In a sea of people, my eyes will always search for you.
Why does love have to be complicated? Penguins have demonstrated that it isn't, or doesn't have to be so.
A prevalent lore says that during the breeding season, the male penguin picks out a mate from groups called rookeries which can include thousands of these waddling sea-birds. I don't know how the feathered suitor can tell the difference. He must have fixed a steady gaze on a certain female penguin and said, blinking, Such a distinctively large head, adorably perched on a short neck.
Or he could have expressed his feelings in a calm, well-bred penguinese gab that sounds like an old car failing to start, Utterly lovely. The upright posture is elegant. Or in quiet admiration of her legs and webbed feet that are set far back on her elongated body, he may have turned to her in wordless appeal.
At this warm approval, pleasure must have pulled at the would-be fiancee's beak, but she'll pretend she has not noticed.
After making a choice, the male goes and finds five smooth stones and, one by one, lays them at her feet - perhaps, like a nervous first-timer in a singles bar, tapping his flippers against his streamlined body. Although penguins don't sweat, he must have felt a bead forming on his plumes.
The would-be fiancee must have forgotten to breathe when this happens. She could have moved casually away, with no visage of eagerness and gaws, Hmmm, noncommitally, but with a sweet laugh. It's all she can do, not to jump up and dash toward his tuxedoed handsomeness.
At that moment, I can imagine that they will fall into rapt quietude like onlookers at a seance awaiting the appearance of some divine spectre. The female tries to honk, but she finds there is no sound when she opens her beak. Then, after a suitable period of silence, a glance between them will convey their mutual satisfaction. Beguiling him with a smile, she gaks, I accept, in as ladylike a tone as she can manage.
The backward-facing fleshy spines that line the inside of the suitor's mouth are parched, but he manages to squawk an enthusiastic response. Great!
The male will angle his head toward his mate after which they'll toboggan on their bellies happily, using their flippers and feet to slide their bodies forward along the ice.
Time will loop in on itself from this day forward, when they first meet and fall in love, and life will be measured out in One Ever After.
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