The Magic Minute

 By Harriet May Savitz

      THE END

      It happened before the Magic Minute ended.    And it was told on every REMEMBERING DAY.  All of the MOLLUSKS and all of the FISH and all of the BIRDS would gather around to hear the tale.  It was told the same way for hundreds of years after and no one ever grew tired of hearing it.  Again and Again.

Patiently, gently, repeating each detail, the Moray Eel and the Sea Turtle repeated the story of the TENANTS, and the BAD NEWS, and the UNDERWATER ARMY and DEEP THINKING.  The younger FISH and the younger MOLLUSKS  and the younger BIRDS  were told about HIGHER UP and LOWER DOWN and THE ONE.  They were told about the BIRDS bringing GOOD NEWS and about the Golden Eagle’s search for HOPE.

The young ones would shout eagerly, “Tell us what happened with the END.”  It was their favorite part of the story and though they knew it well, and though it was told year after year, it was as if they heard it for the first time.  Each time.

“It was a very frightening time for all of us,” said the older Sea Turtle.  “It looked as if it might be the END of the world as we knew it.  Everyone was so angry.  And nobody would listen.  No matter how much GOOD NEWS was delivered.  It didn’t seem to matter.  WAR seemed the only thing that mattered.  WAR against the TENANTS.  WAR against each other.  WAR against every living, breathing thing.  And hatred. Destruction.  Violence.   It spread over everyone, like a bad disease.  And overhead, back and forth, in this Magic Minute, the Golden Eagle flew searching everywhere for HOPE”.

The Moray Eel continued.  “Just as we had given up all HOPE, it happened.  Something we never expected.”  And then he looked at his audience and asked, “Tell me.  Tell me who saved us from the END?”  The Moray Eel knew this was their favorite part.

The younger generation of FISH and MOLLUSKS and BIRDS shouted, “THE TENANTS!”

And it was true.

The messages from the TENANTS arrived one night within the Magic Minute.   The messages came from SOMEWHERE.

“I am a TENANT and I beg you, “Do not make this the END,” one message pleaded.  And other messages from the TENANTS kept coming.

“We are sorry we did this to you and to the world.”

“We did not know how you felt.”

“We did not consider your feelings.”

“We were selfish.  Greedy.  Arrogant.”

“We thought only we lived here.”

“Give us another chance.”

“We will try to be better.”

“If you make this the END, we will never know what we could have been,” one TENANT after the other pleaded.

“We will try to give more.”

“We will show you how great we can be.”

“It will be different.”

“We will bring you GOOD NEWS forever"

“Do not let this Magic Minute END like this..”

No one knew exactly when the Magic Minute would be over.  But it could not last forever.  Or could it?  More and more messages arrived.  They came from TENANTS who worked in the fields and those who worked in offices and those who worked in schools and at home.  They came from those who lived in houses and apartments, and from those who owned stores and those who worked in them.  They came from the important TENANTS and the unimportant ones.  They came from those who had an education and those who did not.  Those who were rich and those who were poor.  Wherever there was a TENANT, there was a message. 

“One more chance,” they begged.  “Let us make more of this Magic Minute.”  

 The young FISH and MOLLUSKS AND BIRDS leaned forward for they did not want to miss one word now.

“Not yet.  We cannot close this Magic Minute like this,” the MOLLUSKS had cried out those many years ago.  “We must give the TENANTS another chance to be everything they can be.  We must give them the chance to bring GOOD NEWS.”

It was then the Golden Eagle swooped down with HOPE.

“We must not let it END like this,” he said.  “It will be the END for us also. Don’t you understand?  . This Magic Minute is our only HOPE to be more than we have been.  We are in it together.”

“What happened?  Tell us what happened?” shouted the young listeners in the audience.

The Moray Eel realized of course they knew what happened.  Everyone did.  Everyone who lived since knew. How both the FISH, the MOLLUSKS, and even the Golden Eagle had pleaded and begged for more time.  To HIGHER UP.  To LOWER DOWN.  To THE ONE.  None of them wanted to let go of the Magic Minute.  Where all things were possible.  Where they could be much more than they had ever been before.  

“Give us one more chance.  We can do better also.”

“Give us more time.”

“We can figure it out.”

“WAR isn’t the only way.”

“The possibilities are endless.”

“Goodness is everywhere.”

“We will learn to understand..”

“And so the Magic Minute did not end,” said the old Sea Turtle to all those who gathered on REMEMBERING DAY.  “As long as we have HOPE, perhaps it never will.”

And then they all looked toward the sky.  Overhead flew a Golden Eagle.  He always flew overhead while the story was told on REMEMBERING DAY.  Searching for more HOPE.

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