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The worn stones of Brechin
Bridge still hold together strong, spanning the flowing water of the South
Esk River. "I love rivers, don’t you?" Bonnie asked Bruce, not really
wanting an answer. "They trickle and flow, fish live in them, trees and
flowers grow along their banks, and I love the way the sunlight sparkles
on the little splashes."
Bruce looked at the other
butterfly. "Bonnie, it’s only a river!"
"Oh look! There’s a bridge
up there. It’s old, isn’t it? I can tell by the stones. They don’t build
bridges like that any more," Bonnie said. The two butterflies flew closer.
"There are a lot of people
around. They must find peace listening to the water flowing by. It’s very
pretty here too," Bruce noted.
"Where are we, Bruce?"
"We’re in a town called
Brechin," he answered.
"How do you know that?"
"The sign, Bonnie. The
sign," he pointed. "During World War II this bridge was heavily fortified
in case there was an attack."
"It was? It must be pretty
important. Did soldiers come and attack it?" Bonnie asked.
"No, they never got this
far. The British Spitfires kept things under control," Bruce said.
"What’s a Spitfire?" she
asked.
"It’s an airplane used in
the war. One man sat in it. There were machine guns attached and it could
fly about 375 mph," Bruce bragged.
"Wow! You know a lot about
warplanes. Say, let’s pretend we’re spitfires. You can be the enemy
airplane and I’ll be a British spitfire," Bonnie suggested.
"Why do I have to be the
enemy?" Bruce whined.
"We’ll take turns, okay?
First you be the enemy and then I’ll be," Bonnie compromised.
Bruce flapped his wings and
flew around in the air making airplane noises. VRRROOOMMMMMMM!
Bonnie chased him, making
the same noises. VROOM! VROOM! VROOM!
Bruce flew between the
trees, barely missing the branches. Bonnie followed. He flew over towards
town. Soon he was swooping around Brechin Cathedral, with Bonnie on his
tail. "Whew, I’m getting tired. Your turn to be the enemy now," Bruce
said. They landed for a rest on top of the cathedral.
"Hey, this is a pretty
town. I love this cathedral. I’m glad it wasn’t bombed during the wars!"
Bonnie sighed.
"This cathedral, or part of
it, was built in the 11th century," Bruce said.
"What part?"
"Over there. See that
tower?" he pointed. "It’s the oldest part. There are only two 11th
century towers left in all of Scotland. This is one of them."
"That’s cool," Bonnie said.
"The Picts used to hang out
in this area too. There are ruins and artifacts that prove it," Bruce
added.
"The Picts?"
"They are the original
inhabitants of Scotland. Don’t you know anything about history, Bonnie?"
Angrily, she defended
herself, "Yes, I do know a lot about history, but not about small towns
and villages."
"Oh. Well, let’s get on
with our chase. Off you go, enemy," Bruce sneered.
Bonnie laughed, "You’ll
never catch me. You’ll never shoot me down." She flew into the air,
heading back towards the river. Bruce followed closely.
VROOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
VROOOOOOOOOOOM!
Bonnie wasn’t sure where to
go. She flew through trees, around bushes and under soft, pink rose
petals. "Aha. I’ll lose him," she smiled. She flew over to the Bridge of
Brechin and dove under it. SWOOOOOSH! She turned her head for just a
moment. Bruce was right behind her.
RAT-A-TAT-A-RAT-A-TAT! He
was pretending to fire his machine guns at her. Bonnie flew up over the
bridge and then down under it again. She did this over and over again. Her
wings were getting very tired. She was fed up being an airplane, so she
flew to the wall of the bridge and landed.
Bruce, who thought Bonnie
was still flying under and over the bridge, kept flying there. Bonnie sat
there laughing at him. He didn’t realize she had stopped. Finally she
called his name. "Bruce! Stop! The enemy has landed!" She laughed and
laughed.
He flew down and stood next
to her. "Bonnie, you tricked me!" He huffed and puffed, trying to catch
his breath.
"I’m a British Spitfire,
remember?" she laughed again.
"What a fun day this has
been. We saw Brechin, we saw the river and I certainly had a good time
pretending to be a warplane," Bruce said, once he was able to speak again.
The two butterflies looked
over the edge of the bridge. "Oh look, Bruce. The river is full of salmon.
They’re heading upriver. I wonder where they’re going?"
"Let’s find out. We’ll
follow them," Bruce said.
"All right, I’ll follow
you," Bonnie said. They flew into the air and headed up the river, leaving
beautiful Brechin behind.
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