Write about someone who is given a bird for the holidays but doesn’t know how to take care of it.

Posted in Holiday on Jul 27, 2021

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✍️ 202 stories

“Burt Brain” by Shawn Forno

There’s no sound on earth quite like a bird flying into a sliding glass door. Unlike the white noise of mass extinctions and vanishing rainforests, the singular thud of delicate avian bones against shatter-resistant Duraplex glass is impossible to ignore. It's the sound of the natural and man-made worlds colliding, like the off-key fervor of a bronze temple gong struck by a fresh-faced initiate. ...

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“The Dove” by Zilla Babbitt

The plane lifted off smoothly and Toronto began to disappear beneath the wind blown clouds. Kyrie rested her forehead against the greasy plastic window and watched the patchwork of fields, the ribbons of rivers, the buttons of moors, blur beneath the jet. It was a quiet Christmas Eve flight with little turbulence, but for Kyrie it seemed to last forever. The desire to get quickly home surp...

29 comments 29

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“'M' is for Monday” by 𝕜𝐞𝕟𝐝𝕣𝐚 𝕤𝐭𝕠𝐧𝕖

***NOT part 2 for “The Unofficial Student.”***Judie gazes at the mirroring glass, having pity and sorrow for the divine creature nearby. Its body tilts to the direction of the right, so Judie could see the drooping arctic wing that reminds her of a shriveling, single petal of a blue rose. She wishes to help the bird soar in the air, high above the thickening forests belonging to the sky. The bird hangs its head, entwining the guilt in Judie’s warm fingers.Her mother had died two days b...

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“Betrayal” by Benji Bobo ©

“Mr. Nicholas, you have been caught for breaking and entering every house in the world once a year for as long as anyone can remember.” That was what the judge said. “Anything to say in your defence?” “Y-your honour, I was delivering presents! For children they were happy.” Stuttered Santa. “Liar, you gave me a toy doll when I was twelve years old!” Yelled an adult. “Well I thought you wanted one.” ...

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“The King of Carrion ” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

Although he loved her from afar, she sized him up fairly quickly, determined him to be reliable, then volunteered him to watch her cockatoo for the holiday break. “I’ll be back next week. Its food is in the plastic bag. If you could, give it some fruit once or twice a day,” she said breezily over her shoulder, as if parenting parrots came naturally. “What type of fruit—” he tried to ask her. As the door slammed on her way out, the parrot gave an ear-splitting chirp. He looked at the bird, waiting for it to stop. Bu...

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“To Raise a Mockingbird” by Amiable Sorceress

Step One: Get a cage and some bird food from a pet store.Maybe she found it funny that I was an English teacher. Maybe, she was like one of those elderly ladies who, instead of 200 cats, had 200 birds sitting in her basement. Either way, the bird didn’t come with an instruction manual, or in a wrapped box. It was sold online by Bitmouse, on Holiday Realty. My townhouse had been abandoned for months before I inherited it from some long-lost uncle, the townhouse residing in a stra...

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“Words of a Feather” by Rayhan Hidayat

On the way home from the funeral, Diego lets his wife drive. He’s gone numb from the sight of his mother, devoured by a dusty oak coffin, descending into the earth while bowed heads shed tears into the rain. Camila studies the hollow, unblinking eyes in the rearview mirror and knows this is something far beyond her abilities. She suspects a double helping of chicken tamales, his usual foray into decadence this time of year, would be equally powerless.“Sweetness,” she signals with a smile once they’ve pulled into their dr...

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“Clipped Wings” by I. F.

I stood in the kitchen next to my mother, helping her put the finishing touches on dinner. I could hear my father laughing his hearty laugh in the kitchen, everyone else was silent...he must have told one of his jokes. I carried the casserole and the asparagus, and my mother took the chicken. We had to make several trips. People were smiling and talking and being friendly. I could see my dad going around graciously filli...

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“The Unexpected Visit” by ✯𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫✯

Title: The Unexpected VisitBy: HaripriyaAuthors Note: Hello everyone! I hope you're having a great Friday! I had a lot of fun writing this story and I hope you all have a great time reading it as well!Dear grandpa,I miss you. I want to come and visit, but mom's never free. She says she has a lot of work to do, so I feel like I can never meet you. It's been almost two years since I saw you, grandpa. I know your leg is not...

