It was a chilly spring morning in Maycomb County. The wind whistled through the pecan trees, and as usual, the local defense lawyer, Atticus Finch, was reading the newspaper.
At the age of fifty, he was still quite strong. He was able to provide everything his two children needed, even if he only played touch football, not tackle.
His reading was interrupted by three things that morning. One of which was a normal occurrence.
The first thing that stopped him were small footsteps. The footsteps of his daughter, Scout. She ran right to him. She kissed him on the cheek and said, "Good morning, Atticus!"
"Good morning to you as well, Scout!"
Atticus held his beloved daughter close and ruffled her short, brown hair. "Do you want to read with me? I was just getting to the good parts. The comics and the metro, precisely!"
Atticus always knew what to say, and Scout was more than glad to read with him. Their voices filled the morning air as Miss Maudie Atkinson tended to her garden and as Stephanie Crawford rocked on her rocking chair.
The morning was just about perfect.
"Atticus! Atticus!" The voice of his son, Jem, called to him.
He stopped reading, but kept Scout close-by. "What is it, son? "
"Atticus, there's a bunch of crows in the Radley backyard. They're just sittin' on the big tree back there.. And. . And.. "
"Jem, I'm sure it's fine. It's alright, just go back and help Cal with breakfast. I was just reading the paper with Scout, we'll come over in a minute." Atticus tried to reassure his son and continued to listen to Scout read. Jem's voice covered up hers, however.
"Atticus, I'm serious! They're not... Normal crows! Something's wrong, I just know it!"
"Jem, I can assure you that nothing is wrong with those birds! You're scaring your sister.. Just please, go inside and I'll meet you in a minute, all right? If you're scared as you are, bring me your gun and sit it right here next to me. You understand?"
"Yes, Atticus."
Jem walked away from his family and sat in the kitchen with the family help, Cal.
"He thinks nothing of it, Cal. Not a single thing!"
Calpurnia sighed as she saw Jem sit his head down on the kitchen table.
"Well, I normally think your father's right and sane, but now is the first time in my life that I'm not so sure anymore.."
And they both stared at the crows that lingered around the Radley backyard. And the big Radley pecan tree. And even on their back porch.
Finally, almost, it seemed screaming was coming from all areas.
He could hear the scream of Stephanie Crawford, which normally cried wolf. He could hear the scream of Maudie Atkinson, who never screamed at all. And then, lastly, he heard Scout, who he could tell was holding in tightly to his father.
What seemed like hours was maybe a second as Jem ran across the house and through the screen door.
Crows were flying everywhere and attacking people left and right, kind of like how Bob Ewell had with his children, and especially his eldest daughter.
He tried to hear in front of Atticus to try and comfort his younger sister, but was pushed back behind his father, along with Scout.
"Do you remember when I said it was a sin to kill a mockingbird?" He questioned his children, who nodded their heads profusely in response.
"Well, children, today and maybe forever, we might have to make an exception."
As the birds approached their porch,Atticus shot them down one by one.
One Shot Finch was back, and it wasn't by choice.
In the name of God, he had to do his duty.