Fantamasia

The Nest and the Eggs

‘Professor, Do you remember how the riddle said: Don’t make the Horse go to the water; Make the water come to the Horse. Well I think that instead of us going to find the bird we should make the bird find us. Does that make sense?’ I wasn’t sure if my theory was correct but I had tried. ‘Kind of’ said Professor Mufti trying to remember which poet had said the line. I gave a weak smile and thought about further asking Dad what it meant.

My WNC beeped after exactly five minutes which meant I would have to hurry up and find that bird or else I would lose my only surviving parent. He messaged me saying that my theory was correct. Of course he would understand; he was my dad after all. He said that what we need to do is, to find the birds eggs somehow. I was sure it was a ‘She’ and dad knew that it was a‘She’. He said that the Preme-Fligger Flagger bird would not have gone far because it can’t leave its eggs for too long. I then asked the Professor where the closest place to us was. ‘Hmmm it’s certainly close. It might be an Oak tree perhaps. Why do you ask?’ I felt a ting of excitement buzz on my skin and my hair stand out.

‘That’s where the bird is heading to’.

  As the wind whipped my hair I saw a huge bunch of trees aligned beside land, but only one stood out because of its size. The one and only Macedonian Oak tree’s leaves got all the sunlight. As we got closer to the tree, I saw a huge nest on the high branches of the oak tree. ‘The nest is over there’ said Jolene pointing her finger which was indicating to the nest. I climbed the tree with ease because of my expertise skills at climbing trees. My hands in the nest, I pushed myself into the gigantic nest filled with leaves, twigs, and lots of feathers. In the middle of the nest I saw three eggs equally quite small, as if they belonged to a hen. I thought of grabbing the eggs and making a run for it, but then my eye caught the attention of something way in the corner a little bruised but other than that in good shape. The register; It had to be it!

 I was about to make my way to the register when the birds gave me a warning. Too late! The hawk of a bird came closer to me making its beak ready to strike with each step of its sharp talon claws. I thought that this was the end. I prayed that the ground would swallow me first so that I wouldn’t have to feel the pain when the bird would give my dead body to its baby birds to devour. But before I could thank God for my wonderful life Feathers swooped in front of me. From the looks of it, it seemed as though he was negotiating with the Preme-Fligger Flagger.

 I heard a few squawks, shrill and perhaps swear words in Bird-Language. Feathers tilted his head as to say go get it. I muttered thanks to the orange, yellow, red and gold bird with the crown on its head and slowly climbed down the tree. Feathers swooped down just as my foot made contact with the ground. ‘So what were you talking to old Preme about?’ I asked casually as I fixed my hair and climbed on to his back. ‘Not much actually. I just told her that if she didn’t let you get the notebook then we would make an egg scramble out of her eggs.’ ‘The way you say it makes me wonder why you’re so casual and relaxed. I mean you and I, we both could have died!’ my eyes widened so that Professor Mufti and Jolene could see my concern. ‘Mind you, you would have been the first one to die’ I added with a smile. But with that smile was sadness, sadness which would be concealed in front of my acquaintances. Only one person would understand the meaning to that smile, and he was stuck in a place trying his best not to get killed. I sighed, and people think being a teenager is hard. They should walk a day in my boots and then they will know everything that I have to go through!

We were back in Mathrojica to say our goodbyes to Jolene. I was really going to miss her but luckily she bought a WNC phone which meant we could keep in touch. After we had said our farewells we headed off to find the nearest place to sleep. I woke up before the sunrise still perched on Feathers seeing that he was wide awake. I guess the berries were working. As I rubbed my eyes to get the sand out, I saw the clear midnight blue sky and the moon.

The stars winked at me, yawning as they bid their friends good bye and slowly dissolved into the sky, while the sun made its appearance to shine in the morning sky. As I hugged my knees I wondered why I was always so uptight with my father. He gave me the best I guess, but after mom died I – I blamed him for her death. He soon shut me out and I had only Feathers for company. I regretted it now. It wasn’t his fault and nor was it mine, it was fate’s design. She had to go my father knew it but I guess it was too much for him to tell me. As I thought about all this a tear trickled down my cheek making me remember all the memories of my family.

Being the only child had never bothered me that much but sometimes I had always wanted an older sister to look up to and respect. I remembered the day when we had shifted to our new house; I was dancing round with a paintbrush throwing blobs of paint everywhere  ( I got the task to paint the walls)telling my parents that I would grow up to be an artist. Thank God we hadn’t bought any furniture yet! I remembered the day when I first went to school. I was persistent and kept clutching my mother, begging her to stay with me on my first day. Eventually she gave in sitting at the back of the class giving the teacher a helping hand. I also remembered once at the age of eight I went to the park with my father. I even remembered the flavour of the ice cream my father bought me. I remembered crying when it ruined my favourite dress. My father had to buy me a new ice cream as well as the exact duplicate of my ice cream stained dress. I smiled and rubbed my tears away. They will be in my heart and mind never forgotten.