Birds Of A Feather

Ezrah

Sunday, September 29th

Things were never the same after Dad died. He was always so sad after Grandma was put on life support. He wouldn't get out of bed or eat—he just—slept. Rosie was about five years old when Dad died. His death was worse for her because she was so little. Grandpa stepped up to take care of us because, at the time, I was still in college. It came so unexpectedly. Despite his not taking very good care of himself, nobody expected what would happen that morning.

I'm in the kitchen making breakfast when I hear tiny footsteps coming toward me. 

"Good morning Rah," says Rosie. She calls me Rah because she couldn't say my full name as a baby.

"Good morning Rosie, did you have nice dreams?"

"Yeah, I was riding on a unicorn like the princess from the movie," she says.

"That sounds fun! I want to ride a unicorn," I said to her.

"Rah come on you know they're not real."

"Hey, who's to say they aren't?" I asked. "There's a lot of things in this world that people don't know about yet so maybe they are."

"Really?!" Her eyes lit up so bright that they began to look like supernovas. It was important for me to make her feel safe with me—nobody else will.

"Yes Ro, anything that little mind of yours may think of, you might find roaming around one day" She came up to me and gave me the tightest hug a five-year-old could give. I felt like the biggest influence in her life and I was not going to take it for granted. "Go sit at the counter, breakfast is almost ready," I said to her.

"Is Dad coming down today?" She asked in a very sad voice.

"No Ro, I'm sorry."

"When is Dad gonna come to eat with us again?" she asked.

"Dad doesn't feel very well right now so he's just gonna stay in his room for a bit." I walked over to her and handed her a plate of scrambled eggs and French toast. "Eat your breakfast, I'm gonna go give Dad his soup. I'll give you your vitamins when I come back."

"Okay!" She says.

I had a horrible gut feeling when I started walking up those stairs. It's almost like I already knew. "Dad! Breakfast!" I opened the door, and there he was, lying in his black robe, as pale as one could be.

Crickets chirped in the background as the sun fell to the horizon. Autumn and I were sitting across from each other, separated by the campfire—Rosie sat beside me. The river sat behind Autumn and we could hear the fish jumping in the water. Fireflies surrounded the darkness and the trees were swaying with the cold air.

"It's so beautiful here," she says—Autumn.

She looks around at the fireflies and smiles. It was one of those smiles that could melt your heart in seconds. 

"It was the perfect place to bring Ro after Dad died," I said. "He was the one who found her on our doorstep—Rosie—she was left there inside a small basket. She was so tiny, I remember looking at her and wondering what she could be dreaming of in that tiny little head."

"What about your mom?" she asks.

"You idiot! Don't you pay attention to anything that you're doing?! Ugh! You're such a waste of time I don't know why I even try with you why do you always-"

I shake my head trying to get out of the memory of my past. "My mom left us when I was younger," I said.

"My mom died a few years ago," she says.

"Oh, I'm sorry for your loss," I replied.

"Yeah, after my mom died, I moved in with my dad and my sister Lina," she explains. "That's when I started to become interested in poetry, so I started a blog. Now I travel around looking for open mics to post about."

"Is that why you wanted to go to the venue?" I asked.

"Yup!" She said enthusiastically.

We were up for only a couple more hours before we decided to go to sleep. I carried a sleeping Rosie into the tent and placed her in her sleeping bag as Autumn followed us in. She laid herself down and fell asleep almost immediately. I went back outside to put out the fire and when I did, I noticed the shimmering reflection of the full moon on the water. Neviah is the only place in Oregon where you can see the full moon this big, so big that it seemed like I could just hop onto it. 

I went back inside the tent to find both Rosie and Autumn sleeping peacefully while my phone vibrated on my sleeping bag.

*Unkown Caller ID*

"Hello?"

No answer.

"Helloo?"

"Ezrah?" 

My eyes widened as my breath was cut short.

"D-dad?" I asked in a shocked tone.

"Rah! Help!" yelled Rosie from outside of the tent.

"Ro!" I yelled back.

"When is Daddy coming back?" she asked—her voice echoing away.

"What?" I asked.

"Wake up Rah! Wake up!"

Monday, September 30th

My eyes shot wide open and I saw Rosie kneeling beside me trying to wake me up to watch the sunrise. 

"Come on Ezrah! Autumn is already up!"

I sighed. It was just another nightmare. I got up and crawled out of the tent to find Autumn sitting in front of the water, watching the fiery sky as the sun came up. Her long brown hair fell onto her off-white cardigan as she sat with her legs between her arms—her face resting on her knees. Rosie ran up beside her and sat down, resting her head on Autumn's side and they both sat there as the rest of the world fell into place, finally at peace.