over the years. For the longest time I’ve been waking up every morning feeling like I’m on this huge high. Like, you know, all happy and full of energy. It’s impossible to describe! It took me quite a while to finally figure out what was causing that elation. Unbeknownst to me, I’d been having these dreams about my former life for a long time but wasn’t recalling any of them when I awoke. I’d be all pumped up from these wonderful dreams but not knowing that they were the reason.

  “Then one morning, I actually recalled one of these dreams for the first time. It had been about this woman I had loved dearly in my former life. She was awesome, man! Whoever I was as a human, this woman had been a huge part of my life. She was the key to my very existence.

  “So the dreams of this woman in my former life are what have been driving me all along—inspiring me to find her. If I’d known this sooner, I’d have saved myself a bloody lot of time and trouble! But I guess better late than never.”

  Although he was reeling from the similarity of Kloob’s waking experiences to his own, Greshmere held off mentioning it for now.

  “I’m still not getting it, Kloob. What is the connection between this special view you’re looking for and this woman you so obviously loved in your former life?”

  “Don’t you see? This view is ingrained in my dreams because I had obviously seen it day after day after day while living with this woman! So if I can find that view—the exact place where it appears—I will have found the place where we used to live. I can be with her once again!”

  The intensity with which Kloob spoke told Greshmere how very much in love he must have been with this woman. It also told him that the bird wasn’t being rational. For one thing, how could he possibly pinpoint where he had lived in his former life on the basis of a single fleeting image of a certain view that could have been from hundreds of possible apartments along Central Park West? And even if he was to find the place, who did he expect to be living there now? It was obvious from his story that Kloob arrived in heaven at the very least ten years ago. What were the odds of that same woman living in the same apartment now after all of this time?

  But the one thing that made all of this utterly implausible caused Greshmere to feel great pity for the poor soul. For even if the woman of his dreams was indeed still living in the same apartment, how could Kloob possibly be able to have any sort of relationship with her? She would be a human and very much alive. Kloob was now a spirit. A soul. In the body of a bird. Living in heaven. Unable to interact or even communicate with humans.

  Had this not yet occurred to the poor fellow?

  Greshmere was not about to burst his bubble, however. Of that he was certain.

  “I think I understand now, Kloob. Any idea why it took so long for you to suddenly recall your dreams. I mean, how could you have those dreams all those years yet never recall a single one of them until that day? And how can you be so sure that this woman had been in all of those unrecalled dreams?”

  “Why it took so long, I have no idea. But I do recall my Who-Key saying that dreams are very important and that they had purpose. There must be some sort of power or force here that determines what we dream and when we recall them. As for knowing that the woman was in all of them, there is no question, man! The morning I finally recalled that dream, it was like opening a scrapbook for the first time. My former life flashed before me in an instant and the woman had clearly played a huge part in it. But the details of my life were not very clear. Just the vibe of this woman’s importance in it.”

  Greshmere decided to take a gamble. “What if you don’t find her, Kloob? I mean, what if you aren’t able to find her for one reason or another? What would you do?”

  The lark’s expression never changed. “Oh, but I will find her! There is no doubt in my mind that I’ll be with her again. You can mark my words.”

  “But how can you be so sure? Do you even know what she looks like?”

  “No, but I will recognize her when I see her. I am certain of that.”

  “How do you know that she is still alive, Kloob, if you don’t mind my asking?”

  “She has to be, man! I know this must all seem insane to you, Gresh, but you don’t realize how strong this vibe is! It’s deep inside, this feeling that I’m on the right track and that it’s just a matter of time before we’re reunited. That’s all I can tell ya. It’s real, man.”

  Greshmere was impressed with Kloob’s conviction and he now understood why Cleetus described those seeking to rediscover themselves as high-strung and driven by some sort of force. That perfectly described Kloob.

  But he also wondered if the bird could ever be happy in the event that his quest to rediscover his past failed somehow. Asking him would be pointless—so he decided to ask him something else.

  “Have you ever wondered why we’re here, Kloob? And if this is where everybody goes after they die?”

  “I have no idea. Nobody I’ve ever talked to knows the answer to either of those questions. And that is another reason why I want to go back, Gresh. I want to know what I was—who I was—before I died. Most everybody else here seems content just being here and living their new lives. That has never been enough for me. I’ve always been restless and had the feeling that there is more to all of this than we’ll ever know. Like God and all of that. Heaven and Hell. Good and evil in the world.

  “The only thing I know is that the world the humans live in is progressively getting worse by the day. Wars, poverty, and disease continue to plague civilization, even though humans have the ability and the resources to remedy these things. With technology and all of the other advancements, you’d think they would start getting a handle on all of that. But it’s not happening. Everybody is too greedy and wrapped up in themselves to do anything about it. It’s a disgrace, man.”

  “I haven’t had much chance to research humans so far. If this world is the same as it was when I passed, which I assume it is, then I don’t have much to gauge how things are going. That must take time, I imagine.”

  “That it does. The world I knew was still pretty together. There were wars and all of that, but people still seemed to be optimistic about the future. And technology hadn’t yet taken over society as it has now. But through the years, I’ve seen a lot happen and it’s all too much too soon, in my opinion. They’re growing further and further apart, man, despite the so called shrinking of the world.”

  “That seems to be the consensus of everyone I’ve spoken to: that humans have really messed things up. And there is nothing we can do but take something good away from it.”

  “Exactly. No sense in getting all stirred up over it because we’re powerless. Well, Gresh, it’s been real talking to you. I mean that. You seem really together and I’ve enjoyed our chat. I wish you the best in your future.”

  “Same to you, Kloob. And I hope you find her soon.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  With that, the lark took off. Greshmere watched as he flew south over to the next building and landed.

  Greshmere stared out at the park and thought about Kloob’s situation. As crazy as it seemed, the bird seemed more focused than anybody else he had met thus far. He had a purpose. A clear purpose. And he knew what he wanted. This was more than anybody else
seemed to have.

  He thought about Fleitzer’s group and what Kloob had said about them. How they were a ‘snooty, nosey bunch,’ as he’d put it. This wasn’t the only time he’d heard one soul say something opinionated about another soul. He wondered what God thought about that.

  The longer he spoke to Kloob, the more he realized that the bird’s voice was indeed very familiar. He had heard it before, but he had no idea where or when. It must have been from some bit of data he’d acquired in his former life.

  He decided to go back to the Essex House sign. He no longer wanted to find Fleitzer and the rest. He wanted to sleep. He recalled Shnarker saying that he would sleep as it seemed fit. Now it seemed fitting. He needed to reflect and dream.

  With a great leap, he flew out toward the park and maintained his altitude. Had he looked to his south, he would have seen Kloob flying over to the next building due south: the stunning green-gabled apartment building known as The Dakota.

  Chapter 9

  -Then-

  It was a blazing hot summer day and Daniel was thankful for the shade afforded by the tall oak and maple trees growing in the center of the Point’s grassy knoll. He took a swig of ice-cold beer and looked out at the bridge in the far distance. Although it was such a familiar scene, he knew he could never tire of this place and all of the memories it held.

  “Hey, save some of that for me!” Megan said as she returned from the woods.

  “There’s plenty left, Meg, never fear. Feel better now?”

  “I thought my bladder was going to burst! I wish they’d put a bathroom up here.”

  She sat down beside him on the blanket and reached into the cooler for her second beer.

  “So why not a hot dog stand, too? I mean, we’re in the wilds of the state forest—not a resort area! You have to expect to rough it a little.”

  “Whatever. I have to admit I’m going to miss this place, though.”