Ahhh...
I smile at the view outside my window, sipping on a mug of coffee. No longer do I have the shushing rushing sea, belching forth the Sun every morning. No, now I have the village. Yeah, maybe it's not the best village, and yeah, maybe every one in the village had shunned me from infancy through adulthood all the way until I saved all their babies from diabolical pigs. At least now, you know, they'll acknowledge me in the streets most of the time. And they tolerate my sarcasticly rude humor fairly well, although to be honest I think it goes right over their flat little heads.
Today is a nice day. I don't have a whole lot to do except, well, look for a job, but that's not what I want to do. I look out the window and watch the birds waddle and blink their way to work and school, and I don't envy them.
It's been a few weeks since that whole pig incident, and things have pretty much gone back to normal. I'll admit I was a bit angry at first. I mean, Chuck and Bomb distracted me for a few hours and when I got back the whole village had built me a new house. Really? It took me five years to build that house on my own- You selfish sons of bitches couldn't have helped me out then? Anyway. I've been told it's best to let go of the past (especially since mine is so troubling). So I'm trying.
Bomb and Chuck had tried to move in with me. Yeah right. That lasted right up until I realized why Bomb was called "Bomb." No sir, you two are out of here. I'm keeping this house in perfect condition. No pigs or exploding birds welcome. Don't look at me like that. They lived somewhere before my heroism came along. They don't need me. And I don't need them.
Hey, speak of the devil. A little yellow bird skips down the road, holding a brown box in his wings. It's Chuck, and he turns towards my house and walks up to the front door, disappearing from my view. I get up from my chair as he begins rapidly knocking on the door.
"Red? Hey Red, it's me, Chuck! Hey Red, buddy are you home? I know you're home 'cause-"
I open the door and Chuck falls silent. He gives me a shy smile, hugging the package against his chest.
"Oh, hey, Red." The yellow bird fidgets. He glances down at his talons, his left lightly scratching at the stone tile at my door.
"Chuck." I raise my eyebrows at him.
"Havin' some coffee there?" He looks at the coffee cup in my hand and flicks his eyes to meet mine.
"Oh, yeah." I shrug, staring at the liquid as it sloshes slightly from my shrugging. I glance back at Chuck and he's flat-out staring at me. A long, silent moment passes. Inwardly, I sigh. "You wouldn't want some, would you?"
"Would I?" Chuck springs into the air with delight. "Gee, that's really nice of you to offer, Red!" He takes that as an invitation and pushes past me. I shut the door.
"Do you have any maggots?" Chuck asks.
I turn and see him digging through my refridgerator.
"Yeah, I keep them up my butt." I call unhappily.
"That's unsanitary." He shakes his head, closing the fridge.
I rinse the coffee pot and refill it, and soon it begins dripping a fresh brew. I set out a fresh mug for Chuck, waiting for the coffee to be done. Chuck stares at my mug as it sits on the counter, half empty, still steaming.
"Can I have that?" He points at the mug.
"That's mine," I tell him.
He keeps staring at it, so I sigh, rolling my eyes, and hand him my mug. "Fine."
He takes it eagarly and tips it back down his throat. Suddenly I'm reminded of a baby bird getting fed. He shivers with delight and sets the empty mug back on the counter. I notice he had put his package on the kitchen table.
"Thank you, that was quite delicious." He wipes his beak on his wing.
"Don't mention it." I stare at the box, wondering what's inside. Wait- Was that my imagination, or did it just move?
"Red..."
Chuck's tone pulls my attention away from the box. I turn to him. "Hmm?"
He looks at his wings, wringing his hands together. "I came by today because I wanted to ask you something."
"Okay." I frown, having caught a sharp movement out of my peripheral vision. What the heck is in that box? I jerk my head but the brown package sits motionless on the table.
"Red... do you want to have chicks?"
Chuck's slow, delicate speech is really confusing me. What's wrong with him today? You'd think the coffee would light him up like a match meeting gasoline. Maybe he just needs a minute.
"Chicks?" I shrug. "I don't know. Maybe one day. Why?" Oh God, my eyes widen. Is there someone's chick in that box? I look at the box but it's not moving. I exhale.
"Well, it's just... you've never taken a dove. Even when we were kids, you never seemed interested in them. Like maybe they weren't your type." Chuck looks at me with bright green eyes.
I snort loudly, shifting under his gaze. "What are you trying to say? They weren't interested in me, okay? Want me to spell it out? I was a freak- an outcast. No one wanted to be around me, and sure as hell no one wanted to pluck me either." I scowl, crossing my arms. I no longer want company. Chuck has outgrown his welcome. I want to be alone.
I flinch when Chuck touches my wing. His hand is warm, gentle. Something keeps me from shoving him away.
"I'm sorry, Red," he says softly, eyes downcast. "Birds can be jerks. But not all of us were."
I look at him, blinking hard. Did he say... when "we" were kids? But... I was always alone. Always. Nobody cared about me.
