The Swan Gift
By Anne Spackman
Copyright 2014
By Anne Spackman
The baby cygnets all followed round their mother while Kristine watched. The last fuzzy grey baby cygnet stopped and turned and looked at her. Kristine’s heart melted. The baby hurried to catch up with the others. Kristine had never seen swans at the Chicago Lakeshore before. Where had they come from… and were they here to stay or just passing through? She wondered. Kristine had stopped running and wiped her brow. It was going to be hard finishing her run now. She decided to walk home instead.
Later that day, several hours later, as Kristine was carrying home a couple of bags of groceries from the store, she remembered how cute the baby swan had been. She began building dreams in her mind as she walked, thinking of what the future might hold. She didn’t mind the exercise—it was good to carry things home to her tiny apartment in Hyde Park, Chicago, where she went to university. She had two roommates, Eliza and Greg, who were both older than her and in grad school.
Kristine came in with her groceries, and the apartment was quiet. Both Eliza and Greg were in their rooms studying. Kristine brought in her food and started to make lunch—a plate of rye crackers and eggplant hummus, and a small cucumber and mushroom salad.
Mr. Whiskers came over—he was Greg’s grey cat, but he knew a soft touch when he saw one—specifically, Kristine. Kristine had removed her shoes at the door and Mr. Whiskers saw this as an opportunity to chew on the edge of her sock.
“Mmmeee-ow!”
“Yes, I see you there, Mr. Whiskers,” said Kristine, looking down at him as he now began to rub himself against her leg. She sat down on a chair at the table and tried to ignore the cat, but it was difficult. Kristine liked cats, and some dogs, but she wasn’t in the mood to give Mr. Whiskers the attention he clearly wanted.
Kristine finished her lunch, went to the Regenstein Library to work for a couple of hours, and decided to take another walk along the Lakeshore while she read her books. She could do this and not run into anyone, and get some exercise while she read. Kristine liked walking a lot, but also just didn’t want to be at home on a Saturday with both of her roommates, and this was her way to get a little time alone. She had a backpack on her back this time.
And there were the swans again. A family of swans had somehow come to the Lakeshore, and they were waddling together along the shore. The tiny cygnets made Kristine almost laugh out loud. They were fluffy and cute and in the way of all of the joggers.
Kristine stopped and sat and watched them for a while. She had always liked swans, and though some people thought they were too aggressive, she knew they were relatively harmless and trying to survive. She didn’t have any food to give them, unfortunately, but she decided that if she went on a morning run again the next day she would bring along a couple of slices of bread for them, assuming they were still there.
* * * * *
Ten years had passed, and Kristine was in the middle of an argument with her boyfriend, Nate. They lived together in an apartment on the North Side of Chicago. It was a nice 2-bedroom, with Spartan décor and fluffy grey rugs and fine furnishings. Suddenly, Nate collapsed onto the floor, clutching at his chest. He was breathing heavily out of nowhere.
“Nate?!” she said, suddenly shocked and afraid for him. Nate was ten years older than her and a smoker—
“I don’t think I can talk any more. It’s not a heart attack,” he said to reassure her, now in a calm tone. “I think I’ll be ok. My heart just started racing.”
“Shall we take you to the emergency room—”
“No, let’s just drop it.”
“Nothing at all, Nate, is worth risking your life,” she said, realizing this suddenly. She looked around. All of their fine items in the apartment seemed less valuable to her at that moment. “I’m sorry we argued.”
“You may be right,” he said, panting. “I don’t have to do anything today. It’s Sunday. Let’s just go somewhere.”
“How about the Lakeshore—take a walk? We haven’t gone there in ages.”
“As long as it’s just a walk, then, all right.”