Birds of a Feather Draw Together
By Adare Elyse
One day, a young girl, lonesome as could be, through her open window spied a raven perched in a tree. She asked, “Might you be a friend of mine, and always stay by me?”
“Friend of yours I may well be, but I cannot stay. Birds, you see, are meant to be free, so I’ll ofttimes fly away.”
The girl, dismayed but not without some pluck, piped up to the raven then to try her luck. “I wager I can capture you so that you’ll always stay, even in the times when you decide to fly away. I’ll use no bars, lock, or cage. Not one feather will I touch.”
“My, my.” The raven ruffled up his down. “You promise so much! Well then, let us see whether you can do such a thing. For I warrant you will never keep me off the wing.“
She said, “Come on in for just a little while, and then you will see.”
“I’ll bring my flock as witnesses to come and watch with me.”
So the birds with quite a flutter settled upon the bookshelves, with many a twitter and speculation amongst themselves. The raven rested on the table and gave her a long look as the girl, swift as she was able, sketched him in her book. Her guest, not to be outmatched, picked up another quill and then with it began his own blank page to fill.
With a grin, the girl soon pointed to her book. “Come on,” she urged the raven. “Come and take a look. See, now I can keep you here, and you’ll still be free. Even when you fly away, you’ll always be with me.”
The raven hopped closer with a twinkle in his eye, and flicked his gaze between the girl and the open sky. “Indeed, I see you’ve found a way to help me stay without touching a feather. But although your drawing is quite good, I find self-portraits better.”
Then the raven and his flock took to the skies and away, but the girl’s new friend in both his portraits would always faithfully stay. And from time to time, the raven, in his own free style, would come back to sit and draw with the girl for a while.
Author’s Note
This flash fiction/short story piece was inspired by the painting “Quill” by Lori Preusch. I had the pleasure of seeing her art for the first time on my trip to Durango, CO last September. This is my first prose poem or flash fiction piece. To me, the rhyming scheme captured the whimsical feel of the original artwork.
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You can also read my futuristic short story about a little girl with a big heart who finds herself in a heartrending situation.
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