Opustenie údolia

Tomáš bol opäť v službe. Našiel Polly pri kiosku v návštevníckom centre práve po východe slnka. Mal so sebou čerstvý termos s kávou. Položil ho na lavičku a posadil sa.

Tomas was on duty again. He found Polly at the visitor centre kiosk just after sunrise. He had a fresh Thermos of coffee. He set it on a bench and sat down.

Chvíľu toho veľa nepovedali. Polly si upravovala perie. Ráno voňalo po rieke.

They did not say much for a while. Polly preened her feathers. The morning smelled of the river.

"Predpokladám, že sa chystáš ďalej," povedal Tomáš.

"I imagine you're moving on," Tomas said.

Polly naklonila hlavu.

Polly tilted her head.

Povedal jej o zvyšku parku. O vysokých horách pri ceste Tioga. Hetch Hetchy, druhé údolie na severe, dávno prehradené, ale stále krásne. O háji sekvojí v Tuolumne Meadows. Hovoril o týchto miestach s tichou hrdosťou.

He told her about the rest of the park. The high country off Tioga Road. Hetch Hetchy, the other valley to the north, dammed long ago but still beautiful. The grove of redwoods up in Tuolumne Meadows. He spoke of these places with quiet pride.

"Toto miesto ti neukáže všetko, aj keď tu žiješ," povedal. "Zachytíš len kúsky. Ľudia prídu na tri dni a myslia si, že to videli. Videli pohľadnicu." Napil sa kávy. "Lepšie je vidieť jeden kúsok úplne. Sokol sťahovavý? Štrnásť rokov a stále neviem, čo urobia zajtra."

"This place doesn't show you everything, even if you live here," he said. "You catch pieces. People come for three days and think they saw it. They saw a postcard." He sipped his coffee. "Better to see one piece all the way through. The peregrines? Fourteen years and I still don't know what they're going to do tomorrow."

Polly premýšľala o svojich ponoroch z rímsy El Capitan. Ani raz nepristála čisto. Ale zakaždým bola menej zlá. Myslela si, že by mohla byť menej zlá celý život.

Polly thought about her dives off the El Capitan ledge. She had not landed cleanly once. She had also gotten less bad each time. She thought she could keep getting less bad for a lifetime.

Pristavil sa autobus. Ten istý zelený autobus. Ten istý vodič. "Choď už," povedal Tomáš. Postavil sa.

A shuttle bus pulled in. The same green bus. The same driver. "Off you go," Tomas said. He stood up.

Polly natiahla svoje modro-zelené krídla. Vzlietla z lavičky, raz obletela návštevnícke centrum a stúpala. Údolie sa strácalo. El Capitan stál naľavo. Half Dome napravo.

Polly stretched her blue-teal wings. She lifted off from the bench, circled once over the visitor centre, and climbed. The valley dropped away. El Capitan stood on the left. Half Dome on the right.

Na okraji sa otočila na západ. Pod ňou sokol lovil malý kŕdeľ lastovičiek pozdĺž útesu. Pozorovala ho pol minúty. Potom našla vietor, ktorý chcela, a nechala sa ním odniesť z parku.

At the rim, she banked west. Below her, a peregrine was hunting a small flock of swifts along the cliff face. She watched it for half a minute. Then she found the wind she wanted and let it carry her out of the park.