Black bird

There was a nice little trail connecting two sister towns that was filled with wondrous things. Most people crossed said path only by carriage or horse for it was unknown the kind of wonders that could be found there, good or bad. Only occasionally would somebody be brave, or stupid enough, to walk through the dirt road traveled only by horses and carriages. For this reason, not many people knew of the beautiful vegetation that could be found there. They couldn’t imagine just all the different shades of maroon and orange the autumn leaves wore even when it wasn’t autumn. Thousands of wild berries and fruits would rot on the floor since no one picked them up and made good use of them. And most importantly, no one heard the sweet faint song that a little bird sung everyday while it sat on top of a pear tree branch.
One day a particularly stupid and brave person named Matt decided to walk through the path in order to get to the neighboring town. Matt had the bright idea to walk through the path so he may witness the unfamiliar and escape the boring town he lived in. He had taken the responsibility of a delivery boy in order to get out of his boring town. As he twisted and turned his head this way and that, marveling at the new sights, something caught Matt’s attention. It was a great pear tree with thousands of green fruits decorating its branches. Feeling the familiar pain of hunger Matt walked towards the tree tempted by the delicious fruits. As soon as he was close to it he heard a song that was so faint it was hardly noticeable. Intrigued by the sound of the pretty voice Matt called out "Who's there…?"
But no one answered and the song stopped.
Matt was now sure someone was there. Once again he asked “Excuse me, but I would like to know who’s singing”. Just when Matt started to think he was probably talking to himself, a faint quivering voice answered. "I'm sorry mister… I didn’t mean to bother you. I’ll stop now", this was followed by a long pause. Relieved, Matt answered back “Ah, thank goodness. I thought I was hearing things. So… what is you name? If you don’t mind me asking…” But again, no one answered his questions for a long while. Matt thought he might have offended this person and took those silent moments to worry over it.
“I don’t have one…" was finally said.
“What…?" asked Matt, slightly relieved the person had answered him.
"I don’t have a name" answered the little voice in a timid manner. By the tone and softness of the voice Matt thought it most likely belonged to a child. Then the little songster took its head out of the green foliage and Matt finally got a good glimpse. It was a small bird. It had black feathers that shone like silk with a tint of red. It was quite beautiful in it’s own way.
“Oh! Ah! I see…”Matt said taken back, he hadn’t expected a bird. “Oh, I… think your singing is lovely,” he said after he got over the initial shock.
“Really?” the bird asked softly.
“Yes, of course! It was beautiful! Like an angel’s melody,” the bird said nothing.
“Thank you,” the bird said hesitantly after a long silence.
“You are very welcome! And it is very true!”
Matt felt awkward speaking to a bird but wished to stay and listen to it sing some more but he remembered he was running late to his destination.
“Oh no! I completely forgot about-,” stopped Matt mid-sentence and he slapped his forehead with an open palm then brought it down to his mouth. He paused, seemed to be contemplating something for a couple of seconds then gestured his right hand towards the bird.
“Do you think I may come back to hear you sing more? If you’ll allow my company, of course.”
This had caught the little bird by surprise. The simple thought of having a one person audience was a completely new concept for it: however as confounded as it was, it nodded in response. A little company wouldn’t hurt, it thought. Besides, it wasn’t like it had other things to do.
“I can? Wonderful! Then I’ll come back tomorrow. Is this where I’ll find you?”
“Yes,” answered the bird and it gave its first warm timid smile, a smile it had long forgotten.
And so, from then on, day after day, Matt came back and sat beneath that pear tree and accompanied the little bird. He would close his eyes and lose himself in the bird’s melody. In his mind, he danced and twirled along the long notes and jumped with every beat. It was magical. And when the sun would begin to set, just barely peeking over the horizon, he would leave. He hated it because it meant that he would have to go back to his boring town; however he knew the bird would be there when he returned. He tried not to look sad as he waved the bird goodbye with a promise to come back soon. Sometimes during Matt’s visit, instead of listening, he would speak to it. They had nice, long conversations and Matt spoke for a good portion of them which he didn’t mind because he learned the bird loved to listen. However, when the bird finally told Matt about itself it was rather sad. Matt found out that the bird had been living by itself for a long time. He also learned that a long time ago there were even more birds living there.
“They were all beautiful white birds, and they all had pretty voices, much prettier than mine. And then one day I woke up and they were all gone. It wasn’t winter or anything but they all left and I didn’t know why,” said the bird as it lowered its head.
“I didn’t mind it though. I just sat here which is my favorite tree and waited. I thought maybe if I waited long enough someone would come, but it didn’t happen. I still waited though, and then, one day he finally came to me.”
“Who is “he”?” asked Matt.
“The man with the gray hair,” answered the bird.
“He came to this very same tree two or three seasons ago and told me I was beautiful. He said he loved pears and the he asked me permission to grab a couple to bring home to his wife. Of course I said yes, since this tree doesn’t belong to me. He was so happy; he stayed with me for a while too and told me many interesting stories. He told me about his life in the village and how he cured people. He also told me many wonderful things about his wife, how much he loved her and how scared he was because she was very ill. He said he felt useless because he couldn’t do anything for her even though he was a doctor. I told him I was sure the pears from this tree would help her get better since that’s all I’ve eaten my entire life and not once have a I gotten sick. From that day on he always visited me now and then and I always sung just for him. One day he stopped coming and I’ve been waiting ever since.”
