After an hour’s drive, Sofia recognized a fork in the road as the one her mother turned on to go to her grandmother’s house. She hollered loudly to the farmers to let her off the truck. As soon as the truck came to a halt, she set the goose to the side and jumped off. Her shoes hit the ground, and two small clouds of dust rose up around them.
She turned and looked at the back of the truck, and the goose seemed to be waiting. She could not know what he was thinking, of course. She had never tried to imagine what might be going on in a goose’s head before. She held out her arms, and the goose jumped into them.
In any case, what other option did the goose have? The truck drivers were farmers. And from what she could tell, farmers murdered geese for a living. She stood holding the goose until the truck was out of sight.
Sofia placed the goose, whom she called the Goose, on the ground beside her. She rubbed her arms, as they had grown stiff from holding the Goose so securely on the back of the truck. She was afraid the Goose might run away, but he was heavy and she would need a break from carrying him. She wondered whether she should put a rope around his neck and keep him prisoner for his own good. But the Goose had a look about him that said he would not tolerate this type of behaviour.
Sofia had never had a pet in her life. Her mother had never wanted to have a cat. She’d had so many as a child. They reminded her of her own mother’s house and domesticity. She said cats were supposed to be a replacement for intellectual companionship. In any case, Sofia knew nothing about farm animals. She didn’t dare make any presumptions about the Goose.
It wasn’t a pet. If the Goose chose to flutter off in the opposite direction, away from her, she would not try to stop him.
Sofia began to walk along the country road, and the Goose waddled behind her. When she stopped to look around, the Goose also paused. And when she began walking again, so did the Goose. She slowed her pace so the Goose could keep up with her. After they had advanced for an hour like this, she began to accept that they had an arrangement, and that they were travel companions. Which she was very pleased about because the last thing she wanted now was to be alone. She couldn’t quite believe it. She was never able to get a partner at school. She was used to being rejected because she was so shy and awkward.
Sofia did not know how odd she was until she started school. It was surprising to her. She seemed to have an inability for small talk. She didn’t see the point of running around after balls. She could go through the motions, but she had no natural enthusiasm for it. She didn’t laugh at the things other children found funny. She didn’t even realize anything amusing had occurred until she noticed others laughing.
She felt as though she were a spy. Posing as a little girl to infiltrate a group of other little girls. Perhaps she felt this way because she’d had no other friends her age before she went to school. Her mother had never set play dates for her. The sound of children playing together gave her a headache.
She did not really know what it was like to be chosen. Especially by a farm animal. That was even more unusual.
She couldn’t imagine how much farther her grandmother’s house was. She had only ever driven there by car. It hadn’t seemed far at all. But cars were always deceptive about distance. She wondered whether she bore responsibility for the Goose. She had taken him away from wherever he was meant to be. She had given him the same lot as her.
Sofia stared at the Goose. “How are your feet?”
He looked down at them, as if to make sure they were still there. “Fine,” he said.
Sofia dropped to her knees. “Thank you so much for talking to me.”
“Who else would I talk to? I had half a mind to bite my tongue and not say a thing. I hope after all this, you don’t intend to eat me.”
“Oh no. I would never do such a thing. You are a miracle.”
“Humph,” the Goose answered. “I’m a miracle until you get hungry enough.”