A very "fly" holiday season

-"nobody truly wants to be alone during the holidays."

It was the first week of December; the outside temperature was slowly dropping with each passing day. Weather broadcasts are announcing the possibility of snow falling as soon as the beginning of the upcoming week. Citizens are stocking up on essential holiday paraphernalia, and preparing for festivities amidst the pandemic.

There, stands young Timmy, who is having a stressful phone conversation with his parents.

“Mom, for the last time, I can’t fly back home because of the ongoing pandemic,” Timmy expresses tiredly.

Timmy tries to explain in a calm tone, “Yes, Mom, I know that there are some people who are able to get on flights until to the end of this week. But, those are flights that these people booked months ago, way before the town hall announced that we were going to enter into a lockdown period. Flights were not available the week that I was searching for them, so now I have to stay here for the rest of the month.” 

Timmy paces back and forth, as he is trying to convince his mother that he is going to be fine spending the holidays by himself.

Timmy’s mom replies with, “But what about your friends? Son? Why don’t you get together with them and do a little celebration for the holidays? Just make sure you respect and follow the safety procedures that is mandated by the state.”

Timmy, slightly frustrated, “Most of my friends left town already, and the ones that are still here have plans already. And I don’t want to be in one of those gatherings that will make me feel like I don’t fit in because it will be very awkward.”

Timmy finishes the conversation by saying, “Look mom, I have to go, I am going to meet a friend of mine who is driving to the outskirts to visit his family, and he told me that he wanted to give me something before leaving. I’ll talk to you later, please tell dad to not worry about me, thanks, love ya!”

Timmy walks around town towards his friend’s house. While walking, he notices how houses and local shops are setting beautiful decorations, bright lights, and playing holiday carols. Seeing this, it triggers a nostalgic recall of memories of him doing similar activities with his loved ones.

As Timmy is walking, half daydreaming and half contemplating the outdoors, and after 15 minutes, he arrives at his friend’s house.

Timmy walks up to the front of the porch and knocks on the door while mildly yelling, “Michael! Michael! Open the door, is me, Tim.”

After waiting for about half a minute, Michael opens the door, and the first thing Timmy notices is the look on his face. It was the face of someone who was in a desperate rush.

Michael says, – “Hey there Tim, come in bro!”

As Timmy enters the house, he immediately notices the mess around the place.

Timmy, slightly shocked, “Dude, what’s up with all this mess? It looks like a wild animal thrashed the place.”

Michael responds, “Hehe, yeah, this is what basically happens when I prepare my belongings at last minute for a 2-hour ride that I should’ve arrived about an hour ago.”

Timmy says, “Based on the time that I’ve known you, I knew that you were a little bit of a sluggish person, but never imagined that it was to this extent.”

As Timmy finishes that last sentence, his ears pick up a rather faint but nearby cry. Although low, the sound was a little aggravating but somewhat recognizable.

Timmy faces towards Michael and asks, “What’s that sound?”

Michael, with a little smile forming on his face, responds, “That my friend, is your gift, the one that I told you about to come here and pick it up.”

Michael goes quickly to kitchen and then comes back to Timmy with a little cage with a small bird inside of it.

Michael says, “here you go buddy.”

Timmy slightly surprised shouted, “You…you are giving me a bird?! What in the heavens? Why do you have a bird with you?!”

“This little fella, flew through my bedroom window about 3 nights ago, I thought that maybe by the morning it was going to fly out. To my surprise, it was still inside my bedroom the next morning, in fact, that’s how I woke up that day, it was to its chirp,” Michael responded.

Timmy still in disbelief, “Okay, I understand your situation, but why did you decided to take it in? You could’ve just released it that day.”

Michael, still in a little bit of humorous tone, “Hey dude, I know why you are a little bit flustered about the situation, but I just couldn’t let it fly under this type of weather because I worried that the little bird would not make it very far.”

Timmy stands up a paces around for a moment; he tries to collect himself so that he can handle the situation in a more rationalized manner.

Michael, “I know that I am delivering some heavy news on you, however, I really couldn’t think of anyone else who was available to take care of it. Look! I even bought a cage and some food supplies to make things easier for you.”

