Small Companion

When sailing at sea, you don’t just encounter impressive animals, like fin whales. Sometimes the “wildlife” is a lot more modest.

For almost the entire trip from New York to Boston, we had a little stowaway on board. A little brown bird, with a beak like a sparrow’s and looking somewhat like one, too. But the little creature was just a bit bigger, with a slightly fluffier head and striking black legs.

It paid absolutely no attention to our presence. It scurried unperturbed across the aft deck, as if it had belonged there for years. Every now and then it would take a short flight, but it much preferred to walk across the deck in small, quick steps. Sometimes it even sauntered nonchalantly right over our feet.

What’s remarkable is how quickly you take such a tiny creature into your heart. Before you know it, it becomes part of life on board. No one saw when it left. Suddenly, it was just gone. And strangely enough, we do miss our little travel companion just a little bit.