The last day in the short life of a gosling

​May fifth is always a difficult day for me – it’s the anniversary of the death of my first wife. I miss her presence as I have done for the last twenty one years but this special day is always sad, in spite of the love and support of my wife and family. The day was bright and sunny, as it usually is on this anniversary, but as I looked out of the kitchen window I saw something unusual. The Canada geese were sitting in a tight group as they usually do but several metres away was one small gosling. Canada geese are the most diligent parents and the chicks are well disciplined so this was extremely unusual. So I went out to investigate. Neither the chick or his family moved, which was also unusual, and I got to within a dew metres of the chick. It was clear that this was the smallest of the chicks and it looked ill and in a state of shock breathing fast. Later in the day the chick managed to find its way back to the group but it was always a little way removed. The last time I saw him he was walking with his siblings to the shade of the willow tree. This morning he was not with the group and so he must have died in the night. I hope his last day was not too much of a struggle and he wasn't in pain and that he enjoyed playing with the daisy's. I had to make this movie as a tribute to him and his short life. I am sad for him and sad for the fact that his family won’t miss him.  Missing someone is sad but having no one to miss you is even sadder.