Feathers

“Sterling, do you like the present I brought you?”
“Oh. Felix. It’s you again. What present?”
“Come on Sterling, are you blind? It’s right at your feet.”
“Oh no! No, No, No! That’s Robinson’s and Rosie’s egg, you dirty crumb-snatcher! Take it back. Take it back to their nest right now.”
“Why? Ravens eat eggs. Especially bite-size blue ones.”
“Not this raven. That is Robinson’s and Rosie’s egg. You take it back right now. Robinson’s song is the only thing that kept me alive during the dark time.”
“Dark time? Sterling, what are you talking about? You are a crazy old bird. Tuck your feathers back in. I’ll do what I want to do.”
“Take it back, Felix. Take it back right now.”
“Okay Okay. Forget it. Sheez.”
“Wait… Gently… Real gently. I’ll help you. You crack it and I’ll pluck your feathers.”
“Okay old bird.”
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“Sterling, what is the dark time you mentioned yesterday? You know—when I brought you the egg. You said, ‘dark time’.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do. You said Robinson’s song kept you alive.”
“Take a flight, Felix.”
“I want to know. I’m not all caw and boing.”
“You have no idea what is important in life. You’re a flimsy excuse for a feather.”
“Sterling, what’s that scar on your back?”
“None of your business.”
“I want to know. It looks like it hurt real bad.”
“You have no idea, Felix. That eagle almost killed me. Like it did Sapphire. She was gone in a flutter …I try to stop him. His claws puncture me. I wake up on the ground. Can’t move. Can’t see. Dark and grayness suffocates me. My wings ache. My head aches. I want to die. Dead silence surrounds me. But what’s that sound? I hear a pure golden melody. It dances in my head for days. I can’t move. I listen. Robinson’s song keeps me alive.”
“Sterling, who was Sapphire?”
“Scram Felix. You have a lot to learn. And I’m not going to teach you. Go away.”
“Sterling, you never go anywhere. You hide in these grizzled trees. You’re practically a fossil.”
“Get lost.”
————————————————————————-
“I haven’t seen you for awhile, Sterling. You look terrible. Have you been eating anything?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“What? Raven’s always eat. A raven not hungry—that’s not good.”
“My head hurts, I feel awful. It’s getting dark again.”
“You gotta eat, old bird! You can’t go dying on me. You can’t do that. Eat something. Anything. Here’s some crusty bread.”
“I’m too hot to eat. Just go.
—————————————————————————
“Hey Sterling—your head isn’t swollen anymore. Your feathers are bright and shimmery again!”
“It was that wing-full of snow you brought me, Felix. Where did you find icy crystals in June?
“You need to get out of here, Sterling. This place is old and rotten.”
“You are right. Very right this time. I just realized what we are going to do.”
“We? What do you mean WE? You’ve never used that word with me before.” 
“C’mon, Felix. Let’s go. You and me. Right now. I’m ready. I’m really ready. I should have figured this out a long time ago. But it wasn’t time. Now it is. Unless we chase down our fears and charge forward, our fears will chase us down. Come on. Let’s go.”
“Wait, wait. What are you talking about?”
“Felix, you and me. WE are going to chase eagles. We will chase them until their wings are too tired to fly. They won’t push us around any more. These feathers are made for flying.

– Jan Raven Stitt