Yesterday, before noon, in broad daylight, I was sitting in my chair outside, relaxing with a crossword puzzle, when I sensed something moving right beside me. For a moment I thought it was a big dog; but when I turned my head, I saw it was a deer. She jogged right past me, almost close enough to touch, and disappeared around the far corner of the building.
She didn’t make a sound, and was so light on her feet that she appeared to be floating on the air.
A minute later my neighbor came walking up, from the same direction as the deer.
“Did you see the deer that passed here, just a minute ago?” I asked.
“I followed it into the parking lot,” he said. “Just before that, it was following a woman who was walking her dog. I heard her say to the dog, ‘We’ve got to walk faster.'”
To me it was a special moment–an Obann moment, if you will. If you’ve been reading my books, you know there are a lot of strange animals moving into that country, sent by God from parts unknown. A deer in your yard, here in the Jersey suburbs, is almost as unusual a sight as the knuckle-bears in Lintum Forest. Almost like the stories I’ve been telling come to life.
I won’t forget it. Thank you, Lord–I take it as a sign that you know my work and have blessed it.