Providence

The Bird Watcher

This short story was based on the picture above. I do not own the art, nor do I know who does.

The Bird Watcher

The morning was cold, the sky clear. I took a deep breath of the crisp air, hoping it would clear the fatigue from my mind. I had woken up around midnight in a panic of inspiration. I had spent the following five hours frantically writing and working out the math. Finally, at the 5:30 mark, I decided I needed to test my formulas. It was a perfect day to do so, seeing as no one else would be at the lab, as it was supposed to be our day off. There was always a couple guards at the front gate though.

Despite how early I'd departed- around 6 am, by my calculations- it still wasn't early enough to beat the sun. It was already high in the sky, the light off the snow blinding me. I winced. Outside wasn't my forte. I preferred the indoors, with its artificial light and temperature controls. I had forgotten my big jacket- actually I had forgotten warm clothing in general.

I still wore my pajama shirt (a long sleeved cotton shirt) my oldest (and most worn) pair of dress pants, and my only pair of sneakers. None of which were doing a good job at keeping the snow out.

I glanced up through the bare tree branches, hoping to assess how much more distance I had to cover. Still very much far away was the lab, a tall concrete structure with vines growing along the walls. I sighed, my teeth chattering from the cold. I still had a twenty minute walk ahead of me.

There were two ways to get to the lab; a long, trailing road among the skeleton remains of skyscrapers, or a slim, neatly trimmed path through what used to be a city park. Usually, I would take the road- most of us took the road, as it was easier and more convenient- but my car had broken down, and my phone was dead. So, in my sleep-deprived state, I had decided to travel along the path taken by the janitors and sanitary workers, and then walk along the building to the front gate.

The guards would let me in, no doubt, and then I'd be able to check my work from this morning with our equipment. Maybe there, I could use the lab's phone to call down some of the other scienti- no. No, that wouldn't do.I couldn't have any distractions. Not when I was so close to a breakthrough. And that's all anyone else would be. Distractions.

Ten minutes down. About ten more until I reached the lab. I glanced at my briefcase, where I knew my notes lay, all the loose papers sandwiched nicely between my two journals. I stopped out of paranoia, and briefly checked inside of it. Everything still in its rightful place. I let out a sigh, and hurried along the path.

Suddenly, a bird flew along my path, its wing brushing against my face. I yelped in surprise and jumped back. Unfortunately, the snow underneath my feet had melted, turning to sludge. I slipped. And something else did too. My briefcase slipped from my hands, and the latch, which I had forgotten to secure, flapped open. Loose paper flew out of the case, floating softly to their doom in the sludge. I scrambled up, my pants soaking up the snow, and grabbed wildly at the papers. I caught all of the ones I could see.

When I had a good handful, I picked up my briefcase and brushed it off. After stuffing the papers in my hand in it, I clipped it shut, and started searching the area for any more paper. It seemed I had gotten all of them. I grinned in satisfaction.

A muffled caw raised my attention to a nearby branch, where the same bird from earlier perched. It stared at me with its beady eyes, its brown feathers ruffled by the cold. In its long beak it held two crumbled pieces of paper. My heart stopped, and I stepped toward the bird. Its wings flapped wildly before it settled down. I slowly set down my briefcase-making sure to latch the lock first. Then I stepped even closer to the bird. It stared at me.

"Hey there, pretty bird," I called out breathlessly. "What do you have there?" I gestured to the papers. It continued to glare.

"Could I have them back?" I was almost below the bird now. It was now or never. So I jumped. The bird shot up, my hand barely missing its tail feathers. It hovered in midair for a moment before shooting off into the forest. I followed it through the dense underground. There was no way I was going to lose those notes! They were the key to everything!