Bird and Birdy

Birdy and I flew in circles over the garden. We visited the city this morning, and Birdy chirped the whole way.

“Can you believe it, Bird?”

“Believe what, Birdy?”

“It’s finally warm, and we can fly and fly once again!” 

Birdy did a spin. I chirped quickly. We much prefer the springtime, with no winter chill keeping us shackled to our tree. It’s not so fun flying in the cold.

“Of course it’s warm again. What did you think would happen?”

“Oh, Bird. Look at this blue, blue sky. Aren’t you having fun?”

“Come on, Birdy. Let’s go to the tree.”

Birdy chirped and chirped on that tree. I flew back and forth, bringing shining things to our perch. I dropped a red bottle cap near Birdy. Our collection is mostly red, but we like anything shiny. Birdy loves red. I like blue more. Sometimes after our collecting, when Birdy is fast asleep, I fly around for just a little longer, looking for anything that might shine. 

“Do you ever stop chirping, Birdy?”

“Why would I, Bird?”

“What is there to chirp about at every moment?”

“Oh, Bird. I’m having fun, that’s all!”

“I’d be tired from all that chirping.”

“That’s just you, Bird.”

I enjoyed days filled with nothing but chirping, flying and collecting. Although I did chide Birdy for chirping so much, sometimes I thought, without Birdy’s chirping, it’d be far too quiet. When Birdy’s not around, it’s only wind. 

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I hoped Birdy didn’t worry I’d been gone so long, but it’d be worth it when I brought this back. I’d never seen anything like it! I dug in the dirt and pulled with my beak, and I uncovered a long chain of gold. Birdy will love this gold. 

I flew back to the tree in our garden. I did a spin. I was about to fly higher when I heard a chirp, and another chirp. 

“Bird!”

“Birdy?” I looked around.

“Bird! I’m caught in the metal!”

I spotted Birdy and zoomed to the fence. I dropped the gold.

“Bird, my wing!”

“Don’t move, Birdy, You’re just tangled.”

I pulled the thin metal away from Birdy with my weary beak. Birdy’s head was through one hole in the metal fence, and their wing through another. I moved faster than I did with the gold, and Birdy broke free.

“Am I hurt, Bird?” 

I nudged Birdy’s feathers, but Birdy didn’t wince, and I didn’t see any red — thankfully, this time.

“You’re okay, Birdy.”

Birdy chirped.

“Oh, Bird, I saw a blue bottle cap!” I looked down and saw the shiny thing. I remembered my gold, too, just a few feet away.

“Come on, Birdy. Let’s go to the tree.”

I was grateful when we made it back to our branch. I didn’t let Birdy know it, though. Birdy looked around at our things.

“That blue bottle cap sure would have looked good here, Bird.” 

Birdy chirped and chirped until the sun set.

I swear Birdy even woke up chirping when they discovered the gold in our pile the next day. And the blue bottle cap. 

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“Tag, you’re it, Bird!” 

I chased after Birdy, reaching out my wing, but Birdy was quick.

“I’ve almost got you!” I chirped. 

Birdy did a spin and veered left, and I followed. I grazed Birdy’s wing with a chirp, and Birdy chirped back. We flew aimlessly some more over the neighborhood, noticing familiar trees and ponds and gardens just like ours. 

“Bird! How about … first one to the feeder wins!” Birdy chirped. 

So we soared downward to the gray house. Birdy did another spin and I did one, too. But I was no match to Birdy, who landed gracefully on top of the feeder first. 

“You always win that game, Birdy.” 

“Oh, Bird. Let’s eat!” 

We ate seeds and flew circles around the yard. We landed on branches and chirped together. We flew so fast we didn’t notice the cold wind; we thought it was only us. 

“Have we lost track of time, Bird?” 

I looked up at the sky, and it was gray as far as I could see.

“We’d better get going, Birdy.” 

Our garden was on the other side of the neighborhood. We flew so fast Birdy hardly chirped. The raindrops began, and we stayed close together. 

When we made it to the tree, we were all wet. We huddled together by the trunk.

“I hate to be cold like this, Bird.”

“It’s okay, Birdy. We’ll be ducks.” I made a strange chirp. Birdy chirped back. 

Thunder rumbled, and we looked around. The garden was soaked.

“Oh, Bird. I hope it’s not too harsh, not all night.”

“We’ll be safe in the tree.”

