You Should Fly Far, Far Away

Vee holds the creature with all the care she's capable of. She observes it, fascinated. The bird is small, smaller than the ones she had seen before, that aren't many anyway. It's feathers are tinted in a faint pink, the one that colors Tav's ribbon. However, unlike the ribbon, the little bird has also a hint of yellow, right on the top of the head. Two pitch black eyes stare right back at her with what looks like curiosity. The bird tilts its head.

I'll call you Peach, she decides, because that's what the bird's colors remind her of. Pretty, pink peaches.

"... and remember, kids, don't grow fond of them," is saying Grandma. "After the holidays are over, you will give them back to Mr. Demod. Understood?"

A chours of 'yes, Grandma' rises from the kids around her, but Vee stays silent. She is still enraptured by Peach's beauty.

"What are you doing still here?" a gruff, mean voice startles her. She looks up and sees Mr. Demod staring at her, with the same unwelcoming expression he always wears. Just then she realizes that all the others have already left.

Without a world, she exits the room too, still holding her new friend.

Just when she is back in her bedroom, Vee realizes that she has no idea where to start to take care of Peach. Or better, that she doesn't know anything about birds. She know she should have payed more attention during Grandma's classes, but her voice is so boring that she would always fall asleep, even if that meant making mom angry.

She observes Peach, hoping to get an idea by just staring at him. The bird is currently scampering on the window sill. The window is open, and a warm breeze is filling the room with the scent of flowers. Vee wants nothing more than go outside and play, but she has to take care of her friend now.

She is surprised that Peach didn't fly away. He doesn't seem interested on what is outside, and looks content with just staying there and sometimes peck at the candy she gave him. He doesn't eat it, though, so maybe he doesn't like it.

Vee did read a book on birds once, but it was just full of tales and legends. They all narrated how birds would spend their life flying, stopping only to sleep and eat. If she had wings, she would fly too. She would take off and mum, Grandma and Mr. Demod would never see her again. So she doesn't understand why Peach is still with her. Vee knows that if she lost him, she would face terrible consequences. Teman told her that they would lock her in the cellar under the school, and that she would never see the sun again. She loves the sun, and doesn't want to spend the rest of her days in a dirty, moist cellar, so she should be happy that Peach doesn't fly away. But why doesn't he?

Vee had always liked walking in the forest. It's quiet, serene, and she is far from those ugly ruins. Mom always told her not to call them ugly, because they are a testament of a time gone by. The ruins are tall, sad. Ugly. Vee never understood why can't they be prettier, happier. Grandma, in one of the classes, said that they were once called skyscrapers. At least they have a funny name.

But now she doesn't want to think about that. When she is in the forest, everything else doesn't exists.

After being stuck in her room for hours, trying to remember what birds eat, she had decided to go for a walk. Maybe Peach would see something he liked and would tell her. On her way, Vee had met Tav. She had asked her if she knew what birds ate, but Tav had just stuck her nose in the air, and told her she should already know. Fine, I don't need her help anyway.

She had decided to head to the forest, because in all the stories she had read the birds lived there. Vee had concluded that there she would probably find food for Peach.

But she doesn't. Peach never moves from her shoulder, and neither does he even look around. It's sad. Shouldn't birds want to be free?

Vee sighs and jumps down the boulder she was seating on. Better go back home; it's getting late.

On her way back, she takes a different route than that afternoon. Instead of following the main road, she cuts through Ms. Nancy's garden, even if she knows she shouldn't, and ends up in front of the local bakery. She retrieves three loaves of bread, as she does every day, and heads home. Luckily today she remembered, otherwise mum would have scolded her again.

After a while, Vee notices a movement on her shoulder. Peach is fidgeting, and is stretching his neck towards the bag she is holding. Hopeful, Vee sits down and takes out a loaf of bread. She tears off a piece and moves it close to the bird. Peach starts eating it, to her immense joy. She places both the bird and the piece of bread in front of her, and watches him peck it. She keeps feeding him until he's full.

Then, with the dark already surrounding her, she runs home, wondering where did birds find bread in the forests.

Vee loves Peach. Only four days have passed, but he is already her best friend. She knows that she can't keep him, though, and that makes her terribly sad. She will have to give him back to Mr. Demod at the end of the mid-spring holidays, in three days.

Vee loves the mid-spring holidays too. Once Grandma explained her that it was an ancient festivity, that went back to the first century after the Darkest Times. It's meant to celebrate life, around and within them. It's when the flowers blossom, the sun starts to stay up longer, and the people feel happier. But above all, it's when the Caretaker Week takes place. When a bird - ancient, rare creature - is entrusted to all the children of the village who had celebrated their tenth birthday the previous year. It's a tradition that teaches the next generation how to be attentive, generous and selfless. That's what Grandma always said.

Playing with Peach in the Fields, Vee wonders why would they give such beautiful creatures to children. She would never give something like Peach to someone like Tav. She doesn't even think that she can give him back at the end of the week. Maybe if she asks, she will be able to keep him. But then she thinks about Mr. Demod's angry face, and discards the idea.

Where do they even keep the brids? When she asked Grandma, she said that it was a super secret place, so that children like her wouldn't be able to find them. Vee hopes that it is somewhere sunny and with a lot of flowers. Peach seems to like flowers. And no one deserves to stay away from the sun.

In the end, the days go by and there's nothing Vee can do.

Vee still loves walking in the forest, even now that she's eleven. She doesn't hate the ruins anymore, but it's still her safe place. And, as she discovered, it can contain more surprises than one could think.

She smiles, stepping through the brambles and scratching her legs. She can now see the house she is looking for. Those hour-long walks always wore her out. But she doesn't mind much. After making sure no one's around, Vee sprints to her destination. She reaches the side facade and climbs on the boulder she pushed right under one of the windows.

She looks inside, the sight of dozens of colorful birds greeting her. As always, she stays as still as possible, hoping that one of them would come closer and rest in front of her. The first time she went there, she wouldn't stay still, spooking the poor creatures. But she learned, and sometimes it looked like some of the birds recognised her. At least, that was what she likes to believe. They don't see many humans around there, since the house is so isolated. Even Vee wouldn't have been able to find it, had she not followed Mr. Demod that one day.

She was so happy when she found out that Peach lives in a nice place after all, with plants and many, many windows.

Sometimes, she can see him scamper on the floor, pecking the bread Mr. Demod would leave them. She never understood why he doesn't fly, but she has noticed that almost none of them does.

She still is of the idea that birds should be free, that they should fly wherever they want. That house isn't perfect: it's way too small for that many birds, and there aren't nearly enough flowers. Vee promises herself to find a solution, to find a way to free them once and for all.

But the sun is shining on them, so, for now, it's fine.