Monday, June 21, 2010

Grounded


Go away, I whisper to myself. Please...just go away.

But no. The little girl and her little dog get closer. The bouncy, featherless, naked dog looks into the viny grass where I thought was a good hiding place.

I back up a little when its little brown nose gets close, praying that they don't see me.

"There it is!" The little girl shrieks.

Qua! Qua! Mom is very mad at this--they are getting too close to me. She jumps around yelling with all her force. Soon dad joins her. I could see from under the grass that they both are jumping up and down, and the screaming is almost deafening.

I know they are worried sick, but all this noise is not helping with my hiding.

A woman with another little dog appears from behind a door. At lease this dog has long hair and doesn't look obscenely naked. Something tells me I should move, and fast.

I jump out of the viny grass when the little girl is not looking in my direction, and hop with all the strength I can summon to get away.

The shoulder hurts when I hop, but the other side of the courtyard looks safer than here.

The little dog, the little girl, the woman with the little dog in her arms, all follow me as if I was putting on a magic show. Mom and dad follow me from above--never stop yelling for a second.

This is aggravating. Why couldn't these people just leave me alone? Thank goodness the bushes and grass are coming up. With one last hop I dive into the grass.

The woman disappears and reappears without the little dog, and her hands are covered with something thick. She tries to grab me. I dodge and sidestep in the grass so she can't reach me. I show her my sharp beak and imitate mom's screaming when her hands are upon me. That scares her and makes her stop. She disappears.

A guy appears from nowhere and tries the same thing. I scare him away the same way I did with the woman. All this hopping around trying to stay away from them is hurting me even more.

I survived the night before on unsuspecting bugs and dew drops on the grass. I'm sure I can manage if they will just let me be.

Mom and dad still jump from branch to branch, screaming at the top of their lungs. Qua! Qua! Her voice is getting coarse, but she doesn't stop.

I'm sorry, mom. I didn't mean to make you worry. The worm looked so good and I wanted to show you how strong I was. I didn't see the short tree next to it until too late. I miss our warm and safe home up there. I want to go back, but I don't know when I will be able to fly again. My chest hurts each time the thought occurs.

The woman tells the man she called the animal services. I hope they are less annoying than these people and dogs. I can't get a minute of rest when they are around.

All of a sudden they don't worry me that much anymore.

From the corner of my eyes I could see a steel-gray cat quietly approaching. Mom told me before: it is one of the most dangerous things I should watch for when out hunting for worms.

I'm scared. From the screaming noise made by mom and dad, I know they are, too. I hope I can survive tonight.

18 comments:

  1. Ah. We had a baby bird hit the ground in our backyard the other day.

    Hope yours does better than ours did!

    Pearl

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  2. Pearl--you are one funny lady. Thanks for the visit.

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  3. You are so good at expressing so many unique voices, Sarah.

    The main thing I want to say, though, is: YES. Let's do chocolate! In fact, I was just telling Ms.Anthropy (who just met up with Kristy) that I was thinking of connecting with you. I've been jealous of the other blogger meet ups. Thanks for suggesting it! I work in Hayward, live in the East Bay. :) Please email me Rawknrobyn@aol.com
    Cheers,
    Robyn

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  4. I can feel the tension in every line. Bravo!

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  5. Sarah, you are sooooo gifted!
    We added an addition to our family today. His new name is Walter Hagan. He likes being here with us. We are a lot of fun to live with.

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  6. Robyn - totally! I'll check to see where a good place for chocolates is.

    Melissa - Thank you!

    Judie - Who is this new addition? Can we see some pictures?

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  7. What an incredible imagination! Sarah, I am right there with you in the grass. My heart is beating so very fast!! I had to read this again when I wasn't so caught up in our new "baby," only 18 months old.

    I took some pictures today, and will post them tomorrow. I had a very long and HOT day on the course, and I am ready to crash.

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  8. Judie - I can't wait to see the pictures. I had a long and warm day on the couse as well, but it was for a fun raising event and I was working.. :(

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  9. This was an inspired post, writing from an unusal perspective. I thoroughly enjoyed it! :)

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  10. Well, it is supposed to be 109 here today, and we are starting at 7:38. Not sure we'll get in 18 in the heat, but if we don't, I always have my dog children to greet me when I get home and into the pool!

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  11. Lou - so glad you enjoyed it.

    Judie - what a life! A round of golf then dive in the pool. It doesn't get any better than this!

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  12. Well, we changed his name to Mulligan because we gave him a second chance.

    Golf was fun, pool was funner!

    Eventually I have to go back to making some art. I am waiting for some sort of divine inspiration. It will come--it always does.

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  13. Oh! I almost forgot! The baby Gambel quail are hatching on the golf course! They are so sweet and tiny! They look like little walnuts on tooth picks!

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  14. Such a great story but please don;t say the cat gets it. I want a happy ending.

    Kate xx

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  15. Kate! Where have you been?? I miss your office banters. Hope everything is OK and you'll be back updating us on the office front.

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  16. I'm hoping for a dog to rush in and nab the kitty just as it's paw is about to swipe that sweet bird! The bird hops safely away, heals overnight and they all live happily ever after
    : )

    Nice job on this story! we've had many baby birds leaving their nest early this year. I discover them hopping around while their parents go crazy (just like you described!) I've put 5 back in their nests to date. One little bugger wouldn't stay put though and I hope he's okay
    : )

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