The Bird

There once was a bird. She wasn't the most beautiful bird but her feathers were glossy, she had the sparkliest black eyes and she loved to fly. She loved the blue of the sky and the taste of the clouds and the way the moon light sang a lullaby to the world each night.

The bird would fly for hours on end, past rivers and fields and crickets, listening to the stories breathing around her.

Soon, she started listening more. And more. Sometimes, a love story could be heard. Those were good moments, happy moments. They let her fly and chirp and live in the sky.

But there were so many hate stories and angry stories and stories of jealousy, betrayal and revenge. Listening to those stories made the bird stay in the trees or on the ground. They stopped her from flying.

One day, an evil storyteller caught the bird and trapped her in a shiny silver cage. Frightened, she flew round and round and round, trying to reach the outside that seemed so cruelly close.

Her attempts at escape angered the storyteller so he threw a blanket of lies over the cage, keeping the bird from all the world.

It stayed like that for a very long time. One day, the storyteller moved on to a different story, forgetting all about the bird he left trapped.

After a while, with no one to make sure it didn't fall, the blanket slipped off the lonely bird's cage.

Delighted, she flew all around, drinking in the sights and smells, falling in love with the sky again.

It was a long time before she remembered the bars holding her in.

But, the bird was so happy to see the blue and hear the lullaby that she adjusted to her life in the cage, never really thinking that one day she'd leave.

Until a windy Thursday, when a young boy walked past her tree. He noticed the cage dangling there and stepped closer, his curiosity second only to his kindness. When he saw the little bird perched on her stand, his heart skipped a tiny heat.

He couldn't imagine the monster that would lock up such a little bird. He stood awhile, admiring her. Because, though she wasn't beautiful before, there lies a certain beauty in broken things and in his eyes, she was transformed.

He plucked up the courage to open the door to the cage. It had never been locked. The little bird had been so scared, she hadn't even noticed she could have escaped all along.

The bird could see this boy was kind but she was scared and at first didn't even come down to the door. When she finally did, it took the young boy a long time to convince her she really could leave.

At first she just sat on his hand and stared at her rescuer. He looked into her unusual eyes and could feel himself beginning to love this bird. Afraid of holding her too tightly lest she flee in fright, he supported her tiny body until she grew brave enough to fly away.

And one day, she did. She flew as high as she could, fill to bursting with happiness that she was finally free. Everything welcomed her back and she was free to love the sky.

On the ground, the young boy's heart slowly broke as he watched his little bird fly away.

She did return to him though. Not straight away and for the first few times, she kept a wary distance. She learnt to trust him eventually and boy and bird learnt to be free together. He did forget her cage sometimes and tried to hold her but each time she'd fly away, for how long neither knew. She always came back though. He was her home.