11. What is your museās best memory?
Her best memory would have to be from when she was young, before she realized that the world was a big mean place:
Suzi, aged eight, was walking through the flower garden outside of the childrenās home she lived, the orphanage well groomed and plenty taken care of, butterflies were everywhere. She loved it out there, in the fresh air, birds singing and butterflies chasing her in her flower printed sundress. It was a normal day, really, nothing special, until she came upon a tree. In this tree was a little birdās nest, on the ground below it? A little robinās egg. Suzi quickly used her dress to scoop up the defenseless egg, hoping she wasnāt too late to keep it warm. She climbed the tree, the little monkey that she was, the egg safely kept in a pocket and shimmied out onto the branch. Upon closer inspection of the nest, it was clear something had gotten to it and attacked it, eggshells were left behind with nothing else but feathers and wet spots she didnāt want to identify. Her eyes watered as she climbed down from the tree and made her way back to the house.Ā
āMatron! The birdās nest! It was attacked... this was on the ground but the nest is now empty and... I donāt think the momma will be coming back.ā Her little head tilted down, pulling the egg free to hold gently in the palm of her hand,Ā āItās all alone down... do... do you think itāll survive?ā The matron, a kind Auri lady, smiled gently as she knelt down to take Suziās hands, cupping them a little closer around the egg, āI think weāll give it the best chance it can get.ā And so they went to the kitchen and created a small nest for the egg out of a basket and cheese cloth,Ā āHere. Youāll have to be vigilant of this egg. Keep it near warmth and turn it every few hours. The Dawn Father destined for you to find this egg, so it is up to you to take care of it.ā Suzi nodded and took the basket, going to her room where she pulled a rocking chair toward the fire place and sat. And there she remained for a week, leaving for short times to go wash, eat and tend to basic needs but never gone for more than an hour. Her temper flared if any of the other children tried to mess with the basket, till after a couple of days, the children left her alone. Half way into the second week, Suzi woke from her dozing in the chair, to find the egg cracked. Thinking sheād dropped the egg, she quickly checked it, gently brushing her finger along the shell only to feel it vibrate a couple of times, aĀ ātaptaptapā sort of vibration. It was hatching!Ā Ā
It took a day and a half for the bird to make it up, but when it did, Suzi was there. It was the proudest day of her life. Sheād been charged with protecting something, and she did and it survived. It grew and was released and for a long time afterward would visit Suzi in the garden till one day it simply stopped showing up. Suzi never knew why and preferred to think that it had found a mate and had started itās own family.Ā