Lost Change

Chapter 37

Twenty-eight more sunrises.

I lingered on the windowsill and watched the early morning sunlight brighten the buildings and streets below. The apartment I was in seemed to be on the fourth floor judging by the windows on buildings across the street, and it gave me a pretty good view. Kymari architecture used lots of gentle curves, and it was rather pleasant to look at in the moments after the Morning Song.

I heard movement behind me and finally glanced away.

Behind me I saw the Kymari standing next to the cage. She must have walked up at some point after I had finished singing - I had been quite sure she had recorded me from the couch - and now she had just closed the door to the cage.

I narrowed my eyes at her and pressed against the window, but I stopped short of hissing. What was she up to? She couldn't have missed that I was still outside the cage. Was she trying to trap me somehow? It was a long jump down to the floor, and I was sure I would hurt my leg and my wings if I tried it, but I could still manage it. And I could still hop back over onto the end table and climb up on top of the cage if I wanted a nap - it was probably warmer up there anyways, what with the heat rising off the lamp. This was just confusing.

She noticed me watching her and smiled. "This will just be a minute, don't worry."

Now it was worrying.

The Kymari turned back to the cage... and simply lifted it up off the table. I squawked in outrage as I saw everything lift into the air - the food, the bowl of sand, the soft blanket, even the tray of red dirt I hadn't had a chance to use yet. She simply lifted it up and carried it away, heading towards the kitchen hallway.

I let out another indignant squawk from the windowsill. This wasn't fair! What was I supposed to do now?! Without the cage, where was I supposed to find food, or find places safe from her? The potential hiding places I had identified earlier now seemed woefully exposed, should it become necessary to use one.

I hopped the short distance back to the end table. The piece of cloth she had used to cover the cage now lay in a pile beside the heat lamp. I considered its potential as cover for all of half a second - it would have been blatantly obvious if I was underneath it.

I was still trying to figure out what to do when the Kymari returned - without the cage. I hissed at her in frustration the second I saw her in the doorway, and I squawked out an angry, "Put it back!"

The Kymari didn't seem to be reconsidering her decision to take the cage. If anything, I thought she might have found my temper tantrum amusing.

She walked up to the end table and set a bowl of food down near me. I hissed and lunged at her hand, fully intending to bite her, but my leg was still weak and she managed to pull her hand away in time. She turned away and headed back into the kitchen, and I...

I stopped. I sniffed again.

I warbled in delight as I realized the bowl was filled to the brim with fresh fruit. Not a single one had been dried out, and they were so perfectly ripe that I could practically taste the juices as I inhaled the sweet aromas.

My stomach informed me I had not eaten yet - I hadn't slept well, so had decided to rest right up to the dawn rather than get up early and eat - and also informed me that I hadn't eaten this well in months, maybe even years. Slices of apples, raspberries, strawberries, an entire orange, and a handful of alien fruits I hadn't seen before but were quite certain would be delicious. The bowl was filled with them.

I dove in.

The Kymari made several trips back and forth from the kitchen while I ate. She got too close to the table I was on a few times, and I had to pause from stuffing my face to hiss up at her, but for the most part she seemed to be rearranging things in the room at large. She put small boxes up against things - beside the couch, or the table in the center of the room, or the windowsill I had been perched on.