Always Be Appreciative of Opposable Thumbs

Chapter Five: If These Walls Could Talk

 Willow woke with a start and cautiously glanced about the room. Hugo was still fast asleep beside her, and Sera was snoring softly on the bed, limbs sprawled out at odd angles. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

So what had woken her?

She started at a strange tinkling sound outside the door, accompanied by muffled speech. Always the curious type, she couldn't help but leave her warm bed and quietly waddle over to the door, finding it slightly ajar. Very carefully, she nudged it open a bit more and stuck her head out to investigate.

The tinkling sound was coming from some broken glass that Henrietta was sweeping up by the stairs. It looked like one of the frames containing a silhouette had fallen off of the wall and shattered. Henrietta was shaking her head and mumbling to herself.

"Dang pest, causing trouble when I have guests," she muttered. Then, raising her voice, she called out to no one in particular, "I'll get you, don't you worry. You'll be put in your place soon enough. And it won't be a place of honor out here. It'll be dark and lonely. In a closet. Or the basement. Yes, I'll put you in the basement."

As the old woman continued her sweeping, she turned towards the door, and Willow hurried back over to her little bed beside Hugo. She tucked her beak behind her wing and closed her eyes just seconds before Henrietta poked her head inside. Through slitted eyes, Willow watched the old lady scan the room.

Smiling, Henrietta whispered, "Rest up, my dears. There's a long day ahead of you."

The door closed, and Willow squeezed her eyes shut and tried to sleep.

~

"Rise and shine, my darlings!" Henrietta called out.

Willow pretended to wake up, yawning and stretching as if she had enjoyed a peaceful slumber. In reality, she hadn't been able to fall asleep again after witnessing Henrietta's odd behavior the night before.

Sera groaned. "Is it morning already?"

"Indeed it is, and I've made you a lovely breakfast," Henrietta said cheerily. "So why don't you all freshen up and come on downstairs into the kitchen."

As soon as the old lady had left, Sera released another groan and covered her head with her blankets. "It's too early to be alive."

"It's really not that early," Hugo said as he sat up.

"I'm running on princess hours."

Rolling his eyes, he turned to Willow. "How'd you sleep?"

Well . . .

Sera suddenly threw the blankets aside and leapt to her feet, eyes wide and nostrils flared as she sniffed the air. "Wait. Do I smell bacon?"

Before either Hugo or Willow could respond, Sera let out an excited cry and ran out the door.

"We'd better go after her," Hugo said, getting to his feet. "There's no telling what trouble she'll cause."

Right, right. I'm coming.

Willow followed him awkwardly down the stairs. She hated stairs when she was in goose form. They were most definitely not designed with short-legged creatures in mind. As they descended, she took another gander at the silhouettes on the wall. There were so many that she couldn't even tell that one had been destroyed. She eyed a silhouette of a little girl with a big bow atop her head who seemed to be no more than six years old. Was she one of Henrietta's grandchildren? Henrietta and her husband must have been very much in love to have so many children and grandchildren.