“Bird, don’t leave, okay?”

“Never, Birdy.” I laid my wing across Birdy’s.

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“Should we go to the city, Birdy?”

“Oh, we should, Bird! I’d love to go to the city!” Birdy chirped, pleased as ever. 

“Then what are we waiting for?”

We flew together, the same path to our city. Through our yards, through our favorite park; we love the view of that park. Then we got to the mirrored buildings.

“Oh, Bird, the sun is hitting them just right! Look at them shine!”

The sun shone so brightly at midday, and everything sparkled.

“Let’s go sit up there, Birdy.”

We flew to a tall, tall building and looked out. Birdy began to chirp. We saw some other birds fly by with a quick passing chirp, too.

“Where do you think they’re headed, Bird?”

“Maybe they’re just flying.” 

Birdy continued in song as we watched everything go by. We stayed in the city for hours, singing and enjoying the warm weather.

“Bird, can we try to find something to take home?”

“Sure, Birdy, but not too close to the street. Let’s go down there, on the side of the building.”

We hopped around, looking for anything that caught our eye. We even stopped for a bite as we searched, sharing a few french fries. We took our time, and there were a few things that were colorful, but nothing red, and nothing shiny. 

“Do you see anything, Birdy?”

“Not seeing anything, Bird. Nothing just right.”

“Well, it’s okay. There’s always tomorrow.”

“You’re right, Bird. Another day together. Race you to the park!” Birdy took off then, and I scrambled to catch up.

“Birdy! Be careful!” Birdy zigzagged a little through the crowded area.

“C’mon, slowpoke!” Birdy chirped, making it above the buildings once again, in which I found some solace. 

Those buildings were too dangerous for Birdy, and it made me afraid. But, in what felt like only a moment, we were out of the city. I chirped alongside Birdy as we neared our park.

“Oh, I know you’ll want to be home, Bird, but what if we stop and watch the sun go down here?” I looked around at the view, and saw a nice spot for us.

“Sure, Birdy. It could be nice to spend a while in the park.” 

I led the way to a bench by the water. We landed and looked out.

“What a beautiful sky, Bird! A beautiful sunset for us!”

“It is, Birdy.” We sat silently for a moment, until Birdy fluttered and hopped off the bench. 

“Bird, I think I see something that shines!” I hopped down to where Birdy was, and we looked. We saw two bits of metal, though I didn’t know what type. They were blue and red.

“Bird! It’s just like us!” 

“Just like us, Birdy.” 

We watched the sun set, chirping a little, and then we headed home, each with a piece of metal. We got to the tree and settled in. Soft moonlight fell over the yard. I shut my eyes, in our branch.

Then I thought of it. 

Birdy falling to the ground. Birdy covered in the worst kind of red. Birdy being gone. Oh, Birdy. 

I’d awake in an empty tree, then, to only the cruel wind. I’d bury our shining things deep in the dirt and I’d feed the red ones to the river we watched. I’d fly to the feeder, and I’d do no spins on the way. I’d let the rain drench me, and I’d beg for the thunder to roar. I’d go to the city and sit in front of the mirrored buildings, and I’d stare at my reflection. It’d be red, but really, it’d only be blue.

Oh, Birdy, without you. I’d never sing another song, and I’d curse the sound of my own chirping. I’d fly back and forth in the winter, and I’d be cold to the bone. I’d sleep during the day to avoid the blue, you sky. I’d find a new neighborhood, a new garden, a new yard. I’d say goodbye to our tree.

Oh, Birdy. What will I do?

But then, something startled me awake. Chirping.

“Bird, it’s absolutely perfect out today! Not a cloud in sight!” Birdy chirped as Birdy always chirped. Oh, Birdy. 

And I thanked Mother Nature that it wasn’t the wind that woke me. 

So, another day it was. We flew. We chirped and spun and sang. We searched for shining things. Birdy chirped some more. We went to the feeder for a snack. We flew again. We played together in our favorite yards. I often glanced up at that sky and then back at Birdy, just to make sure. 

“Can you believe it, Bird?”

“Believe what, Birdy?”

“It’s just so wonderful today!” Birdy chirped.

“I do love the spring.”

“Aren’t you having fun, Bird?”

“I’m with you, Birdy.” Birdy chirped and we sat for a few moments.

“Now … first one to our tree wins!” Birdy took off, chirping, chirping, chirping. I chirped back.