Saving Grace

The strangest thing happened on the way to work last week. I was driving my normal route, not expecting any difference in the day. Shortly after turning onto a different road, I saw the car in front of me leave the lane and maneuver around something in the road.

The object in the road: a Canada goose, which stood in the middle of the lane. The goose aggressively honked at the car as it passed, as if the goose were yelling at the car for not being a mindful driver. I instinctively stopped, not knowing what was happening.
 

Hello, what are we waiting for?

 
I then noticed a disturbance in the grass on the right side of the road. Just then, another Canada goose emerged from the brush. As it began to walk out onto the road, I noticed that the goose was limping. It was struggling to make the slightest movement, and was having trouble getting across the road.
 
Comparing the two, the goose that was limping was smaller than the other. I quickly realized that the two geese were actually goose and gander, a couple, male and female geese.  

 
The goose, the male, stood in the middle of the road, standing sentry to protect his partner from all oncoming traffic. The gander, the female goose, slowly made her way across the road. Her right leg was twice the size of her left. It pained her to move, as she limped when she walked.
 
When the gander reached her partner in the middle of the road, she paused. She was out of breath after her journey, and looked to be in considerable pain. She needed to rest a bit before proceeding.
 
At this point, there was a car stopped behind me on the road. Shortly thereafter another car was in line behind us. In the opposite lane, three cars were stopped as well. None of us were moving from our spot.
 
Once the gander felt strong enough to continue, the goose and gander made their way across the road together. The goose stayed by her side, escorting her to the other side of the road, in her time, at her speed. I couldn't help but wish them a fond farewell.
 

You two take care, okay? Don’t cross the road anymore.

 
I don’t know what lay on the other side of the road, or what made the pair of geese decide to make this treacherous, painful journey. I hoped there was a lake or pond nearby, where the two could roost, rest, and find some peace.
 
As soon as the geese were safely across the road, I continued on my way. As I drove, I took stock of the moment. It was a precious moment, one that I felt privileged to witness.
 
I continued on my journey to work. Approaching an upcoming traffic light, I saw that it was green. I predicted that I would have time make it through the intersection before the light changed to yellow or red. 

As I got closer to the intersection, I noticed a car coming from the right, at a high rate of speed. The car ran the red light, careening through the intersection.  
 
It then became abundantly clear to me what had just happened. If I had not been delayed on my journey, by the goose and gander, I would have been killed by a runaway driver running a red light.
 

Since that day, I have thought about the goose and gander. I hoped that they found whatever they originally crossed the road to find. I hoped that they hadn't had to make any similarly perilous journeys.

This morning, while driving to work, I came upon a Canada goose. It had been struck and killed by a car, and was lying in the middle of the road. I hoped within my heart that it wasn’t either the goose or gander I saw last week. 
 

It is not lost on me, what could have happened to me, if I had not been delayed on my way to work that morning. I was supposed to be in a certain place at a certain moment in time. But, I wasn't there. I wasn’t where I was supposed to be. And it saved my life.
 
Thank you, guardian angels, for sparing my life that day. Thank you, goose and gander, for being my saving grace.

"Canada Geese" by Esperanza Habla