NB: This story is continued from Jude’s Forum (http://www.judesplace.com/) as she has written the original Kate’s Story. This was my part in her Forum’s 2nd Birthday contest which I won a gold medal for.
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Liz flapped her wings and flew out the window; she shrieked flapping her wings in a desperate attempt to lift herself higher. She kept hitting an invisible wall. In a panic she wildly surged forward forcefully into the unseen barrier and squeaked loudly as she fell on the rock faced pathway under Kate’s window. The wing was protruding at an odd angle, and she tried to enfold it around herself in comfort.
Kate heard the squawk, and quickly bent over the sill to investigate.
“Liz!” she screamed “What happened to you?” Kate’s head popped back inside and she pushed past her mother who was still standing by the doorway puzzling over her daughter’s earlier words. “Where are you off to young lady?”
“It’s Liz!”
“I told you, you had to keep her in the cage otherwise she was bound to fly away.” But Kate had already disappeared out the door and around the corner of the house.
Kate knelt outside the window and gently scooped Liz up.
Ouch! It hurt so much Kate.
‘What happened?” asked Kate concerned
“I don’t know. I tried to fly away but I couldn’t” said Liz
“What do you mean you couldn’t – “
“Kate?” a softly spoken nasal voice broke in. Kate looked up as her father who was working in the garden walked toward her, “Who are you speaking to? What do you have there?” Her back to her father, she stood up slowly and turned, “Ah! I see it is your little friend. What’s her name? Frizz. Tizz.“
“You are silly daddy,” she shook her head smiling; “It’s Liz. Can you help her? I don’t know what is wrong but she can’t move.”
“Let me see” Kate’s father ever so gently experimentally prodded around. When he came to her wing, she screeched in pain.
“OK. Now we know what is wrong. We will need to reset her wing, and I will need your help to do that”, He looked at Kate with raised eyebrows, she nodded. They walked over to the picnic table in the back garden, he shuffled inside his tool box, “Aha!” he exclaimed triumphantly as he extracted a piece of wood and a roll of cotton.
“I want you to hold her still and talk to her, while I patch her up. Can you do that?” With another nod, Kate began to chatter away to the bird. Kate’s father took out his handkerchief, and dabbed it into the bowl of water on the table. He gently wiped down her feathers. Liz squawked in rebellion as he tried to straighten her wing. Kate petted her soothingly over the head with a finger she instantly quieted, “My daddy is great, he takes care of all the sick people in Downington. He will fix you up as right as rain.”
Placing a small stick against the bent wing, he carefully wound the cotton around it to hold it in place.
“It will only need to stay for a few days, until it heals,” he said to Kate. Kate opened her mind and felt Liz’s fear. It will be alright Liz. I promise, speaking into her mind.
When her father was done she thanked him and tenderly held Liz against her chest and strode back into the house. She placed her in the cage making sure to keep the door open.
“Are you ready to tell me what happened?” she whispered
“I don’t know. There was this wall – yet I couldn’t see it”
“Silly bird, of course there is no wall outside my window” she laughed heartily
“I am not making this up!” she said rather crossly, “Why can’t I leave here?”
Her small brows raised in question as Liz continued, “There was once such a story…we dismissed it as a fairy tale. But that can’t be! It is simply not possible! No way!” was her emphatic comeback.
“Tell me….” Implored Kate
Liz looked up into Kate’s eyes for a moment, and slowly bowed her head. “There was a boy named Mika. He was the chosen one for Alonzo, a Siberian husky. They had fought the rat pack too. When the animals and people disengaged their spirits --- many people have lost there lives that day … because they were too aware what the power brought them. Greed! All perished the animals and the people, all except one. The greed was too strong to free everyone from their spirits. Mika had a good heart, he did it. When it was time for Mika and Alonzo to part ways, it is said it was not possible as the spirits called to them. Mika knew that Alonzo deserved to be free. Free to roam wherever he wanted to. When Alonzo tried to leave his spirit remained, and he was quick to realize that his greatest freedom came with Mika, and so it was.”
“Do you think?”
“I don’t know” Liz lifted her broken wing pitifully, “it sounds impossible”
She covered herself with her injured wing and closed her eyes; Kate turned on her side facing the cage and tucked her hands beneath her cheek.
Sometime later, a blast of multi-colored light filled the room, and then vanished. Liz hopped out of the cage; she stretched her wings wide; she caught her reflection in the mirror on the opposite wall illuminated by Kate’s night light on the bedside.
She was a stunning kestrel, all smoky grey and white with silver tipped wings. She studied herself from beak to claw. She bent her wings tentatively, and flapped it for good measure. Then she instinctively knew the truth. It was her destiny….And she embraced it. She hopped onto the lump in the bed. She wrestled away the blanket with her beak, all the time softly calling….
Kate! Kate! Dear Kate! She pecked lightly on Kate’s hand insistently, Kate swatted at her hand but she persisted anyway now pulling on her hair. Wake up, child! I have something to show you. Kate sat up groggily rubbing at her eyes, Liz jumped back onto the table, and she laughed softly into Kate’s mind. Kate starred at her. “Wow Liz! You’re fixed?”
“Yes I am….”she walked around the table puffing her chest in pride then stopped in front of Kate, “The story is true…..I didn’t believe it at first but……My master am I, and I am my master and forever we shall be.” They burst out laughing until Kate shushed them. Kate was so happy that Liz was going to stay forever.
The End
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