6 Goslings (babe Goose)
Every March a pair of Canadian Geese makes its nest in the Senior Apartments. After few weeks many goslings are hatched. Around mid-April a bunch of these goslings started to walk with its mother and father. Wherever it went, many seniors would gather to see them eating, or hiding under the wings of its mother, or see them drinking water. For several past years, the goslings would be all eaten by wild animals and the surviving 2 goslings with its mother and father would go around the senior apartments crying. Later on, the remaining 2 goslings would be eaten as well. But this year since the 6 goslings have survived for 5 weeks, they have grown to about the size of a small duck, and would try to fly with their small, growing wings and act cutely.
There were much more activities within the senior apartment residents since these goslings were hatched. Give another 5 weeks; they would be able to fly a short distance away from predators, and many of the elderly had high hopes in their survival. Whenever I walk out with my wife early in the morning I would count the number of the goslings and watch them act cute. But shortly after they were born, there were 2 coyote attacks reported. Both attacks were in early morning and many of the residents came out, shouting and chasing away the coyotes.
But on the 20th of May, my wife and I were heading out for our daily walk; I noticed the mother goose was walking around weakened, with its chest swollen. I suspected another attack, and despite being able to survive another attack and defending the goslings, thanks to the residents chasing the coyote away in time, it was still limping badly. I think it was a 3rd attack, and the mother was injured badly. Since the mother goose needed to be treated, the office of the senior apartment called, and took the mother goose away to an animal shelter to be treated. So the male goose had to take care of the 6 goslings.
The goslings were well grown now, so they would play with each other. During this time, the male goose would stay in vigilant and would watch without even eating, so it was getting skinny. Many of the residents were in shame of watching this happen. So on the evening of the 20th, several of the Korean residents including myself, discussed that we watch the goslings until the mother goose comes home. Taking a piece of paper, we wrote down in order from 12AM in the morning to 6AM the next day to watch over the geese. We wanted to guard the geese from the persistent attack of the coyote, and had an all-nighter to protect them. Sure enough, about 5AM~6AM in the morning one of the guards noticed there was a large coyote wandering nearby, and was chased away. Since there were people nearby, it wasn’t able to attack the geese.
The next early morning, we were counting the number of the geese and was about to do our daily walk, the 6 goslings fluttered in-front of us. It was strange, since we don’t feed the wild animals at all and had nothing in our hand. I didn’t understand why they were greeting us gladly. I think it was because the nightly watch has kept them alive, and was thanking us that way. During the mid-day while working in the office, I received a phone call from one of the person who had chased the coyote. The suggested to buy a fence and put the goslings inside every night, since just watching over them until they grow fully wasn’t enough.
Because of our act, a resident Caucasian woman had even reported this in the local newspaper and got an article praising us.
But since that afternoon, the geese were all nowhere in sight! All the office members and those whom were interested in them scatted around to look for them. I suspected they had gone outside the premise to look for the mother. I was checking the fences around the next day while walking, and found a small hole in one of the fenced areas. I think they escaped through that way and had crossed the road to wander around.
Everyone who was involved felt empty. They wanted to protect them another night… The next day, people were searching and found scatted feathers and remains in the grass nearby. All the goslings and the male goose were eaten by the wild animal. The geese, which were joy and love of the apartment all, had died. The mother was never returned. Either the cure wasn’t complete, or was release to somewhere else after getting a report that all others had died.
All the residents of the apartment can only wait for the next year for other geese to settle in and make a nest.
(June 11th, 2014)
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Hero 
6 Goslings