by Christina Hennemann
Once upon a time, a penguin lived on the vast, rugged wild west coast of Ireland. Nobody knew for sure how the penguin came to Ireland. It was a total mystery. The locals had many different theories: some said that the penguin lost its way in the endless ocean and was swept away by a massive thunderstorm. Others thought that maybe someone brought a penguin egg as a souvenir from the south pole. Some people believed that it could only be a miracle. Either way, people were very excited about the penguin, and newspapers all over Ireland wrote about it. The reporters interviewed the fishermen who had discovered the penguin and asked them many questions. The fishermen told the newspapers that they first spotted the penguin after a hurricane hit Ireland, which is why they called her Storm.
After a while, scientists became interested in Storm and wanted to populate Ireland with penguins to find out more about them. At the south pole, where penguins normally live, it is very cold, which makes it difficult to observe penguins, and the scientists thought it would be easier to study them in Ireland. So, one breeding season, they caught Storm and brought her to the zoo in Dublin. They hoped he would mate with one of the penguins there, but without success. Although there were many attractive penguins, Storm did not like any of them. The scientists did not understand why she would act like that. It was out of her nature, they said, because penguins were commonly known to fall in love quickly. When they examined Storm closer, they found that nothing was wrong with her. What the scientists couldn’t see, though, was that the famous penguin was already in love with someone else, and can you believe it? She was in love with no one else but a puffin.
During her first summer in Ireland, Storm met Sunny, a funny, cheerful puffin with the brightest beak of red and orange that Storm had ever seen. The second she first spoke to him and heard his cackling laugh, Storm fell in love with Sunny. Because Storm was the only penguin in Ireland and had never seen any other penguins, she thought that she was a puffin, just like Sunny and his flock. Sunny, the puffin, however, knew that Storm was different, but he liked her, too, and so they became friends. All summer long they played together, and caught plenty of fish with their clever hunting strategy: Storm dove and chased the fish to the water’s surface, and Sunny flew over the waves to catch the fish when they jumped up. The two of them always shared the fish they caught. In late summer, when the nights got colder in Ireland, they gently rubbed their beaks and feathers against each other to warm up, and often they just sat together in Storm’s nest to watch the beautiful orange sunset.
Storm was totally in love with Sunny. She thought of him day and night and missed him whenever he was spending time with the other puffins. As she couldn’t fly, she was all alone when Sunny went on his long spins across the sky. She watched from the ground, or the sea, and tried to find him amongst the flying flock of puffins. She always recognised him by his bright red beak, and by the black dot on his white chest. No other puffin had such a dot. Storm thought it was beautiful.
Sadly, Sunny did not want Storm to be his partner. He was trying to find a puffin partner. But no matter how many breeding seasons he spent in Ireland looking for a puffin partner, he never fell in love with any of them. He met so many wonderful puffins, but he didn’t like them as much as he liked Storm, and they didn’t make him laugh as hard as Storm. After a while, Sunny got very scared that he would always stay on his own, and that he might never have a partner and cute puffin chicks. He was very sad about his hopeless search. Storm comforted Sunny. She would always listen closely to his worries, and then she would gently pat his wing with her flipper and rub her beak against his chest. In moments like these, Storm thought to herself: “If only I could be your partner.”
One day, Storm took all her courage and told Sunny that she loved him. She said that she could be his partner, and that they could build a cosy nest to raise their chicks. That way, they would never be lonely. But Sunny only laughed loudly and asked her if she was crazy.
“You aren’t like me; you’re not a puffin!” he cackled.
Storm’s eyes filled up with tears.
“Oh, what am I then?” she whispered anxiously.
“You’re a penguin!” Sunny laughed. “Didn’t you know?”
Storm was in shock. She didn’t understand what a penguin was. Yes, she couldn’t fly, but Sunny couldn’t dive half as long as her. “Everybody is different!” she thought. She was very sad and hurt, but she tried hard to hide it. “Oh, of course I know that I am a penguin. I was only joking!” she lied. Then they both laughed out loud. After that, she never talked about being Sunny’s partner again.
