The Bird and the Wind

Once there was a young bird who accidentally fell out of his nest. Feeling lost and unable to fly, he started walking.

Along the way, he met a chicken. The chicken taught him many things: how to peck the ground for worms, how to cross the road and how to crow at the break of dawn each morning. The bird was eager to learn and even more eager to be accepted. He learns as much and as fast as he could. As each day goes by, he can find worms faster, run away from passing cars faster and puff his chest bigger to crow louder. But no matter how hard he tried; he just can’t do it as well as the chicken. Before long, he felt that it was time to move on to better things.

Along he walks, he met a duck. The duck taught him how to keep his wings tight to float on water, paddle around the pond and dive his head into the water to look for weeds and fish eggs. He was struggling initially, trying to stay afloat in the pond, clawing its feet in the water and trying out his new diet. Sometimes the weeds make him unwell, but he doesn’t want to disappoint the duck’s effort, and so he assures (both him and the duck) that everything was fine. He sticks extra feathers on his body to keep him afloat (and warm) in the water, he glued leaves on his feet so he can paddle faster. But the feathers fell and the leaves broke. Not to mention, he really kind of misses his worms. And so, he left the duck and continued his search.

What was he exactly searching for? He doesn’t know. What he does know is that the time spent with the chicken and the duck, while fun, wasn’t the answer. Deep inside, he didn’t ‘feel’ right. Feeling troubled and lost once again, he continued to walk.

A gush of wind blew in his face. His feathers ruffled and his wings spread slightly apart. “What was that?” he thought. It felt so weird. For a brief moment, he thought he had felt something inside. Something that he has no words for. Both the chicken and the duck didn’t prepare him for this. Being cautious and fearful, he straighten up his feathers, tightens up his wings closer to his body and continues his walk. 

Another gush of wind blew! This time longer and stronger. It pry his wings wider apart this time. He felt it again, stronger this time. The wind between his wings and body, and through all his feathers. His fears of the unknown deepen, and he decides to hurdle down harder and resist the wind stronger than ever.

This time the wind blew even harder. It blows and blows as he claws his feet into the ground like the chicken taught him, and buried his head down like the duck taught him. Alas, the wind was too strong for him, and he rolled backwards.

~Flip flop plop blob flip flop plop blob~

He rolls and rolls while the wind blows and blows.

In the midst of chaos and disorientation, he let go of his wings and they spread wide open.

Whoosh! Up he went with the wind!

He took a peek and realised that he was flying. Higher and higher, he starts to look back. He saw the ground where he spent many days crowing and clawing getting further and further away from him. The pond where he spent even more night learning how to swim getting smaller and smaller. Fear crept up on him once more! Panicking, he starts to crow for his life and bundle his wings up tight like what the chicken and the duck used to teach him. He was fumbling and tumbling down towards the ground and the pond where he was so used to being in. While being a chicken and a duck didn’t truly feel right for him, it still felt familiar to him. And familiar is safe! Unlike this uncontrollable and unpredictable wind!

~Flip flop plop blob flip flop plop blob~

Just before he hit the ground, he saw it. For the first time in his life, he saw another bird. All this time he was searching on the ground, but the answer is up above him, in the wind. The other bird had both its wings spread wide open and was dancing gracefully across the sky above.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and surrendered all his fear. He spread both his wings wide open and the wind took him higher and higher once more. This time, he felt the wind on his whole body, he even felt it within him.

Just like the first time. 

But without any fear this time.  

The End