It continued living in solitude and died peacefully. What happened to the fire hawk grandma? Unfortunately, they denied the hawk’s heroic action and accused it of worsening the situation by burning more of the forest. So the fire saved the birds from starving! Wow, the others must like the hawk now. It was very much needed after a long period of hunger and aridity. It took advantage of the catastrophe and turned it into a feast for all the birds. It witnessed the insects and lizards, and other delicious treats flee from one death to the next: the hawk itself. It dropped the stick and its passion for fire made the blaze grow even larger. Yes, yet the hawk knew what it was doing. What? Why would it do that? It would burn itself! With surgical precision, it performed a dive, fetched the stick, and carried the flames in its beak.

The hawk spotted what it was looking for: a branch on fire. A sudden euphoria filled up the bird’s body. The hawk flew up to comfortable heights and circled around the thriving flames. And the panic amongst animals spread a little faster. And as it is of nature’s custom, wildfires spread in these vulnerable woods. As the months passed by, water became scarce and sun heat grew abundant. No way! Something must have happened! And we still don’t know the hawk’s passion? All I know is that the hawk went to sleep and the life in the forest continued its natural course. Is the hawk angry now? Will it do something bad? And the fire-red sun reflected in the bird's wicked eyes. The birds, the noise, the sun began slowly disappearing, and the hawk remained silent, contemplating the majesty of the untamed forest. The hawk remained silent and imperturbable.

Some started flying away, others threw sticks and stones at the hawk as they went back to their nests. “I… I wanted to say many things, complain about many more, yet I shall only word this: My passion will save us all one day.” The assembly started laughing and screeching and tweeting and chirping and peeping. Surprised by how many birds of all sorts actually showed up, magpies, cockatoos, parrots, babblers, lyrebirds, it started to panic and forgot the speech it prepared. One day, the hawk called the entire flying menagerie to the highest point of the forest. Patience children, do not let curiosity consume you. What’s the passion the hawk learnt, Grandma? As the bird aged, it was waiting for its opportunity to show the world what it learnt all these years. The hawk grew up used to the loneliness and the rejection and kept on focussing on its passion. They hated the hawk for its fascination, and they never welcomed it. That hawk was filled with a passion that no other bird could understand. Well once upon… no, actually a few times upon time, in the deepest depths of the Australian forests, there lived a hawk. Oh, if your parents deem you ready, I shall reveal the story of the fire hawk. Grandma, Mom and Dad told us we are ready for the fire hawk story.

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