Opustenie údolia

Strážca Tomas prišiel do návštevníckeho centra pri východe slnka. Mal so sebou termosku kávy. Posadil sa na lavičku vedľa Polly.

Tomas the ranger came to the visitor centre at sunrise. He had a Thermos of coffee. He sat on a bench next to Polly.

Veľa toho nepovedali. Polly si čistila perie. Ráno voňalo po rieke.

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

"Odchádzaš," povedal Tomas.

"You are leaving," Tomas said.

Polly naklonila hlavu.

Polly tilted her head.

Povedal jej o zvyšku parku. O horskej oblasti s jazerami. O ďalšom údolí na severe. O háji vysokých stromov.

He told her about the rest of the park. The high country with its lakes. Another valley to the north. A grove of tall trees.

"Toto miesto je príliš veľké na to, aby si ho videla za tri dni," povedal. "Vidíš len kúsky."

"This place is too big to see in three days," he said. "You only see pieces."

Polly premýšľala o svojich skokoch z útesu. Žiadny z nich nebol dobrý. Ale každý bol o niečo lepší. Mohla by sa zlepšovať celý život.

Polly thought about her dives off the cliff. None of them were good. But each one was a little better. She could keep getting better for a lifetime.

Zelený autobus sa vrátil. Ten istý vodič. Tomas vstal. "Tak poď," povedal.

The green shuttle bus came back. The same driver. Tomas stood up. "Off you go," he said.

Polly roztiahla krídla. Vzlietla z lavičky. Krúžila okolo návštevníckeho centra. Stúpala.

Polly stretched her wings. She lifted off the bench. She circled the visitor centre. She climbed.

Údolie sa vzďaľovalo. El Capitan bol na jej ľavej strane. Half Dome na pravej.

The valley dropped away. El Capitan was on her left. Half Dome was on her right.

Na okraji sa otočila na západ. Pod ňou sokol sťahovavý lovil malé rýchliky pozdĺž útesu. Polly sledovala. Potom našla vietor a nechala sa ním unášať z parku.

At the rim, she banked west. Below her, a peregrine hunted small swifts along the cliff. Polly watched. Then she found the wind and let it carry her out of the park.