It was a magical morning for ChirpChirp. He opened his eyes for the first time, and finally got to see Mother Pidgeon, the endless source of regurgitated worms and loving coos that had sustained him since he escaped his shell. He finally knew what the great nurturing force in his life looked like. For the first time, he was not afraid when she flew away for the day, sure that she would soon return.
ChirpChirp and his sibling were too young to fly--though they were all desperate to try--so they were stuck in the nest and passed the time in their usual manner: gossiping about which chick had the fluffiest down-coat, and debating what kind of food was best to eat. They agreed that worms were tastiest, followed by grasshoppers, and then ants. Squeaky, the runt of the litter, normally would have insisted that they should all eat sticks, but he was half dead in a corner of the nest, feebly mouthing a twig in a rather depressing bid for nutrition. He looked pathetic, like the bugs that they so often ate, and ChirpChirp caught himself wondering what his brother might taste like.
It was an unsettling thought, ChirpChirp realized, brought on by hunger.
Why was he hungry?
Why was there no food?
Where, he shuddered, where is Mother Pidgeon?
The wind soon brought him his answer, in the form of a feather floating majestically in the air. It drifted lazily towards their home-tree, before finally landing in their nest. Curious, ChirpChirp went to investigate the strange object. He smelled the feather, and quickly identified it as his mother's, but something was wrong. It was besmattered and besmirched and begrimed with a foul concoction of red and white slime that smelled vaguely like his dying brother. ChirpChirp new, instantly, that Mother Pidgeon was dead and the chicks would have to fend for themselves if they wanted to survive.
ChirpChirp stepped to the edge of the nest and tested his wings; they would barely respond to his commands. He thought about trying to fly anyway, taking the fell plunge and killing himself, but then he remembered that he had a special brother to take care of, and changed his mind.
He made a plan.
"Brothers and sisters," he announced to his 5 able nestmates, "This is a sign from Mother Pidgeon. We are to fly away and join her in the land of Grasshoppers and Worms."
They muttered nervously.
"This is our time to fly!" he exhorted them. "This is our time to soar through the heavens and become true birds!"
They stirred more vigorously, and Squeaky opened an eye.
"THERE WILL BE WORMS!" He cried.
Mad with hunger, they let out an emboldened chorus of CHEEPS, climbed to the edge of the nest, and jumped. Even Squeaky tried, but CheepCheep stopped him. "You're to weak, dear brother. Just go rest," he said. He watched them fall and--for a faint second--thought that the wind would whisk them away to safety. Merciless gravity soon took over and smashed their frail bodies against the ground. He sat there for a time, just looking at their corpses until eventually the sight of so much uneaten flesh made him hungry.
Finally alone with his brother, ChirpChirp turned to face Squeaky, slobbering at the beak, and hoped that he wouldn't taste like sticks...
-fin-
JOE YOU MONSTER LOOK WHAT YOU HAVE DONE
