Short Story - A Message From A Falcon

It was the climax of what they called “The War to End All Wars”, also known as World War I. A Lieutenant Colonel named Alexandre had entrusted his pet falcon, Bombardier, which served as his battle companion to deliver a message from Lisbon to Osaka. The message was critical for Alexandre’s cousin, Fernando, who was working as a spy in Japan. Bombardier spread his colossal wingspan and soared through the air garlanded with bright hue of grenades blasting, stench of dead bodies and stagnant water wafting out from the trenches. Bombardier nearly fainted after taking off. However, with his strong perseverance not letting fear overcome him, he managed to get on track. Alexandre had warned him that it was going to be a treacherous journey from Portugal to Japan, and had packed Bombardier a lightweight rucksack filled with bear necessities. The first part of the journey was full of barricades of gunshots blasting through the gruesome atmosphere. Bombardier was lacerated, but not severe enough to hinder his journey. He propelled himself forwards, well away from the deafening blasts. After getting the sights of misery behind him, he continued on a considerably smoother journey. At least not until he was soaring over Saudi Arabia with the glorious sun shining brilliantly over the sapphire sky. Bombardier desperately needed a rest after a gruellingly long flight, nevertheless, there were not many places to shelter in Saudi Arabia. The Middle East was in a more intense warfare than any other countries involved in the World War I.

After some consideration, Bombardier decided to make a stopover. Unfortunately, all hotels, motels and hostels were closed. The only solution was to snooze outside a nature reserve in the arid desert. Bombardier was awakened at dawn by a goliath gaggle of geese. Their leader told Bombardier he had to answer a riddle, otherwise they would scavenge all his belongings. The leader took out a mammoth book of riddles that had dust and cobwebs scattered all over it. He asked Bombardier this mind-boggling riddle, “Why is an old-fashioned radio like sizzling meat?” “It’s because they both have lots of crackling,” replied Bombardier. "Correctamundo!" cried the leader. Just then, that crackling noise they were talking about just burst out of nowhere. “A recording from our biennial celebration barbecue!” chuckled one of the geese.

Bombardier then hightailed off to vamoose from the geese just in case they tried to take away his belongings. The sunrays blazed down on Bombardier in the cerulean sky. Bombardier continued his journey in the scorching heat. Three days later, an exhausted Bombardier finally arrived at Fernando’s mobile home and delivered him the message from Alexandre. Bombardier didn’t know that disaster was going to strike at that moment. The Japanese military had discovered Fernando’s well-kept secret and sent their best sharpshooter, Santoshi, to kill him. Fernando escaped death by seconds but in his haste, he locked Bombardier in. Before Bombardier could escape, Santoshi’s bullet penetrated the mobile home and hit Bombardier, killing him instantly.

When Alexandre heard the news, he was absolutely devastated. The next day, Bombardier was shipped back to Lisbon for his funeral. Promptly after the solemn event, an overwhelmingly colossal statue of Bombardier carved out of exquisite marble was erected in front of the Belem Tower. For years, Portuguese remembered the heart-warming tale of the courageous Falcon that sacrificed his life, flying over considerably dangerous war zones to deliver a mission-critical message that saved Portugal from the war. From that day onwards, Bombardier was known as the first animal saint in the world. 

The End.

Written By,
Koh Chee Yuan