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“Setting you free” by 𝔼𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 ✳🏳️‍🌈

You know, it's one thing to buy someone a cheap card from the store. Hasty and unoriginal, yet oddly comforting to know they care about you. The sentiment of being tracked down after final bell, thrown into a moving vehicle, and being given a mysterious object? Not so much. This sounds like the beginning of an action movie. Contrary to popular belief, I am, in fact, not being kidnapped. Of course, I know wh...

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“True meaning of Christmas” by 🕊 🎀 𝒱𝒶𝓇𝓈𝒽𝒶 𝒱𝒾𝓂𝒶𝓁 🎀 🕊

Dear Kate, I am your aunt, you might not be aware of me but I am family. I have seen you as a child, cradled you in my bare hands as you cooed, your mother was a delightful sister to me… I’m sorry for your loss. We might not be familiar with each other but I want you to do a favor for me. You must have noticed a purple box. Please open it as soon as possible and take c...

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“Lumpy and Rooster” by Kristin Neubauer

Lumpy took the chain between his teeth and jiggled it. It clinked and jingled as chains do, but did not loosen. The horse pricked his ears forward and studied the contraption locking his stall door securely in place. He shifted his hooves and moved his body around to come at it for another approach. A furious jangling reverberated through the barn, drowning out the Christmas carols playing softly through the hidden speakers. The grooms, perched on hay bales outside the stall, leaned forward.“He’s getting i...

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“Sophie” by Philip Clayberg

Some things happen so quickly that it's hard to figure out if it was a dream or reality. Case in point:After a long day at work, I was pulling carefully into the driveway at home. I just wanted to go inside, stretch out on the living room couch, and relax. I hadn't done the crossword puzzle in today's newspaper. That and a cup of hot chocolate would do me just fine.But moments later, I heard a car skidding on the street behind me. Looking in the rear-view mirror, I saw the car slewing this way and that....

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“Cīsō and the Human with the Strange Google History” by <Inactive> .

You still remember the day your Google history changed forever, the Christmas where another being entered your perfectly messy home. As a writer, you needed to do a lot of research, you told yourself, as you Googled ‘how to make homemade bomb with febreze can’ and ‘febreze can explosion radius’ and other things the Secret Service would be concerned about. But this all changed, when your mother decided that you wer...

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“Hark, the Harold” by Julie Ward

Dear Friends and Family,I’m a little late with the annual Holiday letter, but I think we can all agree that this has been a very interesting year, and that nothing has gone as planned. When the virus that-shall-not-be named grounded us for life, we did what any other family would do. We laid around in our PJs and ate bread. As it turns out, Jim is a pretty good baker. I think he missed his calling, although my waistline likes him better as an accountant.Jim is still with Sk...

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Write about someone who is given a bird for the holidays but doesn’t know how to take care of it.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 202 stories

“Burt Brain” by Shawn Forno

“The Dove” by Zilla Babbitt

“'M' is for Monday” by 𝕜𝐞𝕟𝐝𝕣𝐚 𝕤𝐭𝕠𝐧𝕖

“Betrayal” by Benji Bobo ©

“The King of Carrion ” by Deidra Whitt Lovegren

“To Raise a Mockingbird” by Amiable Sorceress

“Words of a Feather” by Rayhan Hidayat

“Clipped Wings” by I. F.

“The Unexpected Visit” by ✯𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫✯

“Setting you free” by 𝔼𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 ✳🏳️‍🌈

“True meaning of Christmas” by 🕊 🎀 𝒱𝒶𝓇𝓈𝒽𝒶 𝒱𝒾𝓂𝒶𝓁 🎀 🕊

“Lumpy and Rooster” by Kristin Neubauer

“Sophie” by Philip Clayberg

“Cīsō and the Human with the Strange Google History” by <Inactive> .

“Hark, the Harold” by Julie Ward

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who gets proposed to five times on Christmas Eve.

Write about a drummer going to a Halloween party for musicians.

Write about a young nobleman whose greatest wish is to become an Olympic long jumper.

Write about a backup dancer who’s on tour and just wants some peace and quiet for the holidays.

Contest #73

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

502

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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