Every autumn, the puffins left Ireland and only returned for the breeding season in spring. Storm was terribly lonely during these cold and dark months. She missed Sunny and counted the days until he would come back to her. Every autumn, Storm built a big and comfortable nest while Sunny was away to prepare for his return. She wanted him to have a cozy place beside her in the nest. Although Sunny had called her a penguin, Storm never really gave up hope that one day, Sunny would realise that she wasn’t so different from him after all, and that he could actually love her as she was.
Every spring Sunny returned with his flock of puffins, and every spring he came back without a puffin partner, but he would still not want to be more than friends with Storm, either. Often, Storm wished for her feelings to go away, but they didn’t. Storm knew her love for Sunny was meant to be. When penguins fall in love, it is forever. The same is true for puffins, but this particularly stubborn puffin never fell in love at all. “Lucky him,” the poor heartbroken Storm sometimes thought to herself, when she was secretly crying in her nest at night.
Finally, after many unsuccessful breeding seasons, Sunny gave up his search for a partner. He accepted that he was different from the other puffins and stopped looking for a puffin partner. He was very sad and disappointed, but he also felt a bit relieved that the stressful search was over. Storm comforted him and gently patted his wings with her flipper. Then she told Sunny about all the fantastic things they could do together.
“We wouldn’t see each other that often if you had a family!” Storm said dramatically.
Sunny nodded. “Yes, you’re right. I would miss you way too much!” he replied. Storm smiled, and her beak turned hot and orange.
The following weeks and months, the two of them spent more time together than ever and had so much fun working on their hunting skills, decorating Storm’s nest, and playing silly jokes on the other puffins.
That autumn, when the puffins left Ireland, Sunny decided to stay. He asked Storm if he could live with her during the winter. She was very happy and didn’t have to think twice before she said yes. Before Sunny could move in with her, however, they had to make Storm’s nest bigger so that the two of them would have enough space.
When winter came and it got very cold, the nest was ready. Storm wrapped her flippers around Sunny so that he would not freeze. He was not used to the cold, but Storm didn’t mind the cold and kept Sunny very warm. Storm and Sunny spent day and night together and were never lonely. Sunny often flew out to the sea to catch some fish when Storm was sleeping. He then surprised her with a nice breakfast when she woke up. The two made an excellent team. Despite the cold weather, Sunny enjoyed spending all year in Ireland. He never missed his flock, and he got so used to being with Storm that he never flew away in autumn again. Sometimes Sunny thought to himself: “If only Storm were a puffin. Then we could be partners and have a family.” Storm was very happy with Sunny. She knew that he still thought she was a penguin, but she felt as if Sunny was her partner already, so she never talked about it and just enjoyed being with him.
As long as they lived, Storm and Sunny were together. They spent years and years in happiness and shared the most finely decorated nest. Every now and then, scientists from all over the world came to observe the odd couple, but none of them could get close enough and make sense of what was going on. Sunny and Storm were too good at hiding from them.
Eventually, the scientists left for good and called the pair an ‘error of nature,’ and that was the end of their research. After a few years, however, an old Irish fisherman reported to the local newspaper that he had spotted flying penguin chicks with bright red-orange beaks on the coast. Never did he manage to photograph the miraculous animals, though. Every time he took out his camera, the chicks disappeared. The fisherman told the reporters that the chicks were playing hide-and-seek with him. Then the scientists came back and explored the area, but they saw no such flying penguins. Thus, nobody believed the fisherman’s story. People said he was a crazy old man, and that he was lonely and only looking for attention. After a while everybody forgot about his story. But the fisherman is still sure and swears to his children and grandchildren: if you’re lucky and observe patiently enough, you can see flying penguins on the west coast of Ireland. Just don’t bring your camera.
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About the Author
Christina Hennemann is a poet and prose writer based in Ireland. Her debut poetry pamphlet “Illuminations at Nightfall” was published in 2022 by Sunday Mornings at the River. She won the Luain Press Poetry Competition, was shortlisted in the Anthology Poetry Award and longlisted in the Cranked Anvil Short Story Competition. Her work appears in Brigids Gate Press, The Moth, Ink Sweat & Tears, fifth wheel and elsewhere. She is currently seeking representation for her debut novel. Find her online: www.christinahennemann.com or @chr_writer on Twitter & @c.h_92 on Instagram.