The bird’s story pulled at Matt’s heart strings. “How about I wait here with you until he comes back then?” Matt offered, almost pleading.
“Wait with me?”
“Yes, two’s always better than one! That’s what they always say,” said Matt not sure who “they” were.
“What?” asked the bird after a confused silence.
“Oh, well, nevermind…”
The bird now had company as he waited. Nothing changed between the two; the bird would sing and Matt would listen. Matt had heard the bird’s song enough times to sing along with it. His voice was just as beautiful as the bird’s which made their duet even more wondrous.
#
Time passed by and the gray haired man was nowhere to be found. From time to time strangers would walk right by the pear tree but none were males with grey hair and soon Matt found himself feeling pity for the bird enough times that the disappointment became his own but the bird always tried to cheer him up with a song just for him. He figured the bird became accustomed to disappointment and was no longer bothered by it since it did not show much distress. This bothered Matt and then, one day it finally hit him.
“He’s not coming, is he?” he asked the bird.
“No he is not,”
“Then… why?”
But the bird remained silent. It was then Matt realized what the bird’s intentions were, it had lost hope a long time ago. Even so, Matt felt he needed to stay with the bird and wait for a man who was never going to come. He tried to go to the bird as much as he could but found it hard to leave his home everyday. Some days he wouldn’t go to the bird and it would no longer sing. At first, it seemed strange since it had always been able to sing no matter how lonely it felt. As a matter of fact, the bird sung because it was lonely and singing always made it feel better. And then Matt started visiting less, further silencing the bird’s melody. Until one day he stopped coming all together and days passed and he was nowhere to be found. The bird was back to the way it was in the beginning. The bird sat by itself on top of that pear tree branch accompanied only by its own anxiety and fears. Not again, it thought to itself, quivering and just about to cry.
#
More days passed by and the bird’s wings and legs began to ache. This wasn’t right, it had to do something about it. The time for waiting was over. It was time for the bird to take action and seek out what it truly wanted. And it knew exactly what it wanted and in what direction it could find it. And what was there to lose? It had already lost the only person who had taken the slightest interest in it. It had lost him a long time ago but not until now had it refused to let him go. Now was the time and with that in mind, the bird jumped off that tree branch and onto the ground. Its legs ached trying to sustain its own weight but despite that, it did not hesitate and it walked slowly towards the same direction Matt always headed to. Flying was out of the question, the birds wings were far too weak to be able to do anything, so walking would have to do for now. Slowly but surely, the bird left that pear tree and the memories engraved in it hoping to see its friend again. It was determined to find Matt and a silly thing like pain was not going to stop it. The bird had only been walking for a couple of minutes when it saw what looked like a crowd of people. Distant first, then closer and closer until it was clear enough for the bird to recognize Matt was among them. The bird’s eyes became wider and it tried its best to run towards him, only falling a couple of times but quickly recovering and continuing its course.
“Matt!” called out the bird and once it was close enough it jumped up and wrapped its wings around him.
“I’m sorry I missed so many days,” Matt said.
“I spent too much time telling people about you that sometimes I couldn’t make it here. I wanted other to hear your beautiful songs as well so I brought some of my friends along with me. And besides, more than two is better than one. That’s what they always say,” and Matt grinned as the little bird held onto him.
“I was tired of waiting so I decided I would go to you instead of staying behind,” cried out the bird and Matt responded with another kind smile. Matt wiped the bird’s tears away, reassuring that everything was going to be alright.
“These people came here to hear your lovely songs,” said Matt. “How about it?”
The bird was a bit intimidated but it knew it would be ok as long as Matt was there. Everyone sat under the shade of a different tree and the bird sang another one of its beautiful songs for them. They all listened and danced with the tunes and jumped with the beats until the sun moved closer to the horizon. Then everyone stood up and headed back home after making sure they praised and thanked the bird for sharing its beautiful melody. Then, as everyone else left, the bird looked at Matt who then looked back at it and reached his hand out and asked. “Are you coming with us?”
The bird smiled and Matt grabbed its wing as if they were holding hands.
“I’m sure you’ll like my town. It’s a little bit boring but we’ll make it fun. You’ll see,”
“I can’t wait,” answered the bird with genuine excitement.
“Me neither,” said Matt then added. “Uhmm… Have you ever considered a name for yourself? You know, I haven’t referred to you as anything up until this moment and since we’re friends…”
“A name, uh?” said the bird then contemplated it for a couple of minutes. ”Well, what kind of name do you think fits me the best?”
Matt thought about it for a couple of seconds then replied “Kiki-o.”
“Kiki-o?” asked the bird confused.
“Uhg… It’s ugly isn’t it? I’m sorry-“
“No! I like it! My name’s Kiki-o now. “ the bird said triumphantly. “Kiki-o…What does it mean?”
“I don’t now. I heard it one day and it reminded me of you, it sounded very cute…”
“You do know I’m a male bird, right?” asked the newly named Kiki-o.
“What?” asked Matt after a confused silence.
“Oh, well, nevermind…”

They lived their life’s to the fullest, never looking back and never hesitating to move forward. They trusted each other and that pretty much became the basis of their friendship which lasted for many seasons and even after they passed away their souls continued to sing, dance and keep each other company until the end of time.
The end.