I pushed aside the long narrow leaves of the irises, looking for bright spots of color. I wasn’t expecting to hear the low rattle almost dry leaves rustling against each other. Having been raised in the desert, I knew to freeze. The only thing that moved, aside from the pulse I could feel pounding in my throat, were my eyes. I looked carefully until I spotted him. There he was, coiled between the cluster of green stalks and the building wall. I was hunting Easter eggs but instead had found a rattlesnake. Thankfully, he wasn’t poised to strike. Moving ever so slowly so I didn’t startle him, I pulled back and let him be. If there were eggs there, he could have them!

Meleesa Stephens

######

It was a fun group of people, some older than others, and a whole group of children. The mission was to roam widely in the garden looking for those brightly colored eggs. It sounds easy, but the heat was killing me. I looked for those shaded places and quietly crept into the dark recesses, moving the greenery around and peering intently among the rocks and weeds.
I had hardly noticed them, they were sitting quietly like a well-behaved class of kids but then one of them moved, and another flapped her wings, and the game was up. They were six of those goslings about a few days old, bright eyed and probably well fed for they just sat there quietly as if in deep meditation.
Here I was hunting for Easter eggs but instead found this quiet lot, resting before beginning their journey into life.

Tim Bhajjan