Vent

The Bird Song

It was a beautiful autumn morning; I was in the kitchen making breakfast for myself as the rest of the world slept.
I loved waking up early for that same reason; it made me feel like I was the only person alive in the entire world, although I knew that more people were awake in other places, it made me feel nice.

Today I didn’t feel like putting too much effort on my food, some oats and chia seeds should do for today, maybe I’d add a drop of honey after cooking them with milk on the microwave…

I moved around the kitchen, looking for my supplies as my earphones reproduced some music. I pretended to dance from place to place, smiling.

I placed my ingredients on the countertop, before as I suddenly turned to my left, facing the window.
I could’ve sworn I saw a huge shadow pass by.

My legs walked me closer to the window, I placed my hands on it as I peeked through; It was still dark outside, but the sun had lit the patio enough to cast that shadow, but I saw nothing.
What could have caused it?

Then I saw it for the first time; a bird. It looked like a crow, but something about it seemed off. It was bigger than a normal one. I hadn’t seen one before, but I assumed they weren’t that big. His eyes looked like an endless black void where light could never be found.

The crow stayed there for the rest of the week, though I was the only one acknowledging the bird and it’s recently set nest. It wouldn’t have creeped me out as much as it did if it wasn’t for one slight detail; the crow-looking creature always stared at me, and if I didn’t think about it, I could’ve sworn it was judging me, like he knew I had done something horrible, something I was not supposed to.

That morning something changed. The bird stood on a branch of a tree close to the kitchen’s window. It was staring at me, as usual. But then it happened; it began singing, not like a normal bird or crow, but like a human. I could understand it… it sang about me. It sang about what I did, but how did it know?

I stepped back, covering my mouth in terror. How could he know that? It was so detailed and loud… it could wake up the neighbours.

I frenetically analyzed my surroundings, I had to do something, whatever it was I couldn’t allow it to ruin my reputation like that, they couldn’t know about what I did.

I ran to the window, my hands were shaking as I tried to open it; maybe if it came in the singing would stop, it wasn’t my best idea but I had to do something; I didn’t have any other option.
Less than two minutes had passed, but I could've sworn they were hours to me. When I finally got the window to slide I felt an enormous sense of relief as the bird stopped singing.

I looked at him as a twisted smile spread across my nervous face. The bird looked at me, his eyes made me feel like he was tearing through my soul, if i even had one anymore.

We stayed like that for a moment until he opened his wings and flew through the open window and stood in the counter, I could finally see him properly; He was huge, some parts of his body seemed to bend where they were not supposed to, his feathers were not like a normal crow’s they seemed to be darker. Then I realized the most unsettling detail about the bird that been stalking me that week, its eyes were off, he looked… human.

I tried my best to stay calm as I spoke to him, trying to reason I promised I wouldn’t do it again.
He stood silent for a moment as my smile grew. Was it finally over?
Then it opened his wings as he looked at me with numbness in his eyes. He stood taller, and he sang.
His singing grew louder as the seconds passed. I tried to grab him and get him out, but he wouldn’t let me. He then opened his wings and began flying across the kitchen.
Tears ran across my face as I begged him to stop the singing, but his voice grew louder instead.

I ran to the cabinets and grabbed something to throw at him. At the moment i didn’t realize what it was but later I saw it was a glass jar. I somehow hit him. The jar fell and broke into pieces, just as I wished the crow did.
But the bird fell down to the floor in one piece instead and stayed there for a moment before he started twitching his wings and singing again.

I couldn’t let him do that, not again. I grabbed a cardboard box from the cabinet and trapped him. He couldn’t possibly escape now, but it still kept singing. Why was he singing now? HOW COULD THAT BIRD STILL SING?!

I kept it trapped under the box as i stood up, and without hesitation I stepped on it as hard as I could until I heard another sound.

This time it wasn’t the singing, it was the sound of the bird’s bones crashing under my weight. I continued stepping on it until the only thing I heard was the sound of its flesh pressed against the floor and the blood splashing inside the now broken box.

Then I heard it again, it was a weak voice, but still audible, it was still there.

I took him out of the box and grabbed him; it felt as I were holding a badly made plush toy; it had almost no bone structure to keep him straight; it felt sloppy and saggy as I held him in my now blood-stained hands. But it still sang.

I looked at him, his eyes as empty and lifeless as they were before. It sang, as weakly and pathetic as we were, but it still spoke. I pressed my hands tightly against its now useless body as i walked to the counter. Its wings weren’t twitching anymore, begging to be freed. Had he accepted his destiny?

I placed him on the countertop, facing the ceiling as I grabbed a kitchen knife, the crow… no that was not a crow, the creature looked at me; I looked back at him. Who is judging who now?

I analyzed its expression the best that I could. His eyes were no longer numb and lifeless as they were moments before. They were now looking at me with pity.

Anger boiled through my veins as I stood in front of him, knife in hands as the creature understood that was the last song he would ever sing. But it never stopped staring at me, not even when I chopped his head off.

I washed the knife after throwing what was once a living creature in the trash as I made breakfast for myself.
Then I heard it, that familiar voice I thought I had disposed of minutes ago. The singing.

I stood in shock as I stepped forward to the window. Where was it now?

I opened my mouth in what could have been a blood-freezing scream, but nothing came out of my mouth. I placed my hands on the recently closed window as I saw them, on the trees, on the floor, and even on the neighbour’s houses stood millions of them, those bloody birds sent by god himself to shame me.

I screamed in silent as nothing came out of my mouth. Somehow I opened the window again with my hands shaking in horror, preparing for all the birds to come in as the first one did. But they didn’t move.

I watched in horror as I realized that the birds were no longer there, but if they were gone, why was I still hearing that horrific song?
Terrorized, I covered my mouth with my hands as I finally realized what was happening.

The song was coming from my mouth.

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Based on "The Bird Song" by Florence and the machine