deers should grieve

we open with a familiar scene: the deer, standing alone in the deep, dark forest at night. it is stunned. struck yet again by another headlight—a familiar one, at that. mind going mile a minute, heart beating twice as fast, but all limbs not moving an inch.

the deer has finally said goodbye to the headlight of 2013. it was not a conventional farewell that involved tears, hugs and false promises to stay in touch. the goodbye took the form of a question unanswered—a metaphorical goodbye of sorts; an end to a madness that lasted more than it should.

the deer’s initial response was to make sense of what happened. to make the loss a positive one. a learning experience. instead of mourning the loss and shedding much-kept tears, the deer skipped (as it was wont to do) to lessons that could be learned from this two-year hit and run. it told other deers it was okay. it even told itself, everything was okay.

turns out it wasn’t. and this realization crept up to the deer quietly, but hit the deer suddenly. 

the deer, after much introspection (yes, deers introspect), realized that it should have mourned its loss properly. it should have stopped and cried, instead of going on with life. it should have accepted the simple but bitter truth that the loss, although foreseen, still hurt. the deer should have grieved.

the headlight is long gone by now, leaving the deer to handle the sadness that accompanies being left alone, and the loneliness in accepting that not all dreams are realized despite how much hardwork was put in.

contrary to other scientific findings, deers can grieve. and they should.

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Unfortunately, other entries in the Deer Struck by Headlights series are now gone because Multiply closed down. I hope to find inspiration to continue this very interesting series here.

Deers can tiptoe

The deer is ready, headlights.

Deer can hope

If deers could cover their ears.