Chuck raises his eyes, and they're wet. Something clenches in my chest. It's suddenly difficult to breathe. I remember... My eyes grow moist. A little yellow bird.
Flashback to my childhood. Kindergarten. I'm putting away toys so I can go outside. Toddlers are in the room, but kept apart by a low plastic wall. The other kindergarteners finish picking up their toys first and run to the door, screaming and laughing.
"Too slow, Eyebrows!" A green bird sneers at me, kicking the toys out of my hands as he runs by. I ball my hands into fists, growling with frustration. I don't want to be left behind. I stand up and run after the other kids as the teacher opens the door, letting in a stream of warm sunshine. I glance behind me at the mess, but it's not there. All the toys are put away. A little bird, a toddler, salutes me with a grin, and a tiny yellow wing. I turn away and hurry after the others.
Later, a couple years, I'm walking to class with my books piled up to my beak. The assignment for the previous week was on the history of the Mighty Eagle. I admire the Mighty Eagle, and I am very proud of my work. A smile is glued to my face. I feel almost as if my happiness is contagious, but when I look around at the other kids, they scowl or laugh at me, making eyebrows with their wings, and it brings me down. I lower my eyes sadly, but stop short. In front of me is a yellow bird, a year younger. He tilts his head sideways to read the books in my hands.
"I love the Mighty Eagle, too. He's so great, especially when he-"
The bell rings and interupts the yellow bird, signaling it's time for class.
"Yeah," I say absently, slipping past him. I trot down the hall and vanish into my classroom.
Suddenly highschool. A windy day, cloudy. Most everyone is outside. I'm having lunch under a tree. I like how the leaves and branches sound in the wind, when the wind gets violent. A girl screams and I stand up, dropping my food to the dirt. Her hat was snatched off by the wind. She points at it in desperation, wailing at her friends, but nobody moves. Except me. I take off like a red rocket, sprinting across the yard. The hat dances in the wind, enjoying flight. Its ribbons wave goodbye to me, but in vain. I'm going to get you, I think heatedly. I dodge a couple of lovebirds and jump over a vollyball net, skitter across hot pavement and leap onto a picnic table just as the hat gets snagged in a tree. I reach out my hand- almost got it... Something rams into me, and I tumble off the picnic table. I gasp for breath and look up. A purple jock plucks the hat from the tree as if picking a flower for a lovely maiden.
"Got somethin' to say, Eyebrows?" The jock grins, towering over me, his shadow chilling.
I look down to hide my tears, and he laughs all the way back to the girl, returning her hat and claiming the prize- a swift peck on the cheek.
A blast of wind surges by me and I look around, startled. A yellow bolt, like lightning, flashes across the yard. I see the bolt stop right behind the jock. It's a yellow bird. He kicks the jock hard in the butt, and the jock yelps and falls on his face. The yellow bird turns back into a streak and vanishes. The jock's friends, and the girl, laugh at him. I giggle too, and feel a little bit better. The yellow bird stands beside me and giggles as well.
"... I know it's hard," Chuck is saying. "To remember the good beneath so much bad, but... I was there for you, Red, and I still am."
His hand is still on my wing, and it's suddenly wildly inappropriate. "Why are you touching me?" I push his hand away and take a small step back. I glance at the table and attempt to change the subject. "What's in the box?"
He doesn't seem offended, yet he ignores my question. He fiddles with the small feathers on his fingers. "You know, I was debating for a long time whether or not to remind you about me. I knew you as soon as you walked in the therapist's office, but... I wasn't sure if you liked me as kids, or if you would like me as an adult. But then we got to know each other for real, and... I decided to come out with it."
I feel sweat on the back on my neck, hot, but somehow cold. Come out with what? I can't respond.
"I've always been a little cuckoo for you, Red," Chuck says softly.
"Cuckoo?" I jerk backwards, smacking a chair and bumping into the kitchen counter. "Shit, Chuck, I'm- I'm not cuckoo, man," I tell him feverishly, glancing around the room for some kind of escape. Now I'm afraid to find out what's in the box.
Chuck raises his hands, his expression close to panic. "Now don't worry, Red, it's alright. I... I just wanted you to know, that's all." He looks at the box then away, avoiding my eyes. "I should get going now. I have a... thing." He takes a step towards the door, then adds, "thank you for the coffee." Then he vanishes through the door. I hear it click shut, but never see him.
My heart races. I put a hand to my chest and feel it thumping. I sit down at the kitchen table, dumbstruck, pulling the brown package into my lap. I open it slowly.
Inside is a feather plucked from the tail of the Mighty Eagle. I only know this because there is a note beneath the feather, which says "Here is a feather plucked from the tail of the Mighty Eagle. May he, and the Mighty Red, always watch over us. Love, Chuck."
I leave the items in the box and set it on the table, pushing it away from me with one finger. My eyes are blurry so I wipe them. When my eyes finally come back into focus, I realize I'm staring out the window, hoping to catch sight of a little yellow bird.