Comfort and Ray (standard:fairy tales, 1500 words)
Author: Maureen Stirsman	Added: May 01 2004	Views/Reads: 3864/2518	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A Fable. When life seems so hard you can’t go on, when you know you cannot swim another stroke, there is help. You can swim further than you think. Meet Comfort.

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“Okay, tread water then,” said the dove. 

“Tread water? Is that okay?” asked the man. 

“Sure,” said the dove, “just keep your eyes on me.” Then the man stood
upright in the floodwaters and kicked his legs easily and fluttered his 
arms. He stayed this way for a little while and discovered he gained 
some of his strength back. 

Then he looked at the dove again and a strange thing occurred to him.
This dove was talking, so Ray said, “I don't even know your name. It 
seems strange to call you ‘dove'.” 

“You don't have to call me anything.” The dove seemed to float over him.
“But if you feel you need to you can call me something, call me 
Comfort. 

Ray thought a minute and it seemed right. “Comfort, what do I do now? I
know we have come a long way, but it is night and I can't see, and I am 
getting very sleepy.” 

“Look, Ray!” A large branch from a tree came floating in the darkness.
Ray put his arms around it and the dove said, “Why don't you try to lay 
on top of it?” So that is just what he did. Then next thing he knew the 
sun was coming up on the horizon. He had clung to the tree and 
miraculously not fallen off. He looked all around him and could see the 
tops of the tall maples in the distance and then the tower of the 
church. It was his church, the church where he had taken his children 
to Sunday School and where he ushered once a month. He wondered where 
all the members were. He still had not seen anyone since he left his 
house. He felt sadness about having to leave the comfortable home, then 
he looked at Comfort and he knew he would follow. 

“Swim, Ray!” again Comfort said. “Swim!” Now Ray was somewhat refreshed
and he knew he had come several miles. The arboretum was somewhere 
under the water. But he knew he could swim no further than that. The 
arboretum was a long way from his street, too far to swim to for 
heaven's sake. 

Ray plunged his arms again into the water, never taking his eyes from
the white wings of Comfort. Presently he strength began to wane. Again 
Comfort said, “Float on your back for awhile.” And Ray did. But by noon 
he knew he could not go on any further. After all he was not really a 
very good swimmer. 

“I appreciate all you are trying to do, Comfort.” He had gotten used to
speaking this way to the dove. “I know you mean well, but I have gone 
as far as I can. I just cannot go another stroke, and I don't even want 
to.” 

The dove fluttered close to Ray's cheek and the soft breeze refreshed
him. “All right, I will try.” then he saw the arboretum below him under 
the waters. “Look where we are!” he said. 

If doves could smile he would have seen one then. “I know, Ray. See, I
knew you could get this far. And you said you were not a good swimmer.” 
By the afternoon Ray began to get very hungry. “Comfort, can I stop for 
a minute? I am so hungry. I don't have the strength to go on.” 

The white dove hovered again and pointed his face to the east. “Look,
Ray, you are not alone.” In the distance in what appeared to be an old 
army surplus raft, he could see two men and by a strange coincidence of 
fate, he recognized them. They were members of his Saturday night group 
and it looked as though there was a red picnic cooler between them. 

“Ed! Brian! Over here!” Ray shouted. Soon he was hanging on to the edge
of the raft and eating a ham sandwich. Ed poured a cup of black decaf 
into a cup. There was no room in the raft for Ray, besides Ed was 
looking for his family. He stayed with them for an hour. Ed and Brian 
took turns holding him up. Then when it was time for the men to move on 
Ray was discouraged that he couldn't go with them. But the sandwich and 
the company refreshed him and when they pulled away he felt he could 
swim anyplace. 

He looked toward the east again and there was Comfort waiting. “This
way, Ray. Follow me.” And Ray followed with a renewed strength in his 
arms and in his spirit. He knew he could make it, no matter what, no 
matter how far. He could do it! 

Maureen Stirsman 2004 


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