Little Bird Blue
"Did you see the sunset yesterday?" He beamed, standing somewhere behind me. I could almost hear his stupid grin.
God, why was he always so happy?
I didn't look back to check; my eyes were trained on the empty silver cage sitting on the table before me.
"It reminded me of that one time-" He continued, completely unfazed by my lack of response.
Couldn't he tell I wasn't listening? My attention was divided between his stupid nonsense and my own thoughts.
"..."
The cage door was left ajar-I noted-and up until now, I hadn't realized how brilliantly the cage gleamed in the sunlight-...
"-You know?"
-So cold and mocking...
Maybe it was just me...
My brows furrowed. I frowned.
I could feel him staring at me, but I still-... I couldn't look back.
By then, he must have clued into my divided attention; he stopped talking, and I could hear the faint rustle of clothing as he shifted his weight awkwardly.
My hands strayed away from my teacup, to lay atop the cage.
It was cold-
Why did it make me feel so-...?
"Hey...?"
-I froze for a moment, and for the first time that evening, the cool wind made me shiver. Still, I refused to look back; I could hear the confusion in his voice.
"What are you doing?"
'What does it matter?', I felt like saying... just to 'lighten' the mood, butIdidn't...
I kept my hands resting gently on the cage for a long moment-allowing the heat from my touch to warm it-before settling them into my lap; my shoulders slumped-
a pathetic sight-
-and for some reason, my eyes never left the door...
"I'm waiting." I responded.
My voice was a little more quiet than I would have preferred-...
I tried to sound sarcastic.
A long, uncomfortable silence passed between us before it dawned on him, and then a nervous chuckle left his lips. Was it natural to feel this unsettled?
He shifted again, and-
"It's not coming back, Arthur."
'I know...!'
-I tensed. I could feel my paper heart split into two-
Like the very day my precious little bird left his cage-...
Why am I trembling?
'I-...I-..!'
"Maybe if I wait, it will…"