Liberté!

Bonjour!

Now that you know who I am, you would probably like to know where I came from. Don't we all want to know our origins and background? Sadly, some details remain shrouded in mystery, and it is no different with me.

Nobody marked the day when I hatched from the little pink egg, and I do not recall the name of the cockatiel mother who fed me or how many of the incessantly chirping other little baby birds shared our cage. Those were relatively carefree, if noisy, days, but soon, I began to wish I had never left the egg. Some humans took me and put me in a cage, but while they seemed to like my pretty singing, they did not pay much attention to me otherwise. They filled my dish and changed my water on occasion, but nobody took me out of the cage to play with me. My intelligence and beauty went unacknowledged.

One day, after I had hissed at one of the humans, I found my cage door open. Tentatively, I stepped out, stretching my pretty wings. Luckily, I had done my exercises, stretching and flapping my pretty wings every day like a good cockatiel should, even though I had never had use for them until that day. I knew they were strong enough to carry me, so I leapt off and flew. The careless human had not only left the cage door open; the house door was open as well, and I flew the coup.

What a strange world it was! I had never been outside before, and the bright sunshine blinded me. I flew higher and higher toward the blue sky, until my eyes had gotten used to the light. What a joy it was to be free! Ah, liberté! But my joy was shortlived. Strong windgusts tossed me about, and big birds screeched at me, thinking I was their next meal. My wings began to hurt, and I was hungry. I found refuge in a tree, where I spent the night, but none of the little birds I saw wanted to have anything to do with me. They were probably jealous of my beautiful colors.

The next day, I ventured out again. I was getting weak with hunger and beginning to fear that I would never see another piece of birdseed again, when suddenly I saw the strangest thing down below. It was a giant seed dish, but instead of being in a cage, it just magically hung in the open air. Little brown birds were eating out of it, and none of the big scary birds were in sight. There was a human sitting close by, but he did not bother the birds, and they did not seem scared of him, so I decided to try to make a landing.

Alas, the wind picked up and tossed me about like a bunch of molted feathers. I landed alright, but nowhere close to the food. I found myself on top of one of those big boxes the humans call houses. My feathers were tattered, my wings hurt, and I did not know how to get to the food. I seriously doubted I would be able to fly much farther, and I was in plain sight for all those big screaming birds, who were sure to come looking for me soon. Where would I find food and shelter?

Oh no, the Tall One is coming, I need to log off and return to the cage! I will finish my tale as soon as she leaves, I promise!