My Little Bird | Blue Eyes (Under minor grammatical editing)

Chapter 15

---the next morning----

I was walking with Maurice to the human's camp. When we turned around the bend of a moss coated redwood trunk, I was surprised to see Alexander waiting on the porch step of the tent. He stood up when he saw us, but didn't move. Maurice paused, then ambled down the roots of the great tree with me following slowly. Alexander pulled out a thick book from behind his jacket, where he had been shielding it from the pattering rain as we approached, the boy's eyes were mostly on the orangutan, only glancing at me a few times. Maurice stopped a few feet away, letting Alexander close the distance a little as he eyed the book in the boy's hands. Alexander held it out to Maurice, and after only a moments hesitation, the older ape took it from the boy's hands.

"For yesterday." Alexander said, pointing to the thick comic book. Maurice looked back up from where he had been examining the book's cover, and glanced back down at it before pulling it to his chest under his chin, shielding it from the rain before looking up at the tall boy. Maurice glanced at me, and then sat down with the gift. The orangutan nodded to me, telling me to take a seat beside him as Alexander had. I had seen the book before, it was Alexander's favorite, and he had re-read it many times. I thought it was kind of him to give the knowledge loving ape his book.

Maurice opened the book, and Alexander started teaching him the difference between reading regular books and reading comic books while I sat quietly and watched. Maurice was following along attentively, and Alexander explained a few human terms to him, though a few times I had to help with signing. Alexander was pleasantly surprised to find that Maurice was following along and knew how to read the words, and the wise old ape soaked up everything like a sponge. Though halfway through, silence fell upon us while we waited for the rest of the humans to rouse, and I took to carving my tiny totem again while the two males read the comic.

"Rain?" I heard Alexander say my name. I looked up at his grey eyes.

"Are you happy?" He asked. "Here?" I blinked at the sudden question. I looked away from him, and to the forest around me, I looked up at the looming redwoods and pines, and seen some of apes up in the branches, lounging lazily. I thought back to all my memories here, and smiled. I thought of Blue Eyes, and of Haze and Harley, and Deja and Lisa and Ash, and all of my friends in the village.

When I turned back to Alexander, I said with all the sincerity that I could muster without tearing up, "Yeah. Yeah, I am. I'm really happy here."

Alexander gave a one sided smile, though it was genuine. "Good." He nodded. "It's about time."

My face dropped, and before I could ask what he meant, he was already answering. "Don't even ask, Rain. We both know you were never really happy in San Francisco, at least not while you away from Dax and Lana. You look happy, even though you've been so jumpy, but I know that's probably because of the others." He said.

I interrupted him for a moment. "I haven't been jumpy."

"Yes, you have. This whole time you've been jumpy, except when you were playing with that baby. How is that little guy, by the way?" He added. I realized he must have been talking about Haze.

"He's fine. But can you really blame me for being cautious? I have too many bad memories of other people." I added.

Alexander nodded and considered my words. "So it's safe to assume that you're not coming back with us?"

My eyes widened. The thought had never crossed my mind, and now that it had I felt my heart start beating in fear, a wild bird trying to escape its boney cage bars. "No." I had an almost offended air to my words, as if he had offered me marijuana or some other narcotic.