Freedom
#1 of The Book of Kiwi
Once upon a time, there was a city in a country that's
pretty well populated. Within the city, there was a zoo. The
International Zoo of City, it as named. Yes. The zoo
attracted many, many people, and even common city animals,
to wow at their selection of exotic animals. They would
visit everyday, feeding the monkeys, petting the goats, and
most of all...
Ignoring the kiwi birds.
Well.There were only two, really. Out of the eighteen
that were shipped there for a special program, only two were
left. It was sad, really. But no one cared. The kiwis had
their little pen filled with seed and hay, at the back of
the Bird House. It reeked of parrot poop, so, the zoo
managers thought it was a nice place to put the kiwis.
Everyday, the kiwis would hop back and forth between
the torn mesh pen, occasionally dancing or shaking their
tail feathers to attract their fans. Well, assuming they had
at least one.
"I'm tired of this!" said a kiwi one day, to another kiwi.
"I am, too. There's no point in being here. I mean,
come on, they don't even give us the respect we deserve. I
want to make something of this horrible life before I end up
pushing up daises!"
"I agree."
"Mary, please, tell me. How long have we been here?"
"I say, I've been here since...well....I don't know," said
she.
"Well, I remember you as a chick. Barely hatched from
the duff, eh? Maybe three years old you are."
They both stared at each other.
"So, I'm three." she pondered for a moment. "I'll
be chaffed if I ever make it out of here before I'm thirty."
"You know," the other kiwi said with a grin, "We could
escape and roam the world as we see fit!"
"Yeah, but Maury, I've never been 'outside' before. We
could get killed!"
"But it's better than us kicking the bucket in here."
"Well, no. Still, I don't want to go. We could get
killed! I mean, anything could happen!"
"Yeah, but that anything could be better than this,"
Maury replied, "Didn't you say you're tired of these
conditions? Come on! Tonight could be our chance."
"Well."
"Come on!"
"Okay. Okay," submitted Mary, "You win. But hey, if
we end up dead, I'm going --"
"You're not going to do anything!"
Maury winked at Mary.
Later that night, when the zoo was shut down, the kiwis
began to tear even bigger holes into the wire with their
beaks. Soon, they had a large enough space to hop out. Once
out, they tried to make their way to through the bird house.
Many of the other nocturnal ruffs gawked at them. Some
laughing, others giving cold stares.
"Maury. Are you sure you want to do this?"
"What?" he said back, not looking at her, "Are you
backing down? Make up your mind!"
"Alright, alright, I'll be quiet."
And so, they continued to walk along the dim path,
until they reached a towering glass door. They looked around
for a sort of switch to open it. Soon enough, it creepily
opened without help. They decided to walk on in.
Inside, there was a tree. And oddly, it was very bright
inside. They looked around them, only seeing a giant tree,
and some bedding below them. They heard the door shut
loudly, strange noises ensued.
"Did you hear that...?" Saotome looked upwards.
"No. I didn't hear a damn thing. Let's keep moving
now."
Mary blocked Maury's path.
"Listen!"
They stood still, only to hear a moderately loud
screech. Mary began to walk the opposite direction.
"Where are you going?" Maury turned towards the rushing
kiwi. "Stop changing your mind! Come on!"
Mary ignored, and kept going. Maury shrugged and
kept walking.
"Damn wanker," he said to himself, "Well, her loss."
As he kept going, a shriek echoed through the area.
Maury looked behind him, but kept forth. He walked proudly
until he reached the giant tree. Right then, his world came
crashing down. Large, brown patches of feathers covered the
tree, screeching and staring with piercingly evil eyes. And
with one fell swoop, they all fell upon the kiwi bird.
Maury screamed as the giant monsters tore at his flesh
and snapped his bones. Then he felt his spine snap in two.
He cried in pain. Well, at least until they snapped his
neck.
And so, within due time, the masses of feathers
returned to their spots, now silent and still. They stared
at the pile of bones and feathers. Then, they began to
laugh...
The next day, people were gathered around the kiwi
cage. Some people were confused as to what happened to the
kiwis. Some thought they died of natural causes. Really,
they'll never know. And maybe they don't need to know.
(Note: I hoped you liked it. :P I had to delete my other
story. I couldn't work with it. So, instead, I started a new
series. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! (Completed 1-25-04, 6:32
PM Central.)