Timmy ordinarily asks Michael, “Why can’t you just take it home with you, since you are already going? Plus, it is going to be easier for you to take care of it since you are going to be surrounded by your family.

Michael replies, “Sorry, I can’t take it back home with me, because my parents have cats, and I fear that the cats will try to do something horrible to the little bird.”

Timmy sighs for a moment…

Michael, in a rush, “Look man, I know that I am asking too much so if you really can’t take care of it, I’ll just take it with me and release it somewhere that I might consider safe during my trip.

Timmy takes a look at the time, and felt that he didn’t want to delay Michael’s trip any longer, so he just decides to take the bird.

A moment passes…

Timmy, now standing in front of the garage while holding the birdcage, waits as Michael is starting the car’s engine.

Timmy asks one last thing just as Michael is leaving his home, “Hey Michael, can you point me the directions to the store where you bought the cage and the supplies? You know, in case I need anything else later on.

Michael gives the directions to the pet store, and after that, he goes on with his trip.

Timmy decides walk through the pet store before going home. He still doesn’t feel confident enough to take care of the bird, so he wants prepare himself with a little bit more of knowledge. After 10 minutes or so, Timmy arrives to the pet store. He goes up to the clerk and start asking questions left and right about everything that a newbie should know in order to take care of a bird.

In this dialogue of approximately 30 minutes, Timmy learns that the gender of the bird was male, to what breed it belongs to, that by just looking at the legs and nails you can tell that he is very young, and how to properly feed him as well as cleaning his cage. The clerk also provided him with a business card of a veterinarian where he could take his bird in case of any emergency. Timmy thanks the clerk for the service and heads straight to his home. During the walk, the only thing that Timmy could think of over and over again, was all the possible worst scenarios that could happen.

As soon as Timmy arrives to his home, he puts the birdcage on top of a clean, flat, and sturdy standing table that was in the living room. Timmy still feels a little bit agitated, but ready to take on the challenge. Timmy closes all the windows, and let the bird fly out of the cage for a moment. While the bird is flying around trying to get used to new environment, Timmy prepares the inside of the cage. He places food, fills a spot with water and leaves a little new toy that he bought from the store.

Timmy in a calmly manner says to himself, “Okay… everything is set up just like the clerk explained to me; I just need to let the bird out for a while, and make sure that at all times that he is out, to have the windows completely closed.”

It was finally bedtime, and Timmy tries to get the bird to land on his hand, so that he can softly and safely put the bird inside the cage. After trying for a while he successfully manages to do so. He decides to move the cage from the living to his bedroom, because he wasn’t feeling comfortable enough to leave him alone in the living room. Timmy could only wonder the many “ifs” scenarios that could happen during the night, so he felt that having the bird next to him would be the best thing to do.

Just as Timmy is getting ready to lay down on his bed and call it a night, he says out loud, “Oh my god! That’s right, I haven’t picked up a name for you yet, I’ve just been calling you ‘bird’ all this time. I am too tired to think of a name at the moment, so I am just going to name you tomorrow morning.”

And after a day of what felt like an eternity for Timmy, he finally sleeps throughout the night.

The next day…

Timmy, slightly annoyed, wakes up to the chirping sounds of the bird.

“Yeah, yeah! I get it, it is morning already,” said Timmy with a grumpy tone. He then sarcastically followed it up with, “You know, I think you would do great as an alarm clock.”

Timmy spends the first 15 minutes getting ready for work. After he is done he goes to the bird and says, “Hey little one, I thought of a name for you. I am going to name you after my favorite video game character, Kirby.”

Timmy finishes dressing up and is ready to leave for work. This is Timmy’s last week of work before his holiday break. Before leaving, Timmy makes sure to check one last time that Kirby’s cage is filled with food and water. Even though it is already getting late, Timmy paces around for a moment hesitating as to whether or not he should just not go to work and stay at home to keep an eye on the bird. It takes him a lot of courage, but at the end he is able to leave and head to work.

