The protagonist and a cranky bird

Cornflakes measured carefully into a cup and a half. No more, no less. Enough milk to drown the cereal but not to overpower its taste. It had just begun snowing, the weather was crisp, faint laughter at a distance and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer on repeat from a gift shop nearby. It was all too familiar to our protagonist. Christmas was near and the whole world was celebrating – except one. Ezekiel was a rather peculiar lad whose existence lies entirely in his work and his collection of used phones. He was a star employee at Google whose job is to manage a team of software engineers. Some even say he is better at coding than English. Now, sent home on mandatory leave, he was without a team but no matter, he was creating his own app – what was it for? He wouldn’t know.

The doorbell rings. It was Ben and Tracy. The Carters. Our protagonist lets out a huge sigh before opening the door, he knew exactly why they were there. “Honestly Ezekiel, you can’t be serious!” Ben sighs while pointing at his work desk. “I am going to have to fire you if you continue obsessing over work this way... And I mean it!” Why did he pause? Ezekiel is annoyed. “You wanted me to take care of your bird?” He replied quickly attempting to change the subject. A grey parrot was asleep in a square cage that could barely contain it. Why do people buy beautiful things and have it locked away? “Here’s a bag of his food. There’s pumpkin seed, dried berries and pistachios. Feed him twice a day and don’t let him out of his cage.” Ezekiel nodded annoyingly for he never was very fond of Tracy, but then again, he never did like people in general. “Right, we’ll be back in 2 days. You take care of Gideon, don’t over feed him and do call….” Ben was giving him instructions but it was going on deaf ears.

A while later, the doors slam shut. Gideon was now placed in the living room, stuffed in a cage. Ezekiel went over to Gideon and admired the bird. The two exchanged glances like it was an awkward first date. “Well, Gideon… It looks like it’s just me and you then”. Gideon is such a strange name for a bird who has grey feathers, a white face and a black, crooked beak. In fact, Gideon resembled a bird he had once seen a long time ago on the Tele – Ah yes, Hedwig. “I’m going to call you, Hedwig” said Ezekiel who seemed pretty pleased with himself and completely oblivious to the fact that Hedwig was an owl and not a parrot. Hedwig’s first night was spent watching Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone with a peculiar protagonist who occasionally yelled “Look Hedwig, it’s you”.

Ezekiel jolted out of bed at the sound of a canon going off in the distance, peeping through his bedroom window, he saw the yearly affair – The parade. People dressed in all kinds of silly clothing. Mr. Jackson, the repair man dressed as Santa Claus like he does every year, a bunch of kids dressed as Santa’s helpers and a woman dressed as Mrs. Clause handing out free candy. One kids seemed to be dressed as the Grinch which warranted a chuckle from our protagonist. He wouldn’t want us to know that he secretly enjoyed the parade. Oh no, Hedwig! He sprinted to the living room to check on the bird who had plucked out a couple of its own feathers. “Hedwig, are you okay?” Ezekiel asked with a hint of concern. Unfortunately, seeing as birds don’t talk, a reply was not expected. Our protagonist then brought a handful of pumpkin seeds, berries and pistachios and proceeded to feed the bird. This seemed to stop the feather plucking… For now.

The parade was now directly below them. It was too loud to miss. Ezekiel slides open a door which led to the balcony. He placed Hedwig on a small stool so they could both marvel at the sight of the parade. A famous celebrity singer, Mariah Carey performing her Christmas classic, All I want for Christmas is You. Mr. and Mr. Chow carrying their kid, Samantha on their back cheering on. A bunch of teenagers dressed in black to express their distaste at Christmas traditions. It was at this moment, Ezekiel let out a smile for he was too familiar with this behavior. He recalled rejecting Christmas at 19, educating his father to respect his decision and imploring him to see beyond reason to the atrocities of the holiday. Two slaps later, he realized it was in vain. Why do people think teenagers don’t know what they are talking about? Hedwig let out a loud growl, seconds later – another one. It was gradually becoming too loud to ignore that the neighbors were starting to take notice. History would have it – Our protagonist hates to be noticed.

The bird was now in the living room plucking out is feathers while letting out the occasional growl that resembled a fierce dog. Ezekiel dashed to his computer and Googled this phenomenon. After about what seemed like an eternity and about a dozen of feathers on the floor, he slides the balcony door shut, repeating this step to the windows to mute out the loud noise coming from outside – to no avail. The bird was now in complete distress and our protagonist had run out of ideas. After a little more research, Ezekiel brings Hedwig into his bedroom and closes the door, lifts his mattress with no measurable upper body strength and tilts it against the window. This seemed to draw out the noise – minutes later, there were no more growls. “You are really high-maintenance, aren’t’ you?” Ezekiel annoyingly said.

The remaining Christmas day was spent gently whispering a bunch of thoughts that popped into our protagonist’s head. “Why do you think they have not gone back to the moon?” “Is Elon Musk really a genius or is he masquerading to be one” “Have you ever dreamed of another bird, a friend who can understand you?” “Have you dreamt about having a girlfriend – someone who cleans her own feathers and set you straight?” “I have, not a bird but a human lady.” Ezekiel smiled wide. “Come on, let’s get your some boiled potatoes”. Oh dear, our protagonist day is far from over.

Potatoes were boiled, sliced and served to the bird. Hedwig immediately spit it out for he was not fond of it. “What is your problem man?!” to which the bird let out a loud growl. After more research, a second round was served, filled with carrots. It was a success. Bird and man were now happy. Ezekiel then made instant noodles for himself and proceeded to watch Love Actually on mute and subtitles on. As the credits rolled, the bird turned to look at Ezekiel to find him lightly weeping. “What? It’s a good movie. We used to watch it every year back home.” There was a long pause. “Stop judging”. Our protagonist seemed to be reminiscing his childhood memories, building a snowman with his sister and helping his mother set the table. He then let out a huge sigh and turned his attention to Hedwig. Why do people buy beautiful things and have it locked away? This was the night Hedwig was set free – within the parameters of Ezekiel’s apartment. Windows were shut, doors were closed. It was time. The cage was unlocked and the bird stayed put. “Come on! Go nuts!” “Why aren’t you coming out?” “Go!” “Fly!” Ezekiel sighed. “Are you nuts, Hedwig?” The bird mimicked Ezekiel “Nuts, Hedwig”. For a moment, Ezekiel burst into a fit of laughter. Hedwig repeated this phrase several times till it became unfunny.

On the night of Christmas, Hedwig spent of his time between Ezekiel’s right shoulder and left. A first for both. At 3am, both were soundly asleep on the living room couch. Hedwig was finally cared for. If he could talk, he’d tell you it was the best night sleep he’s gotten since his days in Congo and as for our protagonist – he was just tired of taking care of a cranky bird all day. A bird he seemed to really care about.

Ben and Tracy arrived at noon the next day to bring Hedwig back. Well, Gideon. No, Hedwig. Ezekiel looks at the bird one last time with a heavy heart and shuts the door. He then proceeds to call his mother.

The end.