Two Storks, Six Hundred Years, and Still Not Enough

I watched the live feed for hours, waiting for those stork chicks to break through. Six centuries since the last ones hatched here, and all I could think was: what if they don’t make it? What if this, too, is just another line in the long list of things we almost saved? Everyone’s calling it a win. I should feel something. But after months of paperwork, permits, and pretending I know what I’m doing, all I feel is tired. The wetlands are almost gone. The birds are almost back. I keep telling myself it matters, but sometimes I wonder if I’m just patching holes in a sinking ship. We celebrate the chicks. I stare at the data, and the silence between the numbers is louder than ever. #ScienceFatigue #ConservationBurnout #StillTrying