Love Of A Mockingbird

Chapter 2

My face was an inch away from the mockingbird now and yet it did not budge. It didnt fear me. It only was nervous of my cousin. Whenever Peter would get close it would show signs of flying away.

"You stay there and don't move," I ordered in whisper to Peter.

I turned back to the mockingbird now and whispered quietly so Peter wouldn't hear.

"Is it you?"

The bird poked at my hand and I opened it revealing my empty palm. It hopped onto my palm and relaxed it's feathers. I stood slowly gently cupping the bird in my hands. No resistance, the bird was calm. Silently I brushed past Peter and made my way home. My small cousin followed after me for awhile but when I spoke no words he turned away to a creek.

"If it is you I'm gonna say right now that your crazy," I say looking to the bird in my hand," and if its not you I'm gonna feel crazy."

When I got home I found my mother sweeping up the front porch of the house. We had a nice house, pale brown in colour. A small garden by the front door with some flowers and fruit. We had a relatively small section of land deticated to maise growth. My great-grandfather had built it decades ago. It has a thatched roof and three windows. Two levels and a cellar below that housed ale and some dried goods. We kept most of the products we brought to Malcolm in a shed just behind the house. My mother and father lived here along with my cousin Peter who was orphaned during a plague. I once had a little sister named Jean, I was two years her senior, but one day she left to the woods when I was but six and never returned nor was found. Tears threaten to fall now. I wipe my face looking to my mother.

"Did you kill anything?" She asks me looking at her broom.

"Yeah, dozed off a bit there but I got a nice rabbit and a fox," I say pointing to my belt but my mother doesn't look up.

I frown at her behaviour again feeling the distance between us rise. I shrug my shoulders and drop the prey in the kitchen for her to gut. With the bird still calm in my hands I walk up the stairs carefully skipping the third step from the bottom that was broken. Broken since I was a babe and broken forever it seemed to me. Nobody bothered to fix it as we all had better things to do. I swing open my door and close my window so the bird won't fly away even though i doubted it would. I place the bird on my bed bitting my lip in a quick moment of confusion at the bird. After this I close my door and lock it shut by balancing a chair under the knob.

"Okay," I say spinning around to see the bird was gone.

In it's place was Henry sitting comfortable on my bed. One hand on his knee and the other in the air. His fingertips still alight in soft glow. I tilted my head at him absorbing the fact he was really in my room. He grinned proudly at his ability to surprise me. I step towards him poking his shoulder and feel the solidity of him.

"How did you do that?"

"You know me Dan," he said winking," magic!"

"Why are you here?"

He froze slightly at that but replied nonchalantly," wanted to test my magic, plus Malcolm is a snore."

"I doubt that Malcolm would ever be a snore," I say with a light laugh.

"When you've lived there all your life its not as exciting as you see it," he shrugged then an idea flashed behind his eyes.

He flopped out on my bed and stretched leaving me only to stare at him. I looked in bewilderment at his behavior. He turned to lay upside down and stretched out once more. I looked away as his shirt began to rise to his mid stomach.

"Will you be staying awhile?"

"Yes I plan to," he says getting up and hugs me. A choice of greeting I return.

"So," Henry says backing away clearing his throat," whats it like in this town. Any cute girls you need my help getting?"

He seemed strained to say the last part of his question. I look closely at him before I answer simply.

"No."

He nods looking out my window. When he turns back he seems very pleased. My heart is thudding loudly in my chest. I near think he would hear. I take a deep breath and walk to the window looking out. A great nervousness of my uninterest in girls washes over me. I feel Henry could be judging me silently in his mind.

"Well not any that I've run into," I manage to say.

Henry moves over to my desk and back to the window rubbing his head.

"Yeah same here. No cute girls in Malcolm but to be fair most of them are either covered in hair or tiny with wings," Henry laughed.

"What religion is it that you practice in Malcolm. I never did ask," I say.

"Everyone to their own," he replied," I myself don't follow a religion really more like guidelines to magic use and that sorta thing."

I nod and punch his shoulder then begin to fix my bed. When I finish I look to Henry.

He blinks slowly then says," it's still very early in the day. Do you have any chores?"

"Ah!," I say remembering," I do."

Henry goes to the doorway and moves away the chair.

"Come on then I will help you," he says grabbing my hand with force.

Henry decides to swing me out the doorway and at last moment he lets go of my hand. I gasp as I nearly topple down the stairway when is hands press upon my shoulders and I am still.

"Gotcha Dan," he grins," didn't realize you where so light."

Henry pulls me away from the stairs and I laugh. His laughter joins in.

"You near could have killed me," I say mid laughter.

His face turns serious now and my laughter ceases.

"Never."

I say nothing and punch his shoulder then walk down the stairs. He follows soon after and I lead him to the back of the house. He looks amazed at our land space. Him growing up in a city I suppose he had never roamed so much land, nor seen such a vast amount.

"Its quite beautiful isn't it?" I say looking out and he looks at me in silence for a moment.

"Aye."

I look out to see my father harvesting wheat using a hand sickle. The tool glides through the wheat like fish through water. I whistle loudly to my father who stops to look up.

"Who have you got with ya there?!"

I look to Henry who nods silently saying it would be alright to say.

"Henry!"

My father waves us over," get to work you two. This crop is nearly done but not quite ready to harvest. Get a bucket and dig out these damned weeds!"

In his voice he seems slightly fazed by Henry's presence but genuinely seems happy for an extra hand.