Poseidon has flapped his wings into the other side and I’m left with Athena and Zeus, the pretty ones. They were beautiful birds but they also didn’t say a word. We did some research and found out that talking was a possibility but it looked like mine would just rather not. On the bright side, there was no horrifying squawking from anone and for that I am thankful. Now, let’s get into how I lost Zeus. Maybe it was my fault for having too much trust in a creature that clearly belonged in the wild, but no matter. It was children’s day and we had decided to fix the door in the corridor like space where the birds were. The issue was that the space would have to be doorless for a good while. Guess who didn’t think to cage her birds until the door was gone? Yup, that was me. So I start with Zeus and immediately I step towards him, he flies clear out of my reach and straight outside and across the street. I was stunned. It had been a few months so it never crossed my mind that they might want to leave. I promise you, they were living a good life. They had good food and water, none of which ever ran out. Yes, I learnt my lesson with George. Now, back to Zeus.
We immediately lock the door and safely get Athena back in her cage without her trying to escape, that’s a loyal bird. I go into the house across the street to get Zeus. The plan was actually to beg him to come home, because that was the only way I could get a bird out of a coconut tree. I didn’t even get to beg. Immediately this bloke saw me, he took flight and got so far away, it was pointless to give chase. Looking back on that experience, I truly wonder how people catch birds alive in the forest. Cause there was no way I was getting him back. People say that he saw the life expectancy of the birds who had gone ahead of him and decided to save himself. That hurt to hear but he was probably right since he survived. We spotted him across the street a few years later, I think he dropped by to say hi. Now, it’s time for Athena.
Athena was a bird without a single worry and it showed in her behavior. As the only bird left, she started to live the life of an only child. She would waddle into the parlor and stay next to us on the floor while we watched television. It was the cutest thing to witness. We’d serve her a few grains of cooked rice when she visited us and it turned out she liked them. She even started humming soundtracks from our most watched soap operas, progress was being made. But then disaster struck.
One night, I was sitting in the parlor watching a dance competition with my family when I heard screaming. At first, I thought it was the contestants on the show but then I realized the screams were coming from outside and not the speakers. It was Athena. My mother and I ran outside and we found her huddled in a high corner while a vicious and huge rat snarled at us from the bottom. My mom killed the evil thing but the damage had been done to Athena. She sustained multiple injuries and despite our great care, she succumbed to them by the afternoon of the next day. I was distraught for days. I’ve also come to realize that rats are literal joy killers. Anyway, that is how my short stint as a parrot owner was wrapped up, at least for a few months.