Timmy passes the day in his office being very unfocused because he could only wonder how was Kirby doing. Every moment that he has idle time, he searches for more and more information regarding birds. After Timmy is done for the day, he rushes to his home and the first thing that he does is to check on Kirby. He gets immensely relieved after seeing that Kirby was fine and he that he was just sleeping.

Seeing how today went, Timmy feels more confident that the rest of the week is going to be just fine.

The end of the week arrives…

Timmy is finally done with work for the rest of the month, and now he is just focused on making preparations for Christmas. He plans to sit back and relax for the rest of the holiday break with Kirby. By now, he feels much more relaxed and confident in his ability to take care of the bird.

Christmas arrives…

In spirit of celebration, Timmy prepares a little fancy dinner for himself and some delicious holiday treats for Kirby. When everything is set up, he lets Kirby out of the cage so that they can both enjoy Christmas. Timmy watches some old Christmas movies while eating his dinner with Kirby’s company. Later in the night, Timmy switches the to the news channel. He wants to know if there is any update regarding the pandemic to see if flying is going to be available anytime soon.

As he watches the news, Timmy starts tearing up little by little. All of a sudden, he is filled with tons of sadness to the point where he is just talking to himself.

Timmy, with a teary tone, “You know Kirby; I actually feel very sad right now. I can’t help but to feel this way because the latter half of this year has just been very lonely for me. This pandemic hasn’t allowed me to spend a good amount of time with my friends, as well as not being able to spend the holidays with my family. I miss them so much, if I was there right now, we would all be eating together, singing Christmas carols, opening and giving presents, and more importantly, having each other’s company. This year has been nothing but loneliness, and stressing over on how to take care of you, Kirby.”

Timmy looks at him and jokingly says, “no offense tough.”

While in his feelings, Timmy chuckles and comes to the realization, and asks, “I wonder if this was also once a situation that my parents found themselves in? Feeling stressed, juggling between work, preparing for the holidays, and taking care of me.”

Timmy concludes his realization with, “I guess that is just part of being an adult, he-he.”

As Timmy finishes his talk, he notices choking sounds coming out of Kirby. He immediately freaks out and shouts, “Kirby! Kirby! What’s the matter?!” While Kirby is flapping around in a very aggressive manner while still making choking sounds.

Timmy pulls out his cellphone and dials the number of the card that the clerk has given him the other day.

Timmy, filled with terror, “Hello! Is this Dr. Gonzales? I have an emergency! A moment ago, I was sitting down and eating my meal while watching TV. All of a sudden, my bird starts to flaps his wings very violently while making sounds similar to that of choking on something. Please Help! I don’t what to do in this situation, is my bird going to be okay?!”

The veterinarian tries to calm Timmy down, and asks a couple of quick questions. Dr. Gonzales advises to try to call the bird down and try to give him some water as soon as possible. Timmy, still freaking out, tries very hard to get Kirby so that he can give him some water, but fails to do so. Timmy still freaking out, gets more and more frightened as time passes; however, after a minute or two, Kirby lands on a surface and spits out what was in his mouth. Timmy looks at what Kirby spew, and saw that it was a chunk of food from his dinner. Timmy assumes that when he was distracted talking to himself about his family, Kirby took a bite of his meal while he wasn’t watching.

Timmy sighs in relief and informs the doctor about the situation. The doctor recommends him to lock the bird inside his cage and leave a lot of water for Kirby. As Timmy calms down, the doctor explained to keep checking on Kirby for another 30 minutes.

The doctor finishes the call with, “He if doesn’t throw up again by that time, then everything is fine. Otherwise, if something else happens, call me immediately.”

An hour passes, and Kirby doesn’t show any sign of discomfort, and just remains asleep. Timmy, by now, has processed everything that has happened. He turns to the TV, and sees the news about the pandemic. The broadcast announces that flying will be available again by the end of February. Timmy feeling a little bit happier about how everything turned out at the end of the night, pulls out his phone and calls his mother.

While snow is falling all throughout the town. Timmy looks at a sleeping Kirby; and cheerfully says to his mom, “Mom, I’ll be visiting you and Dad for Spring Break. I can’t also wait to introduce you to a new friend of mine, and everything that we went through together.”

--The End--