Story

I was coming back from a walk in Torreblanca, Spain. Usually I don’t look around much, but for some reason my sight happened to fall on a dove lying in a ditch at the roadside. His bloody wing was helplessly spread out on the grass. The dove looked at me, as if begging for my help.

I just could not walk past it. I called my wife Veera, she came for me, we picked up the bird and took it to the vet. After examining the dove, the doctor concluded that the wing was damaged beyond repair and the bird would never be able to fly again. In addition, the dove had lost too much blood, so it would not survive anesthesia. I recommend for him to be put down, said the doctor.

The dove, seeming to understand what was going on, kept giving us a pleading look. We paid for the surgery, and the doctor did the only thing that could be done to try and save the bird – he amputated part of the wing under anesthesia.

The dove did not die. My wife hand fed him for two weeks. Finally, the bird was able to eat by itself. We built a spacious aviary in the garden, and, when the doctor determined that the dove was a male, we found and bought a beautiful white female dove for him. However, the birds didn’t get along. They constantly fought with each other. We took the female to the doctor and he determined, that the female dove was in fact … male! Then we let it go free.

But we didn’t want our pet to be lonely. After another search, we bought another bird. We were promised that this time it would definitely be a female. That dove turned out to be proud, temperamental and very beautiful - she puffed her chest and beat her wings, showing off. She was, after all, the winner of many competitions.

She immediately chose the highest roost, which the poor male dove could not get to with his damaged wing. Then, my wife built little ladders, so that the birds could interact with each other.

At first we were worried that this matrimonial union would be as unsuccessful as the last one, but some time passed and now the doves peacefully coo together and are inseparable.

I started to think if it was fate to see the wounded dove. Why did I have to save it, as it had brought us so much trouble: numerous visits to the doctor and the building of the big aviary and many other things. But I did not come to regret my choice: the bird would undoubtedly have died in the ditch – if not from the blood loss then from the stray cats, that were numerous around there.

Soon after we rescued the dove, the newspaper talked about the Chicago University’s Bulletin of Atomic Scientists’ Doomsday clock project, that was created by the executive board back in 1947. The whole world is watching that project. The number 24 on the clock, represents the most horrible cataclysms and the nuclear war. Recently the hand of the clock has moved closer to midnight. Only in 2015 the clock was showing 3 minutes to 24, and now the distance has shrunk to 2.5 minutes. The hand of the clock has not been this close to the devastating, deathly number for several decades.

The catastrophe, nevertheless, could be prevented. While I was looking at the thriving dove, that only recently was on the threshold of death, an idea for the promotion of world peace came to me. This idea is shared by our friend Alexander Nikolaev – Russia’s famous goldsmith, designer and a real keeper of the jewelry-making traditions. He was inspired by the idea of making individually numbered silver badges. The badges will have an image of the dove. These badges will be sold or given only to people who want to facilitate peace, love and hope between people and nations.

The dove of peace – is a symbol, a herald, that belongs to those people on Earth, who want life on the planet to be preserved. By stopping all wars, we can eliminate privation and poverty. Every person should have the right to live happily.

Thank you for being with us! -Alexander, Leo and Veera