Meanwhile, on the other end of town, Mayella Ewell held her face in her hands and sobbed.
Six small bodies laid it the yard, and the geraniums were covered in burgundy. Not only that, but they were crushed under the weight of her youngest brother, Burris, whose eyes were pecked away by the birds.
She cried because she failed her mother. She cried because she tried so hard to provide for her family within the boundaries of the law. And of course, with a little help from town's charity in between.
Mama, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all of y'all, except Papa.. He got what came to ''im.
The story of her father was a murky one. One that involved the Tom Robinson trial, which she knew was won by lies. Even on her own side, and she knew that. She knew she had to lie and hold back the truth and her true,romantic feelings for Tom.
Though she knew Atticus was only trying to be gentle during her time on the stand, she had to fake it. The feelings of anger and almost everything else.
She felt terrible about it. So, so terrible. She tried to commit suicide, but to no avail.
That night, her father had taken the only weapon they possessed, a kitchen knife, and tried to kill the Finch children instead.
Not only was that effort failed, he didn't come home that night. He was on a drunken rampage. And truthfully, she was relieved.
She was almost happy. She tried to save the smile she had and wanted to bottle it up. And until the birds came, she took it for granted.
Now, she was the sole survivor of her family, and she had only one place to turn.
The Finch house.
She got up on her shaky legs and walked down the gravel road covered in blood, sweat, and tears. She tried hard to forget about it all. The kids, the birds, and Tom.
But she couldn't, and her mind moved in a thousand different directions.
I can't apologize if he's dead. I can't!
She dragged her feet until she saw more birds. And more, and more, and more. All the way until she saw Atticus shoot a mockingbird in his yard.
After he shot the one bird down, more flew in the air. They tried to bite at their hair and peck their eyes out. Mayella ducked and Atticus kept shooting, trying to move the birds away with his gun in the process.
By the end of the rampage, Mayella was cowering on the ground, covering her face and upper body to be protected by the birds.
Atticus saw her on the ground and knew who she was right away. He walked over to her and put a sportive hand on her shoulder.
Despite what she had done, he forgave her. It was the right, just, and moral thing to do.
"Miss Mayella, I have no mean to offend you, but what are you doing here?" He questioned the young woman as he had in court.
She shivered and sat up on the asphalt. "I came for help, Mister Finch."
"Why? What do you need?"
"I... I... My..." She stuttered and stopped speaking. She put her hands in her face and began to cry.
"Your siblings? Is that what it is, Mayella? I know it's been hard for you lately. . Are they hungry?"
"You don't understand, Mister Finch!" Mayella shouted, causing even Scout to be alerted on the inside of the house. "You don't understand! They're dead, Mister Finch! They're dead! And the birds killed them!"
Atticus's eyes widened, his shoulders slumped, and his heart sank. He imagined his own children, Scout and Jem dying and in turn, falling as ultimate victims to the birds. Tears were forming in his eyes as he stared at Mayella, still as frightened as she had been in the trial.
"I'll help you." He said, trying hard straighten his posture. "I'll help you, and not only that, but you will help me. You'll help me and we'll help you get through this. We have to. We need to. and maybe, these retched birds will wipe out racism in this county. Because we have to band together to stop them, black and white."
His statement made her smile, and it gave them both hope. From the inside, almost everyone was watching from the windows. Scout had wide eyes, not in shock, bit in happiness. Her smile spread across her face.
She was proud of her father for doing good, and proud of Mayella for finally standing up for herself, as she felt hadn't happened in the trial.
"You're right, Mister Finch. I can help you.. It'll repay you for what I've done.. Won't it?"
"Of course it will, Mayella. Would you like to go with us to the landing? It's safer. For now, anyway. We've got a whole group you can speak to. About anything. You can trust us, I promise."
They began to walk in the house, and Mayella laughed.
"You make a lot of promises, Mister Finch. Are you sure you can keep them?"
Atticus opened the door for her and let her in. Scout heard Mayella's question and answered it for her father.
"Yes, he can! He always has." She ran into her father's arms. "Are we leaving now, are you okay?"
"Of course I'm okay, Scout! And we're going. We're going right now."
With one hand on the handle of a suitcase and the other in Scout's, he was the first to walk out the door. His son and Cal shortly followed. Maudie, Boo, and Mayella were the last. They all finally got in the Chevy.
And they finally drove